Blazers Practice Today: Meeting with Roy, LMA and Oden with Nate?

Heard this on the radio today. Wonder what went on in there....seemed like a whole bunch of drama.

interview with Nate. not much here.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/trail_blazers_practice_coach_m.html

Apparantly Oden + Miller are tight now.

Roy wants more touches

Who knows what's up with LMA.

 

If anyone knows anything about this, post up! I want to know!

 

I think I saw Pritch driving on I5 today. Does he roll a BMW 7-series?

 

A Quick report wouldn't be a Quick report without the drama.

 

yeah, i only caught bits and pieces but he said it was a meeting like they had last year at Nate's house with just those 3 guys.

 

LMA ...poor LMA.

I wish he'd speak up more to the press, give some insight as to what is happening to him personally. I always thought he was a tad inconsistent but I figured that had more to do with lack of confidence. Now I'm not certain whether he's confused out there or just passive by nature or...?

I'd still run LMA up against most PFs in the league, though.

 

Love this part from Nate:

I don't see a think that Nate has done to try to make Oden a big part of the offense; very few passes, no plays, etc. It seems that Oden has become a "big" part of the offense in spite of Nate, not due to Nate or any desire/plans of his.

Gramps...

 

He's getting a lot more post ups this season than last. Just because he doesn't generate a shot every time he touches the ball doesn't mean he's not getting the ball. His efficiency would drop if they tried to force the ball into him every possession, and have him force up bad shots.

 

More doublespeak from Nate (the italics are the question, the regular his response):

If having Oden as an offensive force is a good thing, why is there a seeming lack of emphasis on getting him the ball? Why always take him out at the six-minute mark? Why not play Miller who is better at getting him the ball rather than Blake?

Say one thing, do another.

Perhaps he will adjust...perhaps......no really! It could happen!

Gramps...

 

To add to that, Nate continues to say Oden wasn't a starter last year, but he did start nearly half the games last year.

The SF in Nate's offense doesn't do shit, so you or I could play there and there shouldn't be a lot of adjustment.

 

You may want to tell Rashard Lewis and his max contract that the SF does nothing in Nate's offense.

 

Even if it did drop, which can't be certain, it would still more than likely be much higher than most people's on the team.

 

Did no one hear\mention the statistic Brian Wheeler threw out after\during? the Quick interview?

That Greg Oden whose shooting percentage (@ 63.3%) #1 on the team by a longshot over any of the other players who have played consistently, has not seen his shots INCREASE as a result? Shouldn't he be getting MORE shot attempts?

 

Oden routinely gets doubled on the block after making a few nice moves. You don't think having him force up shots against doubles would reduce his efficiency significantly as well as increase his turnovers?

 

Oden is getting much, much better at handling the double teams and passing out of them. Nobody is asking to force the ball to Oden just so he can force up bad shots with two defenders. Forcing the ball into Oden demands a double team and opens up shots for everybody else.

Assuming that giving Oden the ball more will automatically decrease his efficiency a weak argument.

 

I thought he drove a Taurus.

 

This is, at least, the reason why the offense should go through Oden. He shouldn't be trying to score every time, but a guy who commands double-teams on the block should be touching the ball pretty much every possession. Especially when that guy is as good and willing a passer as Oden.

Roy is great, a fantastic player, but he could really benefit from scoring some points off the doubles that Oden draws.

 

http://columbian.com/article/20091130/BLOGS05/911309987/-1/blazerbanter

Some slightly more encouraging words in Brian T Smith's article regarding practice today:

 

Roy and Oden are the keys. I think Aldridge has the potential to be really valuable, but hopefully he'll find his role alongside the other two. A Roy/Oden meshing, though, would really be hard to beat.

 

Nate didn't mention Miller as being a key. Fire him! Doesn't he know that Miller is the key for a championship! More everything for Miller, less everything for the "cornerstones".