Hollinger takes isolation offenses to task

Really? You are going to use Okur and AK-47's completely absurd selections to a single all-star game to prove the team has a powerful roster.

Then Portland had an all-star center B-Roy's first year. After all, Magloire had been to an all-star game two years prior.

 

Yeah. Portland had one All-Star player in Magloire. Utah has US 2 Olympians and 2 more former All-Star players. What have they won with Sloan's offense?

 

So, in your opinion, Sloan's offense does not get the most out of his players?

To put it another way, would the same group of players have won more games with a different coach?

 

Just thought this deserved a bump in light of the Cavs collapse against the Celtics last night. Anybody else real confident in the Blazers chances of winning big in the playoffs, running an offense that features little player or ball movement but doesn't have the greatest player in the game running the controls?

Dwight has some things to say about it too:
http://www.dwightjaynes.com/going-going-gone

 

I am confident they won't.

 

I shall rest comfortably knowing that if there are two things that Nate excels at, it's adapting and evolving.

 

LOL, so you're basically saying he's like a cross between

+

Flexible and chameleon-like

 

So, let's say that these guys are correct in their analysis and let's also say that Nate is willing to change the offense. Do the Blazers have the pieces right now that they need to really spread defenses out or what changes need to be made? It seems to me that Roy, Nic and LMA are all good fits (although Roy will have to retool his game he certainly has the skills). Greg has the ability to make teams respect his ability to take it to the hole...Joel and Camby not so much. The PG spot seems like the worst fit, with neither Miller or Bayless having a good outside shot. The bench needs a consistent outside threat (or needs Rudy or Webster to grow into that role).

 

You're absolutely right, this team is still not built to win (completely) and some more tweaks are in store ... this isn't an 'either or' proposition (either the offense or the players) there are varying degrees improvement needed in both the scheme and the roster IMO.

 

Bayless and Miller are perfect for attacking the basket. With player movement, getting to the rim should be a lot easier for everyone.

 

They're both great at getting to the basket, but without an outside shot the don't the defenses get away with packing the middle and daring them to shoot?

 

The big question is whether or not Nate (or mgmt) views this offense as the problem? I mean if they don't, or haven't seen\learned anything from thier own losses or that of ATL and CLE, then 2011 is doomed to be another repeat....

I just hope they don't fall into the mentality of blaming injuries for thier loss this year...Don't get me wrong, injuries certainly didn't help, but I think it is fool's gold to assume that this team, even healthy, was going to be a title contender running the offensive schemes that they do...

Even as great of player as Lebron is, he proved that you cannot win it all by yourself, and expecting Roy to succeed where Lebron failed is foolish....

 

Trivia question:

What do Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, Rodney Stuckey, Dwayne Wade, Richard Hamilton, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, Devon Harris, Derek Rose and Tyreke Evans all have in common?

 

Presumably the answer you're looking for is a streaky outside shot (although I'd argue that several of them are considerably better than Miller or Bayless).

Follow up trivia question:

How many of those guys have won a title since zone defenses have altered the game?

 

The answer is that none of them, last year, were better 3 point shooters than Bayless. And most all of them have been mentioned by posters here, at some point, to be players people would like to bring in here.

As for your trivia question.....I'm not sure what year you would consider the zone defense altering the game, but Wade, Parker, Hamilton and Rondo have all won championships within the last 6 years, and all played for one in the last 5 years. In fact with the exception of last year, those players won the title each of the previous 6 years

 

I also would have accepted that answer

 

Bayless did improve his perimeter shot this season and hopefully can get better at it. I still have hopes for him being able to grow into the role of Brandon's sidekick. Still, as of right now, no team is going to spend any extra effort to stop JB from launching a 3.

My understanding of what Jaynes and Hollinger are saying is that it's a fairly recent development that coaches are developing defenses to specifically stop iso-heavy offenses. Offenses that can spread the court with strong perimeter shooters and lots of ball movement seem to be their prescription for future success in the playoffs. I'm pretty certain that the reason Nate stuck with Blake so long was his belief that Steve's outside shot would open things up for Roy. Obviously, Blake didn't perform well this season, but I do think that Miller's lack of a shot does make things more difficult for the Blazers.

 

I heard the Cavs lost because of McMillan.

 

Close. They lost because of a McMillan type offense.