Watching our starters is quite painful. This becomes all the more evident when the bench comes in (especially the two Spaniards) and you think, "hey - that's right - you're allowed to move without the ball! Your point guard can make unexpected passes and look like he's a better dribbler than the average fan!" With Joel (+23 last night) added to the bench, this becomes all-the-more glaring. The one thing they don't have is a guy who can absolutely get you a bucket if you need it, as Roy can. SOMETIMES Outlaw can be that guy, but other times he's Bambi on ice again, and is getting stuffed by Donte "Bayless has longer arms than me" Greene.
Last I checked, our only really consistent player was a starter. His name is Bradon Roy. His presence alone makes the starters better then the bench. Blake has been the second or third best Blazer player the last three games. Unfortunately, that says more about the other players then it does about Blake. We really, really miss Martell.
I'm hoping that Martell comes back and lights it up, but the facts say the team is shooting better without him from 3 pt range, and the team has won 4 more games so far this season without him as well. Martell is a very average SF. This isn't my opinion, this is a statistical fact.
Ah, the incisive "greater-than-sign" analysis! Yes, Blake does earn more than Sergio! Yes, Roy does hold the ball longer than Rudy. Actually, I'm not sure I know anything that Batum does more than Outlaw.... and so on. This is a fundamental truth that a lot of people could stand to learn: you can have the best collection of individuals in the world and still have a crappy team. The second unit is a better TEAM. The first unit plays really disjointedly. Look at the Lakers: they think they've got the best bench in the world, and it is in fact playing that way. But half the players on it wouldn't get PT on other teams. That's the genius of Tex Winter (and I guess Phil Jackson deserve a little credit): the triangle can produce a team that's much more than the sum of its parts. Think about it: the Lakers are by far and away the best team so far this year. But Kobe's actually putting up his worst numbers ever, Pau Gasol sucked so much on Memphis that nobody would offer better than Kwame Brown for him, and Lamar Odom is regarded as a soft choker. Bynum's numbers are about there with Kendrick Perkins... and who else they got? Hmmm. You might want actually to READ that list. Our current starters don't even figure in the top 10. The #1 5 USED to be the starters, but now they've moved our top +/- guy (Prz) to the bench. And what the hell IS win% anyway?
you're just complaining about oden starting last night then, because otherwise the starters have all obviously outplayed the bench. the starting unit with joel has played pretty well most of the time, and every starter (including batum) has a higher PER than their sub. the number of games that unit playing together outscores the opponent.
