I am starting to think that maybe Blake's hamstring injury to start the year was really the cause of his defensive downgrade earlier in the year. The last 2 or 3 games his defense has really picked up. Am I the only one who noticed that?
I don't know if he was slowed by the injury or he was just matched up against a lot of upper tier point guards that made him look kind of foolish. Whatever the case he seems to have stepped up lately in cutting off dribble penetration and keeping his man in front of him. Today however I don't know that I would credit him with stopping AI, since that seemed to be more of a collaborative effort.
It always has to be a team-effort. The NBA no hand-checking rules and the level of athletes that play mean that any PG worth his salary is going to be very hard to stop from penetrating one-on-one. All you could expect from a defensive PG is to try and stay in front of his man and funnel him into a favorable help defender. The Blazers have not been able to do it before - they seem to do a much better job now - and the last couple of games included CP3 and AI - not too shabby.
The biggest change in Blake the past few weeks is his jumper. When he's hitting his jumper it makes life so much easier for Roy. He's been a difference maker lately and that's because he's hitting his jumper with consistency.
I agree, it's such bull to give Blake credit for Iverson having an off night. The Pistons have mentioned that certain people on the team were annoyed with AI's play, so I assume he was just trying to be more unselfish tonight. He only took 9 shots. Can't credit Blake for that.
Although I agree that Blake can't be credited with stopping AI, I think it is obvious just from watching Blake that his D has certainly improved lately.
He's playing more aggressively on defense simply because he knows we have 48 minutes of quality shot blocking at the center position to back him up. He can gamble and play a little tighter, and even if Oden picks up a few cheap fouls as a result, it's not a big deal. Hard to think of many teams that have the luxury of not sweating when their great shot blocker gets in foul trouble. On top of that, Batum seems to be everywhere on the court in defense, making everyone else look that much better.....
We'll blast him all day when a PG goes off on him, but when Chris Paul and Allen Iverson have bad games against Blake, it is "bull" to give Blake any credit. So we should bash him for his play in these games as well. /sarc
C'mon PapaG---I know you're better than that. You watched, right? And you're telling me his D "improved" to what we saw today? (Somehow I think my Blake post got deleted...maybe I pushed the wrong button).
Blake was hurt most of camp and has been known as a decent defender in the past. I know the way to get "in" here is to bash the marginal players, but Blake looks like he is exactly the PG this team needs at this point. He knows his role and he is executing in that role.
(Repost) I'll agree that it looks like Blake is being more aggressive now that his hammy's feeling better. Maybe he's gambling more now that Greg and Joel are behind him. But you have to look at the results, too. Of the 2-9 that many seem to want to tout (good results!), look at those plays. On 3 of the 7 misses Iverson got to the rim. Once he was blocked by Oden. Twice he had layups rim out. I'm not saying Blake sucks, but his D did not contribute to Iverson missing those 3 shots. He also was blown by twice in the first quarter, forcing Brandon to rotate out of position and get 2 fouls drawn on him and forcing our star player to the bench. He also got to the line 6 times, which is exactly his average (OK Result!), but more b/c he had the ball out of his hand on most plays (due to the backcourt deny defense--he couldn't call his own number) than stifling man defense. I'll grant you that Blake was part of that deny D, so he gets credit for that.
Yeah, I'm so in. People PM me for my e-autograph and want to be just like me. [/sarcasm...no one asks for anything from me] And since I know you didn't get to see the above post, let me know if anything in post 11 is a "bash".
You blamed Steve Blake for Roy getting 2 fouls called on him. That's a "bash". Also, it is Allen Iverson we are talking about here getting shut down, and you are blaming Steve Blake for Roy getting fouls called on him.
Are you serious? Did you watch? Do you want me to give you the timestamps so you can see Blake's great D? I'm starting to think that no one can talk about poor play *however justified* from any of your favorites without you throwing a fit. That's kind of a discussion killer, dude.
Steve Blake did not play poorly today. Me criticizing your incorrect take on his play is not me throwing a "fit". You like to bash certain role players regardless of how they play on a certain day. I get this.
There is a big difference between "any" credit and all the credit. The entire team had a good defensive effort tonight...something that can't be said for every game so far. Blake deserves kudos for being part of that. Blake may be healthier than he was to start the season - but more importantly, he is no dummy. There is no doubt in my mind that he is learning to take advantage of being out there with Bahtoom and Greg.
Look, to recap: The title of the thread is "Is Blake getting back to good PG Defense". People have posted that "he's stepped up lately in keeping his man in front of him" . that he is "exactly what this team needs at this point", "he's gambling and playing a little tighter". I've watched all but the first 3 minutes of this year, as I'm sure many of you have. When questions like this come up, and opinions are posted, I don't see why my observations aren't at least on the same respect level as anyone else's. Just b/c you may not want to see it or hear it doesn't mean that it isn't relevant or is unfounded. I, (imo), praised a couple of points, disagreed with a point, and refuted a point. I answered the title of the article as best I could, based on what I saw and what little I know of the game. If you think the team's playing perfectly in the roles assigned by them...that's your call. I personally don't think that Blake's playing "good PG defense", which was the question posed by the post. I posted specific examples of why. The only "bashing" seems to be you discounting my observations b/c you think that "marginal players" can't be "bashed", and that that applies any time someone disagrees with your view of their play. That seems a little against the spirit of the board.
Guh. I don't know what to say to this. It's like someone calling me names in kindergarten. How do you respond? "Do Not! Do Not!"? My "incorrect take" is proven on video. Say the word if you'd like me to go back on the DVR and tell you exactly which plays. I gave you specific example of plays where he didn't play "good PG defense". You come back with a generic "Steve Blake did not play poorly today". How do I respond when you go off topic?
Players I've supposedly "bashed" this year. Outlaw. LMA. Blake. Sergio. Rudy. Oden. Frye Players I've posted "props" about: Outlaw, LMA, Batum, Roy, Frye, Joel, Oden, Sergio, Rudy, Blake, Bayless, Diogu. Past/future props to Webster and Freeland. Players I haven't posted about: Raef. ShavBo. Feel free to draw conclusion and let me know.
