I agree with some of this, put Portland is 11th in the NBA is ASST%. Scoring opportunities are being created. Minnesota, with everybody's hero Rick Adelman, is 27th in the NBA in ASST%. Nate's also the guy who started Nic for most of Nic's rookie year, so it's not like Nate's never played him. Could it be that there are things about Nic's game, that don't show up in the stats, that limit his playing time, and also made the Blazer front office not offer him a legitimate extension?
This reminds me of the NFL a couple of years ago, when the Chargers were #1 in offense, #1 in defense, and missed the play-offs because they had the worst special teams on the planet. In the Blazers case, the achilles heel is execution late in close games. (what are they now - 1-9 in close games?) Part of that may be bad luck.....but part of it is bad play.
Last year the Blazers had a point guard who posted an 18 PER, this year it's hovering around 11 ... The year before that they had Brandon Roy who's PER was well North of 20. Coincidence? Probably. Inefficient basketball doesn't produce a ton of success no matter what pace a team plays at.
Absolutely. He sleeps through half the game too many times to just let it go. Two main things: He'll ball-watch and lose his man on defense. He'll turn his head and let his man grab the offensive rebound. Combine that with his overall lack of aggressiveness and it's just frustrating to watch.
How do you rectify late game efficiency? By playing rookies? I don't think so. At some point, players have to execute. Think of it this way. The starting backcourt of Felton and Matthews is statistically the worst in the NBA, yet Portland still is a top-half team in terms of efficiency (with an elevated pace) and in record. Again, I'm not sure how this is all Nate's fault. He's obviously adjusted his coaching to fit this team, regardless of what BNM posted early. The players aren't performing. I still think they will perform, though. Maybe my own advancing age is making me more patient in terms of short-term, day to day results.. I think the real problem lives in Seattle, but there is already a thread about him.
The Blazers are 12th in efficiency, though, with Mr. 11 PER. Last year's team, with Mr. 18 PER, was 11th. The primary difference is that this year's team is 4th in DEF EFF, while last year's with Mr. 18 PER was 14th. Roy's teams were much higher, though. Yet that still didn't keep the same crowd from whining.
Reasons? What exactly does Matthews do at SG that Batum can't? Guard? Batum's already asked to guard just about every player in the league. Shoot? Batum shoots a lot better than Matthews. Handle the ball? For goodness sakes, I can't remember a Blazer in recent memory with worse handles than Matthews. So tell me, what is this mystical advantage of being labeled a shooting guard as opposed to a small forward? It's not like I'm saying to put Batum there for all of his minutes, just switch their roles. Batum starts and plays 33-36 minutes, Matthews comes off the bench for 25-27 minutes.
Once again!!!!!!!! A rookie NOT reading the S2 handbook before posting! This drives me nuts!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes. Gay has a TS% of just 50% and a TO ratio of 12.3 with a USG rate 23.4 Batum has TS% of nearly 60% with a TO ratio of 9.2 and USG rate of 17.8
