Maybe you should try reading. It is only a few posts above yours. Reading comprehension is your friend.
As I stated in a posting after the one you quoted I don't disagree with anything that MM said about the team. However, there are a whole ton of things he didn't say about the team that both positive and equally true. Only listing all of the negative stuff about the players on the team is as pointless as listing only the positive aspects of every player. Further, wallowing in all the crap that's wrong with the team can't be fun or really even remotely enjoyable. I was just wondering why anyone would bother doing so. Further still, the post makes it seem like this is the lowest point in Blazer history. It's not even close.
I think there is a misunderstanding here. I am not saying that everything is fine and that all the players are awesome. That would be stupid. I was making fun of the fact that the listing of each player was so negative without mentioning any strengths the they bring to the table that it made them look worse then the team that featured Bassy and the Gang. I can't disagree with any of this. The team as it stands right now doesn't have what it takes to win a title without some outside influence (like Portland shipping it's injury bug to the Lakers, Celtics, Magic, Heat and Jazz). Then again I wasn't all that sure they could win it all even if everyone was at full health. I figured they had a chance. Today I don't. I think outside of the Clippers and Grizzlies every team is built with the idea they can win a title. It's just that once in a generation type players are just that. Portland threw the dice hoping they got one. So far it looks like they threw Snake Eyes. I am not sure about this, actually. A Roy-centric offense won a ton of regular season games then got owned in the playoffs. I actually assumed the same would happen this offseason if something didn't change. Though I would prefer that Roy be involved in that change. This was Portland's big gamble and they lost big. Without Oden the window hasn't just shifted. It's been boarded up and bricked over. I think the only way for LMA to learn to be the man is to actually be the man for long stretches of time. This is the season that happens. We will all see if he has what it takes. I would be all for trading Rudy but for what? He makes very little money in comparison to his worth to the team. Rudy also complained about his minutes and role on the team. Congrats Rudy, you just got a promotion! Me too. He may be the Micheal Redd to Roy's Ray Allen. Let's hope he doesn't have Redd's knee troubles along with his game. I think you are going to get more of your wish then you might want. I think this has started to happen already and will become even more so over the course of the season. Nic is leaving McMillian no choice. He is part of the near future. Without Camby Portland would have absolutely zero interior defense. Chances are Miller is AJ's mentor and placeholder. Portland isn't going to be able to bring in a high quality PG so they are going to try and grow their own. I think Joel's game will remain pretty much like it was. He wasn't exactly a high flier when he was healthy after all. All I could think of during the OKC game was how nice it will be to have Joel back there when Westbrook drives to the hoop. Uncontested layups will be a thing of the past. I like Donte as well. Since it's only his second season I think he is doing very well. He has that mid range jumper that seems to go in at a pretty good clip. Smart, tough player. I hope they keep him around for awhile. I call him The Towel since he only goes in when the game is over. Right now I would say he was a wasted pick but maybe he comes back next year ready to go. If Reddick can become a quality NBA player then anyone can. I think the team needs to change it's offensive phillosophy to match it's current personel. Use Miller to push the ball so that Batum and LMA can take advantage of their speed in the open floor. Let B-Roy (if he is playing) be the trailer.
Of the current Blazers who will be free agents in 2012, I would rank the importance of re-signing them to a new contract in this order: Batum Fernandez Johnson Miller Camby
Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but if you think "36 year old center" is a completely fair "evaluation" of what Camby brings and "an aging PG who can't shoot or play defense" is a completely fair "evaluation" of what Andre Miller brings, then here's some more evaluations for you: Dwight Howard: "center who can't shoot from range" Carmelo Anthony: "athletic small forward who can't pass" Chris Paul: "point guard with one knee that's ten years older than this actual age who can't dominate in the post" Any team with these three players would be in some serious trouble. They all sound terrible.
Batum can pass. Which is why it doesn't apply to those three, and why we're lucky to have Oden, Batum and Williams instead of Howard, Anthony and Paul.
Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly happy to have Miller and Camby on the team -- in fact we'd be fucking dead in the water if it weren't for them -- but neither of those guys is likely to get better with age or suddenly tap into some heretofore undiscovered part of their potential we've never seen before. So in the context of what this roster is and what it's likely to be capable ofm a year or more from now (the whole idea surrounding the initial post asking whether or not Dre' should be resigned in two years) makes them more than capable "now" players, but they're not really part of this team's future. My understanding was that MM was pointing out the composition of the roster (through a somewhat negative lens) and I was simply stating that it was hard for me to find anything factually wrong with his observations.
Of course there's nothing factually wrong. Just as there was nothing factually wrong with my evaluations of Howard, Anthony and Paul. You can make all factually solid statements and still be intentionally misleading by leaving out other pertinent facts. Which is exactly what MM did. If someone did exactly the opposite...listed every player by only their strengths and left out all weaknesses, you'd be the first to point out the fallacy I did and probably mock them as a "sunshine pumper."
You're reading negative stuff into what he said. He never said it was the lowest point in Blazers history. And it wasn't "all the negative stuff." I thought his thoughts on Batum and Johnson were rather hopeful.
MM said Aldridge was a good PF, that Batum was very good, and that Johnson could be promising. He wasn't trying to make every player look terrible. But Andre Miller can't shoot or play defense, take that for what it's worth. And Camby IS 36. He didn't say that was bad or good. That's just what we have, for better or worse, and it means he is more susceptible to injury and will be out of the league in a couple years. That's a fact.
This statement is not accurate. If you meant he can't shoot from 3-point range, you would be correct. However, Andre Miller's 0.477 FG% is higher than all of the following: Jason Richardson - .475 Kevin Martin - .470 Stephen Curry - .468 Deron Williams - .466 Rajon Rondo - .465 Darren Collison - .465 Manu Ginobili - .465 Jameer Nelson - .461 Tyreke Evans - .456 Russell Westbrook - .452 Eric Gordon - .450 Derrick Rose - .448 Jrue Holiday - .446 Raymond Felton - .446 Joe Johnson - .445 John Wall - .439 Kobe Bryant - .435 Aaron Brooks - .433 Rodney Stuckey - .426 Mike Conley - .421 Brandon Roy - .409 Brandon Jennings - .407 D.J. Augustin - .400 Jason Kidd - .388 Mo Williams - .362 BNM
So, you've modified your original, inaccurate statement. A lay-up or floater counts just as much as a 17-foot jump shot. The fact that Miller can penetrate and get high percentage shots is a plus, not a minus. He also shoots free throws better than over half the guys on that list. BNM
