"At the end of the day it's not who starts, it's who finishes." That would be the Blazers motto rather than uprise, but it wouldn't fit on the little signs.
I fought plenty of battles on that issue with Ed O. and Minstrel in the Webster vs. Outlaw debates. Of course it matters who finishes the game, but Ed O. refused to budge from his stance that starting was more important.
I know I was just teasing. I am not sure if he should or shouldn't start. I just want them to win, and at this point how we win is less important to me. When I think about all of the great playoff runs in NBA history, they often involve some unconventional thinking that continues to play out throughout a series without making much sense until you look back and say "oh well, that was pretty awesome!"
That was just an incredible game. I made this thread when the Blazers were still down 10 points or so, though.
I am thinking we still bring him off the bench. Still need to force the ball inside early to LMA, and get him going. We need both of those guys on. Get him going, and hopefully get some of our shooters going on open looks, and maybe a few fouls on Chandler. But also don't hesitate to bring Roy in early if things are looking bad. Don't stick to a rotation, go with the gut. And ride him for 40 if need be. If his knee hurts, so be it. Can't risk resting him for games that might not be played.
Brandon should get to choose whether he starts or comes off the bench. After yesterday's game, he's earned the right to play whenever he wants.
Well, I don't remember the "fights" over Webster and Outlaw (except the ones over who was better, in which I took Outlaw's side which I believe you did too). But my position has always been that neither starting nor finishing is crucial to winning...what matters is minutes played. That's in general of course. In the specific case of Roy, where there may be pain and diminishing returns on his knees, he may be more effective in fewer minutes than a starter normally plays. I don't know what the right number is for him, so hopefully he and Nate can figure it out.
That's my opinion as well. Roy is hopefully looking at the big picture. Can he still play 35+ minutes (starter minutes) and be that effective throughout the whole game, or will he only be able to put together spurts of greatness like we saw last night? Nobody on this forum knows for sure how Roy's knee feels, so we can speculate till the cows come home, but only Roy knows the truth. He said last night that he thought, at one point, that he might never play basketball again, so it's not like the fans were pulling this out of their ass, but he also showed that he can still be the Roy we knew.... In my opinion, I'd rather see THAT Roy for 20-25 minutes a night, rather than a very average Brandon Roy for 35-40 minutes.
The problem with Roy is that 1) His defense is sub par, meaning that I'd start Matthews over him right now and maybe long term. 2) He is most effective in an iso offense. The problem with that is that it brings us back to having Roy and 4 others stand around waiting, which makes it easy to defend. Aldridge needs to continue to be the #1 option also, which is why Roy would be good off the bench. I also don't think that Roys knees may be able to take starter minutes (lets say 35+), but if there ever was a time to try it out it may just be game 5. Who knows. That is what I think.
Wow, some people sure have short term memory failure. The Blazers would not have won game 3 if not for Wesley Matthews' hot start. He hit his first 4 3-pointers, had 14 of the Blazers first 18 points (which gave the Blazers an early 18-10) lead and had 16 points in the first 8 minutes of the game. Mathews isn't consistent, but he had multiple similar hot shooting first quarters during the regular season. Brandon Roy, even when 100% healthy is not a quick starter. He's a finisher. Use both players to their advantages. Start Matthews, hope he's hot early and save Roy for the end when he's at his best. I also think it's a good idea to establish LaMarcus early. He's also historically a fast starter, which has the added benefit of getting The Mavericks' bigs in early foul trouble - as it did in Game 3. So, continue to start Matthews and try to establish Aldridge early. Give Roy a few minutes at the end of the first quarter and early in the second quarter - just enough to let him get loose and get into the game mentally. Then, in the third and especially the 4th, go with whoever is playing better. Roy should have plenty in the tank to play half the third and all of the 4th if he has it going. But, don't rely on him completely. Still pound the ball into Aldridge about 50% of the time in the 4th quarter. The inside/outside combination, whether it's Aldridge and Matthews early or Aldridge/Roy late makes the Blazers very tough to defend. Aldridge continues to get high percentage looks and draw fouls on the Dallas bigs and the threat of Aldridge down low will keep the Mavs from being able to double the hot hand on the perimeter. BNM
That seems insane to me. He shot 8-9 in the fourth until he missed the last shot... that is great, but it's such a small sample size that I don't see why he'd suddenly get to do whatever he wants to do. He shot 1-8 in the first two games, and he shouldn't have been cut. Similarly, he should not be granted coach status after one good quarter. Ed O.
This is why I always find myself agreeing with you BNM. You usually bring logic into a discussion, and talk some sense into people. With that said, I think a lot of fans are so eager to see something from Roy that would support their hopes that he could one day return to the Roy of old. Why else would so many people who have been relatively quiet during his rough patches suddenly create a bunch of threads saying, "I told you so" and "Roy is back!".
100% this! rep'd. I agree that some don't see Roy is still getting roughly 20-25 minutes a game. Why waste those minutes at the start of the game? Also, Wes usually gets really hot in the first. Kinda a guy that can explode and score 20 in a quarter type player. I would much rather have Wes start and give the opportunity for Roy to close.
BTW... There is nothing wrong with Roy coming off the bench. As long as he finishes. I think Roy would even feel the same.
You lose playing Matthews on Kidd to start the game. I'd rather the Blazers have a stronger defensive unit to start the game. On the subject of defense, I wouldn't mind seeing Gerald on Kidd at the end of games when the Mavs run the PnR with Dirk. It would switch Gerald on Dirk which is better than Batum imo as Batum is usually the one guarding Kidd. Batum is solid(and probably a bit longer), but Dirk can back him down where as Gerald is a little bit tougher. I think Gerald is a better defender anyways, especially on the perimeter.
Nope. Play him 24-28 minutes which reduces the amount of wear and tear his knees might take throughout a a longer run in a game and keep him fresher for crunch time where he appears to have rediscovered some of his old magic. Let him be the Manu for this team, don't mess with the rotation too much ... except to keep Rudy out of it.
The Blazers can't afford another terrible first quarter. If Brandon needs to play more then 24 minutes, then so be it, because the first and third quarters yesterday without Roy included some of the worst offensive basketball I've seen in my life. I do like that people who were calling for him to not play at all are suddenly in favor of him getting 24 mpg a few days later, though, because had they got their way, and Roy not played at all, the season would likely be over. 20/20 hindsight is fucking awesome.
Since when has Roy ever been a good scorer in the first quarter? He's notorious for being a closer in the 4th quarter, which is exactly what he did yesterday. If there were any criticisms of Roy in his first few years in the league, it was that he seemed like he wasn't trying hard enough in the first half, only to turn it up a notch or two in the second half.
