exactly how I feel. Well said. I'm not saying the dude is a star. But he isnt being used right IMO. Run him off everything. Rip Hamilton use. The adjustment is on Nate IMO.
Exactly HOW is he supposed to "take advantage" of Nash? Take him in the post with his great bulk and vast array of post moves? Blow by him with his amazing ball-handling skills? If the team wants to use Rudy then they have to run him off some screens. This reminds me of Glen Rice in LA (only in reverse). His game tanked because he wasn't a "triangle" player. (Ironically, I think Rudy would flourish in the triangle.) But part of the reason LA beat the Blazers that year was because in a playoff game Jackson actually abandoned the triangle and ran some more traditional plays for Rice.
Well put. Martell is a similar player, BTW. That time he scored 25 in a quarter it was because the team was running him off screens. So it IS possible. (Martell has made adjustments and is useful in other ways, but it's taken time, and it's essentially because he is now resigned to being a bench player. But he's been here for longer than anyone.)
Could be...no one outside of the Blazer organization has all the facts really. It just seems like every time that Rudy is given an opportunity to start in the playoffs, he becomes the invisible man. And if he is camped in the corner, then he needs to put up more than 2 shots. Maybe he envisioned himself as this huge superstar in the NBA, but obviously he hasn't shown that he has the skill set to be an elite role player. Everyone wants to blame the coaching staff, but I don't buy that. It appears that maybe he has a problem getting motivated when everything isn't going exactly how he wants it. Rudy just needs to man up and play in the role assigned to him, because that's whats going to help the team. I do agree that he is at his best when being run off screens though, so hopefully we can see more of that.
now that I think about it too.. Rudy was bringing the ball up a lot. Dude to Andre being shadowed everywhere by Hill. So Rudy was thrown into the role of PG and that is not his game IMO. So it is on the coaching staff to man up and get him in a position to succeed. Gentry made a GREAT adjustment on disrupting our offense. Its kinda doing what I want Batum doing to Nash all game. Now it is on Nate to adjust to the adjustment Gentry made.
Trolls always suffer from reading comprehension and a lack of knowledge of the game, and this thread demonstrates that perfectly. Rudy's response to unprofessional baiting by Quick was the same things Clyde Drexler repeated over and over when he was stuck on the bench behind the more limited, more structured Jim Paxson. Had this quote not been deliberately deleted by the OP, this thread wouldn't seem quite as much like a post from a Suns fan. "I open the space for my teammates, and the spacing has been good," Fernandez said. "That's my role -- and to help teammates when I have the ball in my hands. And when I have an opportunity for a shot, shoot. "I think the first game I was a good defender, good defense against Richardson," Fernandez said. " The last game ... I don't like my play in the second game." Spot on answer. Rudy's biggest talent is moving without the ball, and he's demonstrated his whole career that he's one of the best, and quickest ever at it. But since Sergio left, we've not had a player quick-witted enough to recognize that split-second feint, nor with the speed and accuracy required to get him the ball in that split-second of opportunity. Also notable is where he refers to "my role", which Nate has designated, and it's a tiny role that fails to utilize his many talents. Hounding a guy for not dropping 20pts a game when he's told to simply stand on the side behind the arc without the ball all night is just plain retarded. Why didn't Quick go after Channing Frye last year for the same infraction? Channing's 10 times the player he was last year. All he needed was a coach who would let him play his game.
He's already succeeded on a much bigger stage, The Olympics. But from your attacks I can assume you've never watched them.
Oh I see how it is. According to Rudy nothing is broke. He is doing what he is supposed to do. I guess he is supposed to launch bricks and be totally ineffective on both ends of the floor. How stupid was I to think he was supposed to actually make decent percentage of his shots, and take more than 2 of them. Oh and his defense on Richardson was great in game 1 somehow. I must not know what I am talking about in basketball, and now with Rudy's sharp retorts, now I know I am in the wrong. But now I am wondering, if Rudy is playing like a starter is supposed to play, how the hell would we win a game if all of our starters only put up 5 points a game and shot 37%. I guess if I knew more about basketball, I would know.
So, you want Nate to change the entire offense for Rudy? Rip's offense, and Indy's with Miller, was based on baseline screens, back screens, and more screens. I think it would be disastrous to change the entire offense for a guy who hasn't shown he deserves to have an offense created around him.
They have been doing this all season, I don't know WTF you folks are talking about. The "Reggie Miller run guys all over the place and through 2 screens for the elbow jumper play" has been in the arsenal all (of his being healthy)season. The problem is, that Rudy often gets bumped going through the middle and is so fucking skinny he can't take the hit, and can't break free of his defender. Even with it in place, Rudy is missing open shots. .378 is fucking pathetic. It's not like a ton of the looks he has got haven't been wide open. Good players in the NBA knock down an open 3 near 50% of the time. Nothing more needs be said.
Last year Rudy played with a lot of spirit, freedom and vision. Hmmm... Wonder why things aren't working out under Nate McMillan.
^^^^ Seriously how hard is it to make a guy sound like a Diva when you ask such stupid questions. Especially to someone where English is their second language. I'm sure Rudy is like WTF is up with these reporters around here Once again I blame the coaching staff for not running plays for Rudy or exploited match-ups (Nash)
Are you saying you think the Blazers have NO such plays in their playbooks? How did Martell score 25 points in a quarter? Go back and watch. 1. Running a few plays for him is not "changing the entire offense". 2. Explain what you mean by "hasn't shown he deserves". He has shown that he struggles in the role Nate has put him in. Are you saying "I won't play to your strengths unless you prove you don't need me to"?
I agree with e_blazer and think Maris also made some good points. I think it's clear Rudy is frustrated, and it's been reported he feels lonely and homesick. If I was having a bad day and work and a bad time generally, I would not want 20,000 people (and millions on TV) to watch my work and then a bunch of people commenting on it and calling me a douche because I did not want to talk to Crapanzo!
That would be a better point if Nate hadn't been his coach last year too. It's safe to say that Rudy is struggling. More than anything he's missing Sergio. Like that wasn't predictable. It's sad, but unless somehow we get Ricky Rubio or go in a completely different coaching direction (Adelman!), Rudy should go this off-season. But right now, however not-well-rounded he is as a player, we could get a lot more out of him by experimenting a bit on offense. I hope we do. (I do wonder why Andre hasn't thrown more alley-oops for Rudy, given that Andre is the King of the NBA at this. Maybe Spaniards do have a telepathic connection.
He's taken that freedom away from him. He's trying to slam a round peg in his square hole. You know, just like he did with Miller until he ran out of options. "You don't play the way we want you to play."
