Our offense has so much more flow and motion to it with Sergio out there. Tonight players were cutting and Sergio was finding the open man. The tempo is faster and just overall more effective, IMO. START SERGIO!
I don't think anyone's ever questioned Sergio's offensive ability (although his shot is still inconsistent). It's his defense that prevents him from getting the PT. Guys can really blow by him easily.
I have brought that up on this board a few times. However, our offense is A LOT smoother with Sergio out there. He makes everyone better. I can live with his defense when he makes McMillan's predictable slow offense effective and up's the tempo.
I have not been too high on Sergio but I am coming around, he has been playing very well. I would actually like to see him starting as long as Batum is also starting. I think that Sergio is the better facilitator and with 4 other good defenders on the floor (Roy, Batum, Aldridge and Joel/Oden) I think the Blazers can better deal with the porous defense of Sergio. I think the Blazers may be shooting themselves in the foot in the long run if they opt for Blake (who has also been good lately) over Sergio.
Sergio played pretty well tonight. He didn't force too much. Had the nice drive and step back 10 footer. He deserves more time, just there is a lot of guys that probably deserve more time -- Frye and J. Bay. -- but without room it makes it hard. I thought he played pretty well in the 4th.
From what I saw last night, Sergio and Rudy make a good pair. When they are on together, they are fast, they know where each other are. I guess playing together before helps
Nate will never play Sergio the minutes he deserves because Nate doesn't like to play fast.......despite what he says all the time
Nate played Sergio a nice amount of time yesterday because he did not make mistakes, hit his shots and tried to stay in front of his man on D - so the above statement is bullcrap. I said it before and I will say it again - the reason Sergio's minutes are limited is because of his play. If he plays like a real NBA PG - he will get minutes. Nate has nothing to lose by putting a good PG on the court - and when Sergio plays like one (as he did last night) - he gets the minutes. Time to get your collective heads out of your man-crush covered towel and see what is really happening... The same was true of the unfounded belief that Nate will not play Rudy - Rudy plays like an NBA player - and he gets the minutes. There is no mystery to the situation, there is no conspiracy - if Sergio plays properly - he will see minutes - if he sucks - he will not.
No it's not bullcrap. Blake and Jack made similar mistakes all last year, and Blake to some extent this year, but Nate conitunues to favor them. So what you are saying is if Sergio plays a perfect game he will play more than 10 minuted a night? Nate has a shorter leash with Sergio than any other guard. That is obvious
Sergio is the 4th guard on the team... 10-15 minutes is what a 4th guard gets... When he played well, he got minutes. Blake is playing well, plays better D than Sergio, doesn't make mistakes and can play well off the ball when Roy has the ball in his hands (which he does a lot)... he plays off Roy much better than Sergio, this is why. If Sergio plays better and better, Blake's minutes will be cut over time in favor of Sergio, but Roy gets 35+ mpg and Rudy gets 30+ mpg, its tough. Last night showed that if Sergio plays well and gives us a better chance to win, Nate will even keep him in there in the 4th QTR.
Never been a huge Sergio fan, but the kid is looking damn good this year. Your PG should be able to start the offense and create easy opportunities for his teammates. He is the only PG on the roster that can do this. His ast/to ratio is great his defense has improved as has his shot. He's also looks really confident this year now that he has Rudy with him. I hate to say this but I wish Blake would suffer a minor injury so Nate would be forced to start Sergio for a few games to see what he could do.
Ever since Sergio went public with his trade request . . . I have lost my Sergio homerism and watch his play in a nuetral way (I would lean against him but he is a Blazer after all). Watching him last night (one of his best nights) . . . Sergio is a journeyman PG who can easily be replaced.
How dare you defend Nate, claiming that he's trying to win games by putting the players on the court that give him the best shot to do that. I was really pleased with Sergio's game last night, and it had a lot to do with playing respectable defense, and taking (and making) smart shots; his step back jumper left of the key late in the fourth quarter was great and is something I hope works on tirelessly, because I think it could become a bread and butter shot for him. I've been critical of Sergio at times, but had started to warm to him during the pre-season and then became a little discouraged when he started to revert back to old, bad habits, but in the last two games he's really starting to show some maturity and poise ... and that's the real reason Nate gave him 19 minutes last night on the heels of his solid game against the Magic. I hope he keeps showing consistency, because this team could definitely use a well-rounded point guard with his playmaking abilities.
the steady increase in Sergio's minutes over the last week tends to contradict your claim; if anything he's been slowly lengthening the leash as Sergio shows that he can do more than pass. Frankly I thought his very hard foul on Dwight Howard the other night may have tipped the psychological scale in our favor in that game (and got into D12's head as he went to the foul line) and could have perked up Nate's ears. Nate loves guys who scrap.
I think his increased PT has more to do with Rudy. Rudy helps make Sergio look good. They work together well (both directions). I agree that the ball/player movement is a lot better with Sergio on the court, but Rudy is out there at the same time and helps with that also. Right now, I like the second unit with Rudy and Sergio.
Does anyone see a correlation to Sergio playing last night and his Spanish agent raising a fuss and Sergio meeting with KP and Nate then playing and playing well? I do, and I believe that Rudy is very much responsible for Sergio's improvement. Rudy is communicating with him as to what he needs to do and Sergio is doing it. Nate may have a blind spot in communicating to Sergio. Anyway seems more than a coincidence. g
Any chance last night he was showcasing Sergio? Marion? I don't think so, Nate's not the type to do anything but play to win. Just curious what others think?
How many minuets has Sergio gotten in his two plus years here. Not all that many. If he is given more leeway he would blossom a lot better but Nate is not allowing that. Look at Bayless, hardly any minuets at all. Even he is better than that. And would soon be better than Blake. Both players need more time and at Blake's expense. Blake is not the future. If Nate does not open up in this area and run a quicker team game he will be replaced by next year IMO. KP will see to it. Even the Lakers play a quicker game than the Blazers. Why? g Edit: Sorry about using the hated L word and Blazers in the same sentence.
