Does changing the starting lineup fix anything at this point? Or do our problems run much deeper than that?
It can't hurt. But only if he actually takes Blake out of the starting 5 and puts in Miller. Blake is a great backup combo guard, who can't run a team.
I wouldn't say everything, but it could be a step in the right direction. Playing defense would be a nice change too. And not having a predictable offense would probably benefit the team greatly.
He certainly didn't do what people thought he was so good at. Namely, feed it repeatedly to Oden or push the temp.
Blake would be better suited in the 2nd lineup. With Martell and his 3 point shooting, don't really need Blake out there since they just compete for shot after shot. Miller would be more apt at setting the tone early feeding the post.
I don't think he's given license to push the tempo. I think he's generally been good at getting the ball to Oden, even if he missed a couple of opportunities tonight.
Well, tonight it seemed that Brandon was content to take outside jumpers, so let Miller drive and dish if Roy isn't going to...
Well, I don't know about that tonight. Nate was practically screaming on the sidelines in the 4th to push the ball, but he still trotted it up.
For all the talk Nate has about "pushing the ball' and "running", how the team plays sure seems to directly and absolutely contradict that. If he wants them to push, why does he start mr anti-fastbreak himself, Steve Blake?
I would love to hear Nate throughout a game. It would answer a lot of questions about whether he wants us to push the tempo, feed the post, etc. Maybe we could mic him.
I was talking specifically about the 4th quarter, where Nate was screaming on the sidelines. Since some people seem to think all Nate has to say is "Push the ball" and we suddenly become a fast break team.
The team, KP and Nate, have been pushing the fallacy that Nate wants to be a running team for 5 years now. Why do people think he wants to have a running team is beyond me. I just wish the franchise would stop pissing on my leg and telling me it's raining. Nate is not a fast-break coach, and it's not because of the players who are here.
Brian Smith "tweeted" tonight that Nate has considered inserting Miller in the starting lineup for Steve Blake ... while he's at it can he also make Bayless the backup point guard too? It's just not acceptable to have a starting point guard in the NBA enter the final 4 minutes of a game with 0-2, with 2 assists in 20 minutes of play. He did hit some end of the game shots when the game was all but over to cut the lead, but at that point is there really any pressure on him to hit? Whatever, I can hardly even bring myself to care at this point, Nate loves to control the game from the sidelines and Steve is no threat to upset that balance, so he stays in. The difficulty Andre has with making jumpers in the half-court is a problem, but it could be mitigated if this team made a genuine effort to push the tempo after stops and also if they had some on the ball defenders who could stay in front of their man and/or get some steals. The worst kind of team in the league is a half-court team that doesn't play defense. KP has either got to get players who can play perimeter D or he needs a coach that wants to push the pace, this in-between shit is killing me.
Agreed. Roy has openly admitted that he likes to play at his own pace. He has said that coaches have implored him to run in the past, but he doesn't like to speed up. Roy isn't a runner. He's a half-court guy. I wouldn't blame it all on Roy, but I think he is a major factor in our pace.
Nate especially pissed me off with the minutes he gave to Blake and the lack thereof for Bayless. 3 minutes. . . honestly WTF??
Thing is, it's not all about running or fast breaks. It's about easy baskets, cuts and passes, give and go's, PnR's, backdoor cuts, inside->out, and screens. When was the last time this team scored consistently on any of those kinds of plays?
Well they did sign him for 80 million dollars as the player that he is and always has been. I don't see how him getting a bunch of money for being one type of player should make him want to try to be a different type of player..
It's gotta come soon, and Brandon will just have to learn to play with Andre. We just can't take Blake bricking shot after shot. Let him sit for awhile and see if he can be effective off the bench when there's not as much pressure, and maybe he can regain that spot. Blake is killing us.