Or at least 3/5ths of one. Hopefully the Blazers can add one one this offseason. We really only need 9 players in the rotation.
Wait for it. It won't be long, though, when someone will stop by to semi-scold....reminding us that this so-called bench improvement has been against the likes of the T-Pups and Bob-Pussies.
I like what I've seen the past few games from the Maynor/Lillard/X/Claver/Leonard lineup Stotts has been rolling out. Offensively Maynor and Leonard look like a good tandem with nice chemistry, and Lillard off the ball seems to work really well (plus I think even with the terrible form Leonard is probably our best pick setter, ad Damian is a beast with even an average pick). Plus I just like how smart Claver plays, hopefully his shooting keeps getting better, and I'm impressed with him holding his own vs PFs. The test is how does that lineup do vs a team that isn't Minny or Charlotte, both of which are bad defensively but also run lineups with multiple small guards. Gotta see what happens when Lillard has to be matched up vs a true wing instead of a combo guard.
I have always loved a 2 PG line up. Throw in Nic and you have 3 guys who can dribble and pass on the floor........ at the same time! Claver works well with that unit as well. I love small ball. Even if it is only for 5-10 minutes a game.
I think if we add a starting center and someone who can score off the bench, this team will be ready for the playoffs. I would like to get Redick and Dalembert. I wonder if we could keep Maynor and sign Redick and Dalembert. Lillard/Maynor Redick/Matthews Batum/Claver Aldridge/Freeland Dalembert/Leonard That's a pretty good team, I think.
Claver shows some of the best consistency on our bench. He's really coming around to be a well rounded bench player
I think Olshey is going to put all our eggs in one basket again and go for a big time free agent. He just doesn't seem like the type to sign 2-3 decent players on crappy contracts.
[video=youtube;RUsdfgom2eE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUsdfgom2eE[/video] Here's Olshey talking about free agency last summer. The guy has a plan and he's sticking with it.
Good luck with that, Redick... He's a great player and maybe the best shooter in the entire league, but if some team pays him $10 mill per, that'll go down as one of the worst contracts of free agency.
