You can't tell me that Miller is the reason why we are playing like this. Is it because we miss Batum? Is it because Roy isn't the same guy? This team isn't playing nearly as well as it did last season. What is the reason? Nate?
Well you know. They just didn't look that good tonight. They all looked over rated. But again, it could be the game plan they are trying to execute out there as well.
Integrating new players (Oden, Miller, Webster) causing other players (Roy, Aldridge) to become unsure of their roles. And players just playing worse. Blake and Joel are the biggest culprits, but Roy and Aldridge are doing worse as well.
It's probably a mixture of things, but the biggest thing that jumps out at me the fact that players are talking an awful lot about role confusion on this team. To me this is as much a GM problem as it is a coaching problem. KP has done a marvelous job of drafting offensive minded finesse and rhythm players, but has done almost nothing to fill actual holes on this roster with positional players and role-players. - Dante does a nice job of being a hustle guy, but he's a rookie - Bayless can usually stay in front of a man, but fouls a lot and doesn't play that much. - Joel takes pride in his defense, but looks not nearly as energized as he did last year - Oden takes pride in his D but he's still really young and raw. - Batum, or only true wing defender is on the shelf. Other than that you mostly have guys who are either not physically imposing on defense (because of lack of quickness or raw bulk) or are offensive minded players trying to pick up 'D' the best they can. Another issue is not having enough hustle players; chemistry issues and role confusion would probably be even more glaring if we didn't have 4 guys on the shelf already, two of whom were pretty large components of this team's rotation last season. When you think of GMs who seem to have a vision for how they want their teams to operate I look at RC Buford and Daryl Morey as prime examples of how you go about surrounding your core with complimentary pieces. I'm not so sure KP has bought into this yet, he seems to have almost become paralyzed with fear of giving up a young player that might blossom somewhere else.
This team shows how it misses Batum's defensive pressure and his blocks. Also the team is missing Outlaw offensive game plays or hustle.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We are missing Travis. He's a big part of our success with his abilitiy to create shots against tough D. Also the guards inability to feed the post is rediculous sometimes.
We played like this last year too. Thing is, we ended up winning a bunch of games that were really close and that skewed our record a bit. Same problems, different guys.
What we're seeing now is a direct result of a disastrous off-season, in my opinion. 1) Terrible draft (doesn't look quite so bad now that Dante has proven a pleasant surprise). 2) Terrible free agency pursuit of Torkoglu, Millsap, and then the eventual catch of Miller who no one was quite convinced was the perfect fit. 3) Signing injured rookies to guaranteed contracts and tying up roster spots that we all know Pritchard won't cut. 4) Bizarre contract negotiations with Roy and Aldridge, irritating a large portion of the fan base by drawing them out way too long, only to end up offering both guys as much or more than they asked for in the first place -- way over-paid, in my opinion, and we're seeing now that neither guy is a well-rounded enough player to build around as dual corner stones. 5) McMillan sticking his foot in his mouth (or somewhere worse) by declaring Blake the starter before training camp had even started. That had disaster written all over it. Blake gets the special "incumbent" treatment but Pryz is demoted after a great year? Ok... Might as well just come out and tell the guys to expect poor decision making all year. 6) Over-reliance on McMillan's antiquated conditioning test. Sure seems to me there's a high correlation between guys passing the test with flying colors and reportedly being in the best shape of their life, and subsequently having lots of injury problems... Webster and Blake last year, Outlaw this year... (Can't remember how Batum did on the test, but his shoulder was already an issue).
It could be that McMillan is nearing the end of his useful life as the Trail Blazers' coach, if he can't make the game plan clearer to his obviously very talented roster. He's right - that the team needs to do a better job of simply working on defense - but he can't say, as he did in today's paper, that it's up to the players to work out the problems on the offensive end. Aren't these your plays, Nate? It's time to drill down, over the next few days, on a few plays for Roy, a few plays for Aldridge (preferably that don't result in 18 foot jump shots), a few plays for Oden, and even some plays for Miller, Blake, and Webster. Yes, probably a big problem on the offensive end is that defenses are no longer allowing Roy to create his own shot, and without Outlaw, Fernandez is the only guy who can create his own shot out there, and he just doesn't get that many minutes. The next week, when Nate only has to prep for two very winnable home games are a huge test for him, and the team. If the team goes 0-2, Pritchard ought to be thinking seriously about making a change.
You'd think KP would be chomping at the bit to bring in "his guy" at coach. I thought most GM's wanted a coach that they hired to guide the team in their direction.
I think the franchise is somewhat crippled by the current regime's emphasis on character. Until public perception turns against Nate (and players like Blake and possibly even Roy of late), moves will not be made because that flies in the face of good character.
Maybe, but at this point I'm not really sure I trust that KP has a vision for this team (aside from collect as much young talent as possible and throw them out there).
Some GM's get caught up in obtaining as much talent as they possibly can. Bob Whitsitt was one of them. KP appears to be one of them. I've never understood how it's not obvious to these guys that you can't have starter-quality players at every backup position. Sure, it's a nice luxury if someone gets hurt, but those guys are going to want minutes. Especially if they're young. I really thought KP was a good GM until last season during the trade deadline. It was painfully obvious that we needed a consolidation trade, and that we needed to move RLEC.
I was in the same camp. I thought he had made very concrete moves that were leading to a goal, and then when the moment was upon him to start cashiering these acquired "assets" and begin the process of crystallizing things a little bit, he missed his mark, now it's been nearly a year since that deadline passed and he's still hedging (as far as I can tell, without knowing what's going on his head). Obviously there's still time to make moves, but I wonder if KP has it in his DNA to make that step from 'talent collector' to 'roster builder', it's perhaps not that big of a distinction on paper, but in practice I think the latter is much much more difficult than the former.
I don't think you have starter quality players starting at two positions, let alone riding the pine. It looks to me like a lot of panic about nothing. You can't win 'em all, and a 12-7 record is a 63% win % - quite good. The Blazers went on big winning streaks/hot streaks the last two seasons, and I wouldn't be surprised if they do so again. Playoffs? Certainly. 2nd round? Less certain.
