Comments on: Some thoughts on the Utah game

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:19:43 +0000

Great take Dwight. Staying up for ‘Talkin’ Ball’ is becoming worth the extra cup of coffee in the morning. Pasero and you have quite Felix and Oscar vibe going. All I have to ask is what happened to all of the posters who proliferated the site with talk of doom and gloom when we didn’t move half the roster to get V. Carter or B. Davis? I’m not going to say I told them so yet, but it would have been a mistake to blow-up this roster in February…now we are seeing what this team can achieve. I’m enjoying the fact that Pritchard wasn’t consumed with this spring, but the playoff runs of the next 5+ years.

By: benschon

benschon — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:29:29 +0000

I don’t get it, Dave in DC. Neither Phoenix nor Utah made 4th quarter runs that would have justified putting Roy back in. Look at the play by play game logs.

The explanation is McMillan’s overly rigid pattern of substituting players. Like clockwork–Memphis game excepted–Roy comes out at the end of the 3rd, and goes back in about two minutes into the 4th. But shouldn’t you be flexible when the lead is 20+ points and your star is a little beat up? Not to mention that there are some younger players who could benefit from a little burn.

Nate is a terrific coach. Success speaks for itself. But there are areas for improvement, and this is one of them.

By: kilntym

kilntym — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:36:35 +0000

Mike, that is some bold stuff you are shoveling there. Win total being held back to 50? With the youngest playing rotation in the league? No way you are serious about that. Please, do yourself a favor and say you were just kidding. Otherwise, that is really a poor statement to make.

Just before the All-Star break there were tons of people on this blog, including Dwight, who were questioning Nate’s ability to coach this team. Now that the team has virtually assured themselves a playoff spot, and they are competing for the 2nd seed in the Western Conference, a lot of those people have given up the “Fire Nate” mantra and replaced it with a “Go Blazers” one.

Yes, I know there are still those out there, myself included, who don’t agree with how Nate is using Greg (or not using Greg to run the offense through), but can you seriously say that he doesn’t have this team running on all cylinders at the perfect time of the season. His one-on-one talks with LA and BRoy have them both playing like All-Stars. His management of Sergio and Jerrod has been masterful (on most teams, that would be a constant story for the beat writer). His ability as a leader to motivate, nurture, and manage this team is uncanny. Serious question here, but have you ever been in a true leadership position? Not an “Office Space” position where you had “as many as 4 people working under you”, but a real position where your decisions affected those who work for you.

Your argument is that Nate cannot run a rotation, but doesn’t the team’s record and their place in the standings despite their inexperience and their youth prove you wrong? But, hey, I guess all of those sportswriters who have him in contention for COY must be wrong. Good thing we have you to set us all straight.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:52:22 +0000

CVD –
No I’m not joking. Nate is a “Defensive Minded” coach, who can’t coach defense… And I see the win total as being held back to 50 not up to 50. With that team Dr.Dre could have got this win total and you’d all be on my side that he’s not the right coach. Nate would make a great assistant, but not a head coach, at least for the Blazers.

By: Dave in DC

Dave in DC — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:24:10 +0000

As mentioned above, Roy sat the whole 4th against the Grizz. And by my count, it was 10 quick points, taking the lead from 29 to 19 that brought him back in. No one played more than 38 minutes (Roy finished at 34). We had two days off before and don’t play again until Friday. Relax…..

By: Chucky

Chucky — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:47:15 +0000

I have always been of the mindset that you secure the game and therefore you leave your starters in a bit longer than you should. That being said I feel Nate does leave BRoy and LA in a bit longer than needed. At the same time though BRoy is a very smart player and I would bet Nate has had many conversations about when to expend energy and when to save energy. Last night, for example, right before coming out BRoy drove baseline past his defender. Normally, he would have aggressively attacked the rim, drawing contact and probably taking a hit. On this drive though he nonchalantly kicked the ball out to a teammate. I think BRoy is smart enough to conserve energy when he needs to. His being on the court is merely a stabilizing force that helps keep the game in check, and he can do this without really wearing himself out all that much.

By: PDXBuckeye

PDXBuckeye — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:36:48 +0000

On Oden,

He is coming along nicely. Love the kid, he is just good people.

Once he gets the speed of the NBA game down, cleans up some of his footwork and positioning he will be a monster in the middle…

I love the fact that the Blazers never took their foot off the peddle…plan on crushing your opponent, make them take the game away from you if you are going to get an L.

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:35:09 +0000

I’m already worried about next year and the Webster/Batuum debate. Will they be battling in training camp for the coveted starter’s role or does it go back to Martell because he was out injured and not demoted? This will be interesting to watch develop.

By: PDXBuckeye

PDXBuckeye — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:32:31 +0000

I am not one for complaining about officiating typically and i know Blazer fans do it a lot. Some of it is with good reason though.

We all know all stars tend to get the calls when they are on offense, Brandon hardly ever does, he was knocked to the ground on 3 straight plays driving toward the rim in the Cavs home game this year, no call…That got me talking about officiating…

The charge that was called in the Phoenix game against Roy was beyond defensible, I don’t care how fast the game moves you can’t miss that call, inexcusable. Whoever he ran into was directly under the hoop, not a toe was even touching the circle and our allstar gets called for charging? that got my attention…Particularly galling in the game after the Sixer game where Aldridge was planted firmly outside the circle before iguogo (you know who I mean) even crossed the 3 point line (and then lost his dribble for a moment and then collided with a stationary Aldridge) That call should never be made with 20 seconds left, that is a classic no call if not a charge. Say what you will about the Blazers in that OT, but it would have never got there with out that call…

Oden constantly gets manhandled by opposing teams, which is fine, he is a big boy, he can handle it, it just seems ridiculous to call him for touch fouls on the other end…I would say most of the calls Portland fans complain about on oden are reasonable calls, but a goodly number are outrageous…

These things dramatically effect the outcome of the game and NEVER seem to be called evenly…

I know it is tough, I do not expect perfection, just consistency and if you are going to blow a whistle with less than 30 seconds left in a game, you better be sure you are making the right call…

By: CVD2312

CVD2312 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:22:16 +0000

Mike:

You’re joking, right? Nate has done a fantastic job this year. There’s always going to be some things you don’t agree with, but there is a reason why he is a top-5 candidate for coach of the year. There’s also a reason that Portland has improved to a 50+ win team from a 21 win team in 3 years, and its not only the players.