There are reports out of Spain that Real Madrid wants to sign Rudy Fernandez for next season. And a part of the story is that Rudy is saying he’s not comfortable with his role in Portland.

As we’ve predicted, this is inevitable. While Rudy has not played well this season over any length of time, in his mind he can’t play well until he gets more consistent playing time. Make no mistake, this guy has been a star his whole life and he came to this country to be a star.

There’s no way he’s going to spend much more time as anyone’s backup. You can debate all you want how much he should play here — and really, he has not gotten the job done this season — but in his mind, he’s being misused.

What has to happen here, though, is the Trail Blazers to come to grips with the idea that eventually Rudy has got to be moved. Long term, it’s just not going to work.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez

Chris Paul wide open at the end of a game for the eventual game-winner? The ball in Jerryd Bayless’s hands in the waning seconds for a jump shot? That’s what we saw last night. And in the end, the Trail Blazers gave back one of those hard-fought road wins they got last week.

Ugh.

Paul got open in a bit of a freaky play, falling down — and apparently out of sight — before getting up and finding himself open for what amounted to a free throw to win the game. It was like one of those football plays where the tight end goes to the ground as if to block and then gets up and into a pass pattern.

Then the Trail Blazers inbound to Bayless — way out almost near the halfcourt line. Now Brandon Roy might be able to get you a makeable shot in that situation — since just about any shot is makeable for Roy — but Bayless? Well, if he isn’t going to attempt to get the ball to the basket, I’m not sure I like his chances with a jump shot.

But that game was lost in the minutes before those last two possessions. The Trail Blazers, no doubt fatigued from their trip, didn’t seem to have enough energy to finish. Andre Miller, especially, seemed to have nothing left in the tank.

Next time around, I’d love to see Martell Webster or Rudy Fernandez get that final shot, by the way. It was another excruciating loss, quite obviously. And with the upcoming schedule, there may be more to come.

The All-Star break can’t get here soon enough for this team. It needs a few days off.

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Tags: Chris Paul, Dwight Jaynes, Jerryd Bayless, Martell Webster, New Orleans Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez

Man, Blazer fans, you have to move on. You’re questioning calls from that Atlanta game that really aren’t worth questioning. While ignoring that the game should never have gotten into overtime without the referees looking the other way while Rudy Fernandez traveled before making the game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

The call that really got under your skin was the one where Steve Blake was whistled for stepping on the sideline, isn’t it? Yes, you’ve looked at it on replay four or five times and it APPEARS to you that although his foot was hanging over the line, it never actually came down on the line, right?

Come on, get real. There isn’t a referee in the world, faced with such a split-second decision, wouldn’t have whistled him for being out of bounds. They don’t have replay. They get one quick look and that’s it and from that look it simply HAD to appear that he was on the line. For you to expect any other call would have been ridiculous.

Folks, the real question is this: What the heck was he doing way over there at the start of the play? Why even be close to the line? Blame it on a referee if you want, but he was way too close to have any complaint with a referee.

The over-and-back call? Well, it also appeared on that one that the ball was tipped. If it was, no over and back.

The only easy call of all of those was when Rudy did the electric slide before pulling up for the game-tying three-pointer and wasn’t called for a travel. Now THAT was a bad call –  or no-call.

Man, you’ve got to accept the officiating — either way. It is what it is. Focus on the players, the coaches and the game. That’s really where it’s all settled. Not by the officials.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, NBA referees, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake

Like I said on “Talkin’ Ball” last night, this was not a game to get worried about. In their fifth game in seven days, the Blazers played a very good game. In fact, that’s as well as they’ve played all season.

In mid-November, you can’t get worked up about the outcome, it’s how you’re playing that really counts. I said that in some of the Portland wins — yes, it was fine that the Blazers won but the real issue was they weren’t playing well.

I’d like to have seen Rudy Fernandez get some shots early in overtime. The guy hits a stunner like the one he buried to tie the game at the buzzer, I’d come out in the overtime and want to try to ride him. Instead, he really didn’t get much of a chance until it was a pretty hopeless situation. And he responded favorably.

Portland opened the game establishing both Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge in the post. Now THAT’s how you’re supposed to start games. It’s too bad that later it reverted to more of a perimeter game.

And I’d also mention that this game showed how much it hurts the team to start — and use throughout the game — three guards. Portland was pounded on the boards all night long and a lot of it was just expecting the two big men to do all the rebounding.

You’ve got to get boards from your small forwards and off-guards, too. Portland’s stock in trade is rebounding the ball but that’s going to be difficult to maintain against the more active or taller teams without another forward in the lineup.

UPDATE — forgot to mention this earlier. The zone defense really makes it difficult to rebound, too. It was effective in terms of getting misses out of the Hawks, but blocking out when you’re playing zone is problematical and Atlanta found numerous paths to the offensive boards. Long-term, zones are usually not much of a solution in the NBA.

Good game, though. Atlanta is getting a lot out of its talent right now. Be interesting to see if the Hawks can keep it up for a significant length of time.

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Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez

First, let me say that I hope, for his sake (it’s a contract year for him!), that the six-to-eight-weeks prognosis is correct. But it may be a little optimistic, I’m afraid. The tiny bones in your feet — particularly when you’re very tall — do not heal quickly because the blood flow to that region isn’t very strong.

They heal slowly, as we saw with Martell Webster last season. And they’re fragile enough that if you come back too soon you’re a prime candidate for reinjury, which we also saw last season with Martell Webster.

I don’t think this one has a huge impact on the Trail Blazers’ wins and losses this season. Yes, Outlaw is a proven off-the-bench scorer who has made big shots. But he’s not improved much on the defensive end and isn’t a particularly energetic rebounder. In the long run, this should mean more minutes for Webster, Rudy Fernandez and even Juwan Howard — which is a good thing.

And I think there are other shotmakers on this team who will step up in the fourth quarter. Andre Miller, Fernandez, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden are all solid options.

I believed at the outset of the season that if all the Portland players stayed healthy it could be a nightmare season for Coach Nate McMillan, trying to get minutes for all his young players. The injuries help thin the rotation out to a manageable number, though. And the defense should be better without Outlaw staggering around trying to remember who he is guarding.

One thing, though — they can’t handle many more injuries. Any more and it WILL impact the wins and losses.

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Tags: Andre Miller, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw

You’ve probably seen this in The Columbian already but it’s worth linking to, I think. We talked earlier about Rudy Fernandez and his desire to play more minutes. And certainly, he did take a big cut in pay to come over here and play:

Fernandez acknowledged that he needs to push the agenda when he is on the court. And he did just that Sunday, playing aggressive basketball while recording five points, six assists and five rebounds during more than 23 minutes of action in Portland’s 116-93 victory over the Timberwolves.

But before the blowout, he questioned his role on a team filled with talent and depth at the guard position, using the phrase “I don’t know” four times during a two-minute pregame interview.

Fernandez is listed as the Blazers’ No. 2 shooting guard, behind starter Brandon Roy. However, McMillan’s decision to insert point guard Andre Miller into the team’s starting lineup along with incumbent starter Steve Blake and Roy has only deepened the Blazers’ build up at the 2 guard slot.

While Miller and Blake share point-guard duties, both are able to shift over and play the shooting-guard role. In addition, reserve guard Jerryd Bayless took the court for the first time last Friday against the Spurs, and played more than 17 minutes Sunday.

Fernandez said this only complicates his standing on the Blazers.

“Right now, I don’t know my situation in the team,” said Fernandez, who dealt with back spasms during training camp and missed four preseason games. “Blake play in the 2 (guard) position. For sure (that) is one more player in that position. Right now, I’m focusing in my work and taking (care of) my back. And when I’m on the court, play hard to help my teammates.”

Fernandez, a native of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, added that he is losing money by playing in the NBA, rather than starring in his home country.

“For me, it’s wait my turn … and play hard,” Fernandez said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s five minutes, 10 minutes or 35.”

Following Sunday’s victory, McMillan said that playing time is based on what his players do, and that every decision is made to try and win a game.

“Everybody’s minutes have dropped. So, that’s where it’s at,” McMillan said. “And we’ve got to understand that.”

I have said this before, but I don’t envy McMillan in this situation. I think he’s been put in a position where it’s going to be hard for him to keep everyone happy. Someone is going to be ticked off most of the time.

I’ve said it enough times by now that I’m sure you know where I’m going but I’ll reiterate it one more time: Rudy Fernandez did not come over here to be anybody’s backup. Inevitably, he’s going to have to be dealt. And I’d try to do it when his value is at its highest.

For the Blazers’ sake, I would hope he’d play enough to enhance that value.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake

No, quite simply, it is not. But I think it’s fair to be concerned. Sometimes trends set in the early season can be habit forming. As I’ve said previously, wins or losses aren’t as important is the way a team is playing.

And this team is not playing well. I saw so many things Tuesday night in that home loss to Atlanta. How about a few of these mystifying things:

– Brandon Roy had more trouble handling the ball than I’ve ever seen him have. Don’t know what the problem was but he was losing it constantly.

– Greg Oden : Damn, you just have to do a better job of avoiding fouls. It’s like it’s getting worse instead of better. Stay within yourself, don’t try to block everything. Be a little smarter. My goodness, if this guy ever gets it figured out, he’s a rebounding machine! His rebounds-per-minute are off the charts. For that reason, stay on the floor, Greg! Frank Brickowski, who had a long career in the NBA and fouled people a LOT, said on “Talkin’ Ball” last night that maybe Greg is too nice to the officials. He advocates him going off at some point at a referee and letting those guys know he’s not going to take it any more. Given all the talk recently about grudges, I’m not so sure. But it couldn’t get much worse for the guy than it is now.

– Defense. Ugh. No help. G0ing behind screens on good shooters rather than over the top of screens. No help defense on the wings or point guards. Failure to defend the pick and roll with any consistency. No help defense. Too many fouls. Did I mention no help defense?

– Effort. Are they not playing hard? I don’t think that’s intentionally happening. I think they’re trying to play hard. But it’s hard to play hard when you are confused. And they’ve got several players on the floor who look perpetually confused about their roles.

– Rotation. Speaking of roles, I know the coach is still experimenting but while he’s doing that there is seemingly no reliable rotation. Players are being put in unfamiliar situations. That can be difficult.

– Fast break points. What fast break points? Man, averaging fewer than five FB points a game is a joke. This is a young and energetic team. I’m going to say this one more time — nobody expects them to be a Paul Westhead, crazy-running team. But you have to get the opportunity points that are out there, particularly for a team that seems to shoot long jump shots all the time in the halfcourt game.

– Rudy Fernandez. Whatever happened to him?

– 50 Atlanta points in the paint. My goodness, the Hawks don’t even have a post player. That’s just from slashes to the basket or ball penetrations — a symbol of how awful the defense is.

So yeah, that’s just a few of the things. And might I say, these are not, for the most part, new problems. They’re old ones that have been festering for a season. Panic? Not yet. But if you’re not concerned, you’re not paying attention.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez

No official announcement yet, but there’s little doubt in my mind what Nate McMillan is going to do when the season opens Tuesday night.

He’s going to start Steve Blake at the point and Nic Batum at small forward, along with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, just like last season. But the one change he’s going to make is Greg Oden at center. Oden forced this move, playing so well in the exhibition season that he left McMillan no choice. It’s Oden’s job and there’s hope in the Rose Quarter it will be his job for the next decade.

McMillan has been waiting for Blake to come around during the entire preseason and finally, Thursday night in Vancouver against Phoenix, he did. That’s all Nate needs, I think, to declare Blake the starter — even though you could make the case that Miller has outplayed him. Eventually, it could be Miller’s job but for right now, it’s going to be Blake.

It’s been relatively easy for the Blazer coach to make substitutions with the injuries the team has suffered early. But when Rudy Fernandez is ready to go, it’s going to get tougher in a hurry.

I don’t know how much Jerryd Bayless is going to play, unless he passes Miller in the rotation — which I can’t see happening. And Rudy needs his 25 minutes. This is where it’s going to get interesting — because Travis Outlaw expects big minutes, too.

Understand, by the way, I have no inside information here — this is what I think Nate McMillan will do. Not necessarily what I’d do, either. For me, I think Miller would have to start. But I just can’t see the coach doing it — at least for now. I think McMillan’s perception is that his “first unit” functions better with Blake at the point.

My argument is that, given time together, it’s always best to play your best players with each other — and I think Miller is a more talented player than Blake. And I think Miller would fit very well with the others after just a few games together.

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Tags: Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Jerryd Bayless, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nate McMillan, Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw

Keep in mind, it’s way too early to draw any conclusions, positive or negative, about the Trail Blazers. One meaningless exhibition game is no platform at all to build major conclusions.

Here are a few things I thought about during the sloppy game:

– Portland didn’t execute real well at either end of the floor. Nate McMillan’s reaction was perfect — “A good teaching tape,” he called it. Man, it was pretty ragged out there on both sides. And really, Sacramento is not going to be very good.

– Andre “Million Moves” Miller has gotten a lot of attention around here for his ability to get other people the ball. He’s a very smart player. But what hasn’t been talked about much is his ability to get his own shot — seemingly whenever he wants. The Blazers chased Hedo Turkoglu, ostensibly for his ability to create plays — but he’s minor league compared to Miller. The guy is really slick and the reason he can create a lot of plays for others is that he is pretty hard to guard — which sets up the need for other teams to help out on him, which, of course, sets up open teammates.

– Greg Oden is getting there. The quick spins at the low post were terrific — the best things he showed all night. Almost impossible to stop. The free-throw shooting was amazing. But keep in mind, too, he was playing against a team without a legit center. There was nobody there to guard him. Of course he got some shots off. It won’t always be that easy. But hey, he played a lot of minutes without a lot of fouls and was very active at both ends — and that’s really the important thing.

– Tyreke Evans is going to be a very good player.

– LaMarcus Aldridge is drifting more and more to the outside. Not sure that’s what they want from him — but as long as he’s making that jump shot, nobody is going to say much about it.

– Rudy Fernandez left his jumper in Europe. I think, though, it’s due to arrive any day now. He sure looks tired. I’d be tempted to give him a week or so off.

– This whole team looks as if it needs a day or two off. I hope everyone gets through tonight without injury and perhaps there is rest ahead.

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Tags: Andre Miller, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Tyreke Evans

It’s being reported that in preparation for Eurobaskets, Rudy has suffered an injury to, apparently, his right hamstring. Here’s one of those borderline funny translations:

The winger to shoot of the Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernández, that had to abandon the morning session of training of the Spanish selection of basketball in the Sports one Antonio Magariños of Madrid, suffers a muscular wound the right leg.

“Once it carried out a first exploration of the zone injured, Rudy Fernández suffers a small break fibrilar in the musculature isquiosural of the right leg”, assures the first medical report diffused by the FEB on the state of the Majorcan one, that starred in the scare of the morning day.

Besides, since the confederacy itself “esteem that to inside of some 48 hours itself will not be able to carry out a more concrete forecast on the time in which the player will should rested before being reinstated to the training with the remainder of its companions”.

Not one must forget that the Spanish delegation undertakes inside some hours bound for Lithuania where tomorrow will dispute a friendly one before the local selection to arrive at Poland, where Spain will debut September 7 before Serbia in the Eurobasket.

 And here is the original story:

 El alero balear de los Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernández, que tuvo que abandonar la sesión matinal de entrenamiento de la selección española de baloncesto en el Polideportivo Antonio Magariños de Madrid, sufre una lesión muscular la pierna derecha.

“Una vez realizada una primera exploración de la zona lesionada, Rudy Fernández sufre una pequeña rotura fibrilar en la musculatura isquiosural de la pierna derecha”, asegura el primer parte médico difundido por la FEB sobre el estado del mallorquín, que protagonizó el susto de la jornada matinal.

Además, desde la federación se “estima que hasta dentro de unas 48 horas no se podrá realizar un pronóstico más concreto sobre el tiempo en el que el jugador deberá guardar reposo antes de reincorporarse a los entrenamientos con el resto de sus compañeros”.

No hay que olvidar que la delegación española emprende dentro de unas horas rumbo a Lituania donde mañana disputará un amistoso ante la selección local para llegar a Polonia, donde España debutará el 7 de septiembre ante Serbia en el Eurobasket.

The fact that the foreign players often spend their summers toiling for national teams is always going to be a story in this country. Injuries now to Nic Batum and Fernandez — although neither seems to be serious this time — show the Trail Blazer downside to having these players on your roster, as San Antonio has found out over the years.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, hamstring injury, Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez