Comments on: The new Trail Blazer starting lineup is ridiculous

By: tssbro

tssbro — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:52:48 +0000

Maybe this is crazy but I think Nate has these guys starting because they are the guys that know best how to space themselves on the floor both offensively and defensively. They understand the offensive sets and not only know where to be but what the movement is trying to accomplish and how to turn the advantages gained into baskets. Despite being “worse at three positions on defense” this unit understands what Nate wants the team to accomplish on defense as well and is turning defensive stops into transition baskets. There are better defensive line ups, better offensive lineups but I think this is the high basketball IQ line up. They ran the break quite well in terms of reading where the other was filling in and adjusting accordingly and getting the ball into a position to score.

By: tssbro

tssbro — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:28:20 +0000

2-0

By: Emmanuel, Marquis de Grouchy

Emmanuel, Marquis de Grouchy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:07:03 +0000

And the lineup has worked ridiculously well, at least so far.

There’s an old method of testing ideas, one that Edison perfected, that’s best described as “Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks”.

By: kitsune

kitsune — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:09:00 +0000

Bahahaha! Thanks for making me laugh. I knew there was a reason to read these comments.

By: Arvydas

Arvydas — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:31:15 +0000

Steve Blake sure has a lot of leverage in this organization. Holy smokes. How does he get 38 minutes in an NBA game? Only for the Blazers.

Trust me folks. Andre Miller, Rudy, and Webster need those minutes.

One more thing. I was at the game and I know my eyes are not deceiving me (I hope), but Jerryd Bayless was the BEST ATHLETE on the floor for both teams, maybe by a long ways. As in Dwayne Wade level athleticism. How you can bury a supreme athlete like that on the bench, well only the Blazers can have that luxury.

At some point we will trade Bayless and Rudy and we will watch them be heroes in the playoffs for some team in the East. And we’ll have Blake getting 38 minutes a game because he can hit a couple of threes a night playing off Brandon.

By: Panama

Panama — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:00:23 +0000

To be fair, Fernandez has not been given the consistent minutes that he has been promised. Blake has had the minutes despite a horrid preseason and was slumping until he played alongside Miller.

The bottom line is Rudy is the type of player who can help you win a ring. Keeping him on the bench and limiting his minutes when he can start for most NBA teams in favor of a journeyman at best in Blake is crazy.

Plus I think the Blake/Bayless combo off of the bench could work well for us

By: ralphzillo

ralphzillo — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:17:59 +0000

I think Nate did it just to piss off Dwight – and boy did it work (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean, know what I mean)

By: peregrinebrm

peregrinebrm — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:58:27 +0000

Dwight, I think this is a good post and doesn’t make you a grouchy old cynic….your critics might counter that you neglected to make your usual post following the win over the Spurs. THAT does give them a little fuel!

By: ean

ean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:17:17 +0000

You bring up some good points and I don’t disagree I was more so just saying that it could work in some cases. With Odom at the 3 it would be a bad line-up but with Artest at the 3 I would like the 3 guard look because it makes Artest the scorer and the Blazers can run a little… plus Bynum wouldn’t get back on D. But is having a variety of looks that you can throw out there really a bad thing?

By: Dwight Jaynes

Dwight Jaynes — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:10:04 +0000

Hey — the problem is that they can neither rebound nor defend as well with that lineup. And eventually they’re going to have to beat the Lakers in the playoffs — using Brandon Roy to try to guard Odom and Blake or Miller to play Kobe. How will that work? And as far as big men go, Portland’s mission will be to make other teams have to defend their big man, Oden, and not put him in a precarious position at the other end. Things run in cycles. Oden is now one of the only real post-up centers in the league. Make use of it — or what’s the point?