To Blame or Not Blame Portland's Steve Blake

Tom,

I’ll grant you the three pointer that Blake launched was a bad shot.  I’ll also grant you that Brooks is a tough cover for Steve.  But I noticed that you apparently DIDN’T notice that Steve was one of the primary reasons  Portland cut a 17 point deficit to THREE.  Beyond that, your piece comes across as a shotgun blast from a big-time national blogger who doesn’t FOLLOW the Blazers OR Steve Blake.  Because if you did, you’d know that throughout his college AND pro career , Blake has taken and HIT more than his share of big time shots.  He’s taken on all comers for the Blazers PG slot…Jarrett Jack, Seb Telfair, Sergio Rodriguz and  Jarryd Bayless AND HE’S STILL STANDING.  Why?  Because the guy is like motor oil…not shiny, but essential to proper functioning.  Contrary to your three game assessment, over the long haul he’s  made his teammates better.   If you don’t believe me, get out of your office (or wherever you blog from), go to Portland and ask a Trailblazer. I trust they’ll echo my sentiments.

Tom,

One more thing.  I Tivo’d the first three games.  After reviewing them, I noticed that when Aaron Brooks has done most of his damage, STEVE BLAKE WASN’T ON THE FLOOR. 

Blake outplayed Brooks in the second two games. He just did. Except for the flurry at the end of Game 2, Brooks has been contained the last two outings.

What numbers do you use to say he is a "net negative" on offense?
Over the season, the Blazers’ offense was 7.5 points per 100 possessions better when Blake played. In these playoffs, he has recorded 7 assists to every turnover. And he recorded over half the Blazer assists in the series, a pretty good sign of making teammates better.

Do you other numbers that contradict these?

One great thing about Blazer fans is their unquestioned loyalty, no matter how blind it may be at times. As one of these fans and a habitual season ticket holder I have seen enough of Blake to know I want him here next year competing with Ty Lawson for minutes at the point. Steve has his moments, and his toughness and leadership has helped turn the corner and culture of this team into something everyone in Portland is proud of at the moment.
That being said, we are talking about getting scorched by Aaron Freaking Brooks here. Anyone watch the first quarter of game 3? Brooks got where-ever when-ever he wanted which was the reason Houston’s ball movement appeared clinical. So let’s digest that; not Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Rajon Rando, but Aaron Brooks…. Not a good sign for a team with championship dreams.
The chemistry is way too strong on this team to bring in someone like Jason Kidd, Portlands leader is Brandon Roy and Nate and I cringe at the thought of tinkering with it.

Ty Lawson led his team to an NCAA championship, shot over .500 from the field every year, is a great on the ball defender and was the key to the Tar Heels run…. (Anyone see a huge difference when he was out?) In addition, he’s a military kid whose dad doubled as the coach, which is important when you consider Nates nick name is Sarge.

And Lawson can push the ball!! Which comes to my biggest problem with Blake; he just can’t get the team easy baskets, which makes it daunting in the playoffs when you have to scrap and fight for every two points. Dump Sergio and draft Lawson….. Not sold at all on Bayless either, one can only drive blindly to the hole so many times before the refs get tired of being forced into blowing their whistle by an out of control bowling ball.

And please, no Ricky Rubio comments. Let him go to New York, I’m tired of flashy point guards that can neither shoot or play D (Sergio, Telfair)

Bring on the leader of the best team in the nation and let’s see this tall athletic and young team actually run up the court once in awhile….

I agree that Blake doesn’t create shots for his teammates the way some point guards (Nash, Paul, Kidd) do, but that doesn’t mean he’s not essential to the Blazers’ offense.  Dave at Blazers Edge most commonly refers to it as "running the offense," and is talking about how Blake is very adept at getting the ball to guys in spots where they then know what to do with it, even if it’s not shooting.  Blake’s drive and kick outside doesn’t often result in a shot from the perimeter, but rather initiates ball movement around the outside that sets up a shot somewhere down the line.  That’s part of why Blake’s assists are relatively low for a PG that plays as much as he does.  But it’s also essential to how the Blazers’ offense runs.  None of the other PGs on the Blazers’ roster has the same idea of what their teammates like (with the notable exception of the Sergio-Rudy connection).

Blake has deficiencies, but it cannot be underestimated how important he is to this Blazer team.  Nobody else gets the rest of the guys to click like he does.