SB Nation User Blog: Clevelander among roses

Behind the Locker Room Door: OKC

Clevelander among roses — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:36:44 -0000

Behind the Locker Room Door: OKC

Quick hates on Oklahoma City, talks about his relationship with Roy, and tells about a hilarious interaction between him, Travis, and LMA.

Salt Lake City Tribune is embarrassed by Jazz vs Blazers

Clevelander among roses — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:42:54 -0000

Salt Lake City Tribune is embarrassed by Jazz vs Blazers

This has been re-written since the first draft. I'm going to quote some of the original, more poignant passages of that original piece.

"Whatever hopes the Jazz had of capturing a third consecutive Northwest Division crown likely were extinguished Tuesday night, as embarrassment was followed by expulsion against the Portland Trail Blazers. "

"That gave Portland an 80-57 lead, but the fireworks were still to come. Joel Przybilla provided the defining moment of the night for a Blazers team that refused to back down, no matter how much their lead swelled.

Przybilla drew a charge against Boozer in the lane, then took exception when Boozer flipped the ball at him on the ground. Whether Boozer meant to do so or not, Przybilla got in his face at midcourt, leading to technical fouls for each. "

Behind the Locker Room Door: Memphis

Clevelander among roses — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:42:56 -0000

Behind the Locker Room Door: Memphis

Another in Quick's locker room series. Not as long as some of the others, it was only the Grizzlies after all.

Oden's quickness and Bayless's court vision

Clevelander among roses — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:16:58 -0000

I've been reading consistently in comments by BEdge members that they have been disappointed by Oden's lack of quickness on the defensive end, and Bayless's lack of court vision. Mostly Oden's quickness has been either been written off as being a result of his injury, or an indictment of his athleticism. Similarly, Bayless's court vision is mostly written off as an attitude thing - he's looking to score, rather than distribute. While both of those hypothesis are potentially correct, I would like to explore an additional theory for both of them: They are rookies.

First, covering Oden's quickness: Being a football fan, I know that young linebackers often seem a lot slower than experienced players, despite testing faster in shorts. That seemingly contradictory set of facts is explained by the reaction time and anticipation level of the experienced player being far superior to the rookie. They know the defensive schemes, they know their role, they know the abilities of most of the opposing players, and there aren't too many situations that they haven't seen before.

Oden is like that rookie linebacker, who has to think as he plays instead of simply reacting to a situation. This hypothesis is backed by the fact that Oden's "quickness" seems to change from game to game, progressing and regressing almost nightly. The only thing really changing is the opposing team and players, and the offensive schemes that the opposing teams run. Oden has to think about his role vs unfamiliar players and schemes, and that makes him look slower. Additionally, the lack of anticipation and reaction time also probably contributes to his fouling, as he's a half-step slow in getting to a spot.

Similarly, Bayless has a reputation as lacking in court vision, especially compared with Sergio. That may have some element of truth, but it may also be explained by the fact that Bayless is a rookie, and that he does not know our offensive schemes nearly as well as Sergio or Blake. Sergio and Blake not only know where they are supposed to be, but they also know where the other players on the team are going to be, and that allows them to make passes that make it appear as though they have eyes in the back of their head. Bayless still has to become experienced in running some of the schemes in game situations, and has to learn to anticipate what his teammates will do. That will come easier with experience.

I look forward to watching Bayless and Greg grow in seasons to come, as their weaknesses become strengths, simply by adding years of experience.

Which opposing player do you detest the most?

Clevelander among roses — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:24:07 -0000

Though the Jazz game tonight has serious playoff implications for the Blazers, and is probably the most important game we've played this month, I personally probably won't be as rabid about it as I normally am. The reason? Carlos Boozer (who will be known as Loozer for the rest of this post) is missing.

I don't know about the rest of you, but Loozer is the NBA player I detest more than any other. I grew up a Cavs fan, and when he got added to the team as a 2nd round pick, he quickly became my favorite player, even on a team that had Lebron. He hustled, scored, and was good to the fans, even working the phones for the Cavs calling season ticket holders to say thanks. When he was in his 2nd year, he campaigned both within the Cavs organization and in the media for the Cavs to decline to excercise their team option, so that he would be free to resign with the Cavs for a salary that was closer to his true value. He promised that he could be trusted as a man of his word, and if the Cavs did him that favor, he would resign with them quickly. Loozer was the benevolent, blind Cavs owner's favorite player, and the owner, Gordon Gund, ordered the GM to decline Loozer's option so that he could reward him for exceeding expectations. Loozer quickly signed with the Jazz, and Gund was so distraught that he put the Cavs up for sale. I realized that I was mistaken in my previous assumption: Loozer was not my favorite player, but actually an oversized, misshapen troll.

Ever since moving to Portland, games against the Jazz have had special meaning, because they were games against Loozer. Do you have any players that you hate so much that the game becomes extra sweet when the Blazers win, and ruins your mood when they lose? Does Lamar Odom make you shout obscenities when he throws Brandon Roy to the floor? Kevin Garnett on all fours, barking at our rookies, give you an ulcer? Bruce Bowen undercutting and fouling away? Rasheed Wallace for treating Portland fans like dirt? Shaq for all of the battles with Sabonis that he inevitably came out the victor? K*be just being K*be? Someone else I haven't thought of?

If there is particular animosity towards a player that I have missed, I'll try and edit the poll.

Poll

Which opposing player do you dislike the most?

Loozer

4 votes

Lamar Odom

17 votes

Shaq

5 votes

Bruce Bowen

6 votes

Kevin Garnett

97 votes

K*be

55 votes

Rasheed Wallace

1 votes

I am zen, and love all of my fellow man.

2 votes

I am ridiculous, and hate all of my fellow man equally.

3 votes

Other

5 votes

Though he is retired and fishing, I maintain my hatred of Karl Malone to such a degree that I must vote for him here, even though this was supposed to be a poll of current players.

13 votes

Though he is retired and busy looking at himself in a mirror, I maintain my hatred of Rick Fox to such a degree that I must vote for him here, even though this was added to the poll 182 votes in, and will be statistically meaningless

1 votes

209 votes | Poll has closed

Steve Blake does a 4 minute interview at NBA.com, talking about the Raptors win, the Celtics loss,...

Clevelander among roses — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:54:23 -0000

http://www.nba.com/video/games/raptors/2008/12/07/nba_por_tor_0020800298_recap.nba/index.html

Steve Blake does a 4 minute interview at NBA.com, talking about the Raptors win, the Celtics loss, and his role on the team.

Finding the best Coach for our team

Clevelander among roses — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:05:38 -0000

Ooh, I found him! He's the guy we have now!

Seriously, I think Nate McMillan is the perfect coach for this team, but I've heard a lot of whining about how he doesn't do this and should be fired for that. I've even heard that he doesn't trust rookies, despite the fact that 3 rookies get regular minutes, including a 19 year old non-english speaker whom everyone else was already giving a ticket to Boise.

Nate does an all-right job at X's and O's, as evidenced by the fact that Portland was one of the leaders in the NBA at scoring after a timeout last year, but I think the biggest contributions he makes are in the mental make-up of the team, and the way he and Pritchard work together. Portland has so many talented players jockeying for minutes that when Martell Webster comes back, all 12 men on our gameday roster (Bayless, Batum, Blake, Frye, LMA, Oden, Outlaw, Pryzbilla, Roy, Rudy, Sergio, & Webster) would be starting for at least one other team in the league. Despite the fact that there are so many young, emerging, talented players on the team, McMillan has been able to get them to buy in to his system, compete with each other in practice, and find both minutes and a regular rotation for his players so that they know what to expect going into the game, and know their roles.

McMillan also has worked just as hard on developing the players' leadership abilities. With some, like Brandon, he obviously had a lot to work with all ready, but he's also nurtured that ability without being threatened by it, and without losing control of the team. He's obviously been helped by the fact that the Blazer's have tried to accumulate high character players, but I feel he doesn't get enough credit for his own role in enthusiastically supporting the acquisition of those players.

McMillan is also a very capable teacher. I forget who it was, but one of the national NBA writers mentioned that they had been going to camps for years, but never had seen as much instruction regarding basketball fundamentals as seen at the Blazers training camp this year. Obviously that has something to do with the overall youth of the team, but it also has to do with the fact that McMillan wants to teach, and recognizes what makes good basketball. The biggest beneficiary of this teaching, to my mind, has been Travis Outlaw; since Nate joined the organization, Travis's basketball IQ has at least doubled.

One final thought in my ode to Nate: I love the fact that he's been so strategic in his mixing of players, where he doesn't just start his 5 most talented players, but instead looks for the right blend of players and talents. It's true that Rudy, Travis, and (for now) Greg come off the bench, even though they are among the 5 most talented players on the team, but Nate has been able to make that work, and get those players to buy into their roles. Nate has shown how flexible he is in trying to have players on the floor that complement each other, while at the same time maximizing the total minutes of his most talented players. Despite the fact that Outlaw and Rudy aren't starting, they are 3rd and 5th in minutes per game on the Blazers according to NBA.com (Outlaw at 29.4, Blake at 29, and Rudy at 28.7). Overall, Nate has shown creativity in his rotation, and instilled a sense of pride in the Blazer's white unit that really shows when they come onto the court.

I love Nate as a coach of this team, and I wouldn't trade him for any other coach. He's a young, talented coach that is taking this young, talented team in the right direction.

Greg Oden asks David Robinson and Bill Russell about their offensive skills

Clevelander among roses — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:04:45 -0000

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2008/10/24/nba_por_oden_20081024_roundtable.nba/?player=whatsnew

Greg Oden asks David Robinson and Bill Russell about their offensive skills

Should the Blazers complain to the refs more often?

Clevelander among roses — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:14:53 -0000

I have often seen fans euphoric that Portland is a team that doesn't often complain to refs, and also fans who hate players that constantly talk to the refs. I understand the concept; a lot of people were raised to respect others, and the complaining seen on a typical NBA court doesn't look respectful. People here are proud of their "good boy" Portland Trailblazers, because not complaining usually is equated to showing character. I am wondering, however, if not complaining hurts the Trailblazers competitively.

Complaining to the refs can be a way to focus them on what you want them to see. If you are being fouled in the same way on every other offensive possession, you want to let the ref know so that he can look out for it. Even if you aren't being fouled in the same way, it can't hurt to have the refs attention when you have the ball; most fouls get called on the defensive player.

Fouls are also a fairly subjective thing. Refs make decisions based on their impression of what the position was, who initiated contact, and to what degree the contact influenced the play. There are a lot of judgements in those calls, and players would be hurting their team if they didn't do the best they could to get the refs to make judgements in their favor.

The Blazers complain to refs less often than any other basketball team I have ever seen. The Blazers also get consistently worked over by the refs. Those two things are probably related.

Complaining works; that's why it's such a popular option, not only among NBA players, but among people in general. There's a reason why "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" is a more popular saying than "the squeaky wheel gets replaced and thrown in the junk yard where it becomes a hatching place for millions of mosquitos every time it rains".

Warning: The following poll will annoy Douglast, as it has more than 5 options, none of which will completely describe what he is thinking. Apologies in advance.

Poll

How do you feel about complaining to refs?

It has no place in basketball

8 votes

Only when the refs are clearly wrong, and if done respectfully

33 votes

Only if the player does it during stoppages in play

6 votes

Just don't get a technical

8 votes

It's part of the game

7 votes

Complaining to the refs can help a team win

10 votes

None of the options adequately sum up my feelings about complaining.

4 votes

76 votes | Poll has closed