First and foremost I am a huge Trail Blazers fan, so needless to say I have little knowledge or passion towards your organization. Being that I am from Portland it is only natural to have a connection with the Blazers, yet I also keep an eye on the local home grown talent, thus a topic about Kevin Love. I picked him on both of my fantasy teams this year and have come away very happy as you Wolves fans should be. Kevin is not the most athletic big man, but clever and versatile. He can hit the three along with handing out some dimes from time to time. 

The reason I bring this up is because I was scouring your forum/blog earlier this year and all I came across was how non-athletic and overrated he was. I agree he isn't a great defender, but will get better with game experience and the knowledge that comes with knowing your opponent. I was amazed at how many people pushed for Anthony Tolliver to start over him and laughed at the idea. I just wanted to stop by and say you guys are lucky. He does what he does and is the best in the league at it. He is Rodman with more scoring. 

Enjoy the fruitful years ahead and hope you can keep him. That Oregonian is something special.

I want to see Ernie play Jamil Wilson more. From what I have seen he is talented and athletic. All of out players are struggling and it seems logical to put some of the onus on our young talent. I know that sounds odd, young talent, since we are young across the board, but if I had my way Jamil would be starting every game.

My starting 5 would look like this.

Armstead

Williams

Wilson

Jacob

Dunnigan

I like the emphasis on long, athletic bodies. Tajuan would be better coming of the bench providing that spark. I think we stray away from establishing Dunnigan in the post. Jacob is an active body that can bang and chip in on points. Williams was the most consistent at the beginning of the year, but seems to have lacked confidence as of late. Probably due to his lack of consistent playing time. Armstead is clearly our best pg and Wilson is just to talented to sit all game.

Ernie needs to become more consistent in the messages he is sending to his players. EJ has been playing way to many minutes. I like him, but he is clearly not as skilled as some of the other players on the squad. I have always wanted Ernie to succeed, and I hate to see him leave next year when all this young talent gets more experienced and probably makes a run at the tournament. But he has to show signs of developing his young talent and just appears that he is struggling to do so.

Go Ducks!

On a football note, it is sad to see we are loosing out on some of these top end d-line recruits. Moseley for the Registerd-Guard has done a nice job detailing our need for bodies. I hope we can lock up Werner and Hemuli (spelling). I doubt both will sign. I like the class so far, but there was one main reason we were ran over by stanford, and others. We lack the athletic girth in the middle to make a difference on the line of scrimmage.

Again...Go Ducks!

We will regret not playing our young talent much like we did with O'neal. Why is it that we refuse to develop out assets when it is imperative to do so. No player in the history of the game succeeds with sporadic use. There has been some excellent posts that look at how Bayless has outperformed those ahead of him in the pecking order. Ben gave us all a glimpse into the stats and  a little earlier this year someone pointed out that Bayless has the best PER out of all the guards. When I watch the game I see two regular rotation players that can create their own shot; Roy and Miller. We lack the creative play to succeed in a half court offense. When Bayless does play, he gets to the rim and the line at an efficient clip. He puts pressure on the defense that no one else on our team does. Defenses now how we play and love the fact that we shoot jumps shots all day. It's a no brainer; PLAY BAYLESS, or regret the day he leaves as a free agent and kills in the league. I have heard the argument that he is not a true point guard; but really people' look around the league and see how many true point guards there are. He is no Nash, Paul, WIlliams, or Kidd. But he is surely another Harris, Ellis, Jennings, Evans (if you want to call him a point). The league has changed and Bayless is the future for this franchise. I laugh at our use of Jerryd. Last night we put him in to push the ball down the court with 6 seconds on the clock before the half ended to draw a foul. He did exactly that, hit the two free throws and followed that performance up with an upset look on his face the whole second half as he sat on the bench. The use of him is almost a slap in the face. He works harder than anyone on the team and receives no reward. There is a term used in Psychology called positive reinforcement. Well McMillan and the whole staff need to take a human development course at PCC/PSU to understand the concept. Sooner or later Bayless will give up on this team, just like the staff has. 

I watched the ESPN coverage due to my hatred for MIke Rice and his use of SURE the whole broadcast. But that's not that point. Last night Hubie Brown made a couple comments that made me laugh. He commented on a Blakes drive and dish to Howard for a layup. Albeit Blake made a nice pass for an easy bucket, but Hubie pointed out the fact that the defense made a mistake by committing to Blake because he wouldn't have tried for the layup because that isn't in his DNA. Blake doesn't attack to finish; the once a game trip into the lane always results in a bunk attempt at a layup or a kick out. Bayless is the exact opposite. Another point Hubie made was that although Webster and the other Blazers were hitting their shots, they would not and could not win the game without putting pressure on the opposing defense. Hubie knows the game and I trust his assessment. He said that Roy needs a player beside him that can make the defense honest; a player that can attack so they can't double off every pick. Well that leaves us too options: Miller and Bayless. Play both and bench Blake.

The other part of this post has to do with my lack of a love affair with LaMarcus Aldridge. We made a huge mistake giving him that offer. He is not an All-Star and as far as I can tell will never be one. There are a plethora of PF that are out playing him that make much less than him. Take a look at some of these comparisons:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=aldrila01&y1=2010&p2=landrca01&y2=2010&p3=thompja02&y3=2010&p4=gasolma01&y4=2010

And here are their respective salaries:

Carl Landry: 3 mil over the next two years

Jason Thompson:$2,035,920; $2,178,000;$ 3,001,284; $4,129,766 over the next four

LaMarcus Aldridge: $5,844,826, $10,700,000,  $11,800,000, $13,000,000, $14,100,000, $15,200,000

Marc Gasol: $3,240,000, $3,480,000

Now if this doesn't get your blood boiling I don't know what will. I would sign Marc and Jason before LA and Carl is by far a better bargain. All three PF other than LA love to bang, and play defense at a better clip than LA. Carl is far less athletic and a smaller guy than LA, yet averages better numbers in less minutes and plays like a man. Marc and Jason are hands down more physical and better defenders. We paid millions of dollars for a player that doesn't want to bang even though that is what his position calls for. We lost the game last night because LA couldn't handle Anderson Varejao. We lost the playoff series last year because LA couldn't handle Scola. LA needs to realize that he has the physical tools to dominate night after night. We, as a thin team, need him to put up 20,10 and play with heart and intensity every night. The fact is that he strays away from contact and will never play defense like a man. We paid way too much for someone that can't channel his abilities.

I have watched Brandon his whole career and have loved what I have seen. His rookie year he came out and surprised everyone with his ability to get into the lane and finish amongst the trees. His second year was even better and we all had the chance to see a budding star. He again attacked the rim and added a nice mid-range game and was rewarded with an All-Star appearance. His third year was even better and all of our jaws dropped when he hit that three from mid-court to win the game verse the Rockets. Yet that was the year when he became a "star" in his own mind and started whining for calls. You  wouldn't hear rookie Roy drive to the hoop and give a preemptive yelp like you heard from third year Roy and hear from present Roy. I almost want to mute the game when he drives. His screech haunts my nightmares. Lebron, Kobe, Wade are all legit stars, Roy is not close, especially this year. He demands respect, but I feel the refs are loosing some for him because he expects a call every time he drives to the rim. I saw a couple missed fouls last night, but I am beginning to think that if he would stop crying out then he would receive the call. I am a believer in the team and Roy, but I can't stand whiners and Roy is becoming the cream of the crop even though he still needs to establish himself as the star he thinks he is. To Brandon: Your not one of top three guys so revert back to the days when you would just play balls to the wall. Stop yelping!!!

You can blame the game on missed free throws or the horrible field goal percentage, and surely I would agree with you on most nights. Yet after watching last nights game as well as all the NBA nationally televised games I really can't tell the difference between the "real" refs and the hated replacement refs. Sure the refs have had a layoff and could be rusty, but 90 bleeping free throws between the two teams. Personally last nights game was in shambles because of the refs. I remember a sequence in the 4th quarter, the game was in it's final 3 minutes (2:00-3:00 is when this sequence happened) and there had to have been 6 consecutive trips down the floor that either team was called with a foul which resulted in free throws. Now what makes a game slow and stagnant? Fouls! The refs ruled the game, making calls just to hear their whistle hit it's high notes.

I was listening to my least favorite sports radio personality, Canzano, and he brought up the point that a third party company should oversee the refs and their on court performance. Well for probably the first time in my life I agree with the man. The refs need to let the game unfold without their whistles stopping play. This league is becoming a league in which if a player "acts" like they were fouled then they were, and if their name is Anthony, James, or even Roy they get the call. No blood, no foul! I cannot stand watching a game that has no rhythm because the refs interrupt it.

5 is the answer! My GM a@@ says draft 5 point guards and have em battle it out. I like Sam Young from Pittsburgh, but aren't we set at small forward? The glaring need is point guard. IMO Blake is a back up. Bayless is still up in the air. We, as a team, have one regular rotation player that can break down a defence, B-ROY. Too many times this season the shot clock winds down when the point guard has the ball and they throw up a shi$@y shot. Or they throw it into LA with little to no time left to take a decent shot. When the clock has 10 seconds left our PG's look for B-Roy to come save their butt, instead of taking matters into their own hands. I love B-Roy, but teams are watching for him at all times and so we need some other ball handler to make some plays.

I am somewhat jocking about drafting 5 point guards, but what does BE want from those 5 picks? Personally it is never too early to look at the draft b/c I love specualting . Some will hate b/c this isn't about the playoff series. Some will join in on the fun. So what do you think?

I was watching the spurs/suns game last night and couldn't help but fantasize about what could have been. Grant Hill had just blocked a shot, stole the ball, and went down the court for a 3 point play. It was a glimpse into what was. Sure Grant can still play, in fact i wouldn't mind his professional attitude on a team such as ours.  I remember watching games as a teenager and seeing what could have been. Was he going to be the next superstar? Hill won the rookie of the rookie of the year (shared with Kidd), while averaging 20 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5 assists (B-Royish numbers). The first 6 years of his career were magnificent, he was destined to become a hall of fame inductee, yet despair was just over the hill . The ankle injury didn't kill his career , but it certainly  ended his run at the hall. I feel for the man even if he does not want people, such as myself, wondering what could have been.

Last night I was saddened by what I saw. I saw a man that plays for the game, a man that would sit on the bench to see his team win. I want to see grant hill on sprite commercials, I want to see grant hill posterizing muther uckers, I want to see grant hill and his smile on the front of ESPN the magazine. Hill is a classy individual that was unfortunate enough to have a career changing injury. We as blazer fans know what it is like to see your key players go down with injuries, luckily known have proven as detremental as Hill's. I feel for the guy because he has been forgotten. The announcers barely mentioned Hill last night, yet i think of him all the time. Ever since that alley-oop in college (second play of highlight real: here ) i have been a fan of the guy. Maybe this is a pointless blog or maybe not. I know there are a ton of fans on this website, not only fans of  the blazers, but fans of  the sport. Well grant hill was and still is a student of the sport and I love it. 

Even though he is no more than a role player I still want to get rimchecked while idolizing a "superstar".commercial

 I want to know what BE thinks. If it weren't for the injury, would Grant Hill not only be considered a lock for the Hall of fame, but one of best to ever play?

I think he could be right up there with some of the greats. If you take a look at his numbers, you just might think the same. stats

I like Bayless, he plays with energy, attacking the hoop with reckless abandon. He can shoot the rock at a decent rate, albeit at the same rate as Jack and Sergio. Court vision will never be a strong suit, much like the departed Jack. Sergio on the other hand, well we all know what he can do in the open court. Averaging 7 assists in the preseason in 20+ minutes would put most coaches at ease, but not our Nate. I know Sergio is not Nate on defense, but Nate will never find that glorious clone of himself on the open market. Look at our roster and you will find no Nate on defense. Batum has the hype as a defender, but it seems Nate lacks the confidence in him too. That is why I pose the question. What makes Nate lack confidence in certain players? 

It seems there has been some talk earlier on BE about the Sergio scenario. Well I think you can guess where I stand on that issue. Sergio should be second to Blake. Bayless should come off the bench and supply the energy we need, but not at the expense of a point guard that clearly runs the second unit better. The first game was a classic example of Nate's confidence in Sergio. All benching took was one failed lob. I wonder if Nate saw all the successful lobs during preseason or the two consecutive alley-oops Serg threw to Outlaw towards the end of last season. The lob is 50/50 either it works or someone picks it off or misses the dunk/layup. I know why Nate pulled him. Nate pulled Sergio because Nate's conservative game would never imagine lobbing the ball. A lob is far from lock down defense, thus your riding the pine.

Attn: BE

This entry does not mean I hate Nate. I am actually a huge fan of the man and the jobe he has done. I just do not get these Man Crushes he gets. It seems he has found a replacement for Jarrett  Jack in the form of Bayless. I do not want to think it is going to be like this all season, but there is that famous saying. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.  (History being Nates jonesing for an attacking guard running the second unit, ala Jack)

Sorry Serg. If I was coach I would at least give you a chance.

I know Summer League is no barometer for how players will fare in the LEAGUE, but some players have stuck out.  It is mainly draftees of this year that are impressing me, yet there are still some others that I will keep my eye on.

LOOKING GOOD

Maarty Leunen

Donte Green

JJ Hickson

Marreese Speights

Marcus Williams LAST TWO GAMES

 Ramon Sessions MY BREAK OUT PLAYER (TJ WHO?)

JERRYD BAYLESS WE ALL KNOW WHAT HE HAS DONE

Kevin Love

 Thaddeus Young KILLING LIKE HE SHOULD BE              

PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE KILLING WAY MORE THAN THEY ARE

Corey Brewer  

Julian Wright

Malik Hairston (PUT HIM UP BECAUSE HES LOCAL AND HE WAS SUPPOSED TO CARMELOIZE THE GAME)

These are just some of the players that have caught my eye. They will all come down to earth when the LEAGUE gets going. YET I can take this as a sign of things to come.

Kevin Love Knows how to use his body and REBOUND. Sure against mediocre comp, but comp non the less.

Jerryd can Score and get past anyone he wants

JJ Hickson isn't as a lumbering load as I thought he was.

Maarty has more to offer than some first thought

And MY Prediction of things to come...

Ramon Sessions will take what he is given in Milwaukee  and wait till TJ  falls. Then hill pick up the reigns and be the best POINT GUARD you have never heard of. We could have drafted him...we worked him out before the draft last year or the year before. I knew he was going to be something. My Advise=KP go after Ramon!!!