SB Nation User Blog: Visionary1

BRoy for 6th Man of the Year!?! Fast Breaking, Rip City Style

Visionary1 — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:20:12 -0000

OK, maybe I'm crazy. I've been called worse... But ever since I started thinking about fit, I've been obsessed with this idea: BRoy should be the Blazers 6th man, an award he'd win yearly.

Personal Background: In my glory days of single manhood, I grew up with Larry Bird, and what I consider to be the best NBA team ever, the 1986 Celtics, with the best 6th man ever, Big Bill Walton. I didn't follow the legendary Russell Celtics - the NBA was really unknown then, even in Boston because of the '67 Redsox, and Bruins winning Cups, but I did learn one thing about hoops as a youth:

Fast Break basketball is the epitome of the sport.

Fast breaks (Easy Points) and Defense win championships. The NBA is most fun to watch when these best-in-the-world athletes are running the entire game long. The team that always plays up-tempo can outlast the other team – they just run out of gas by the 4th. Russell and Cousy's Celtics invented it; Kareem and Magic revived it with ShowTime and had awesome battles with the '86 Celtics (with the incomparable passer Bill Walton coming off the bench – he and Bird were amazing together), and I believe it's time for:

Fast Break, Rip City style.

To create a dominant fast break team you need at least four, preferably more, of these ingredients:

#1: a great defense, ideally with occasional suffocating full court defensive pressure (keeps the pace high)

#2: dominant defensive rebounding, and a solid outlet pass scheme

#3: more than one person who knows what to do with an outlet pass (one guy on each wing, ideally),

#4: greyhounds (guys that can run all day, obvious, if you can make it a track meet, you need the horses… or dogs)

#5: A good solid half-court offense, too, so teams just can’t forgo all offensive boards and stop your one skill

And most importantly,

#6: Serious depth - you must have a great bench, and, ideally, a 6th man who can come in and put up points in a hurry, any time the offense stalls.

When I look at the possible starting 5 below, I believe we can start each game with a physical, punishing, fast break, points-in-the-paint attack.

#5: Greg Oden: (Dominant Defensive Rebounding, Check… And a BIG time finisher)

#4: LA: (part 2 of #2, and add 1 Greyhound)

#3: Nicolas Batum: (far more suited to a running game, he’s a greyhound, a finisher, and can handle the ball)

Now, I think most Blazer observers envision these three starting, at least at the beginning of the year before we know about Martell, and Nic earned it. The other two choices are where the fun begins. My point guard has to be:

#1: Andre Miller: I love Blakie, but obviously, Andre is the first choice for the outlet pass.

Now, what this squad doesn’t have is a shooter. Martell might supplant Batum in this role. (And in fact, I have an alternative proposal, too that would make this work. What incredible depth Nate has.) But you also want a runner, and a guy that can handle the ball. Our best #2 that fits that job description is

#2: Rudy Fernandez: He and Andre would team up for multiple highlight reel plays each week, and if no break, hmm., how about Andre drive and dish to a big, or back out to the wings for a Rudy 3?

So, my starters are GO, LA, Nic, Rudy, and Andre. Kind of an obvious omission there, our All-Star Guard, BRoy. Now, I can more realistically see Brandon fitting this role as he ages, and there’s little reason for Nate to open himself up to this kind of abuse (but he’d get CoY if it worked), but I think Brandon Roy is the perfect, prototypical 6th man.

But before you dismiss this idea, take a look at the second unit, who comes in over a 2-3 minute period after 7 or so minutes of bruising fatiguing play:

Brandon Roy, first off the bench for Rudy – he would be consensus #1 pick for 6th man of the year in this role…

Steve Blake, solid point guard playmaker, ideally complements BRoy.

Martell Webster, the outside shot threat needed in Nate’s pattern offense…

Travis Outlaw, a bit of an undersized 4, and if we need a big, this could be Pendergraph, too

Joel Pryzbylla, the Vanilla Gorilla, beating up on the other teams tired #1 or lousy #2 5.

I just think not only does that proposed first unit have great fast break quick start domination potential, but they have some serious half court offensive threats: In addition to Andre solo trips, Andre to Rudy on the fast break. Andre Miller to Oden on the pick and roll lob, Andre to LA, other side, same thing. Oh, they stop that, how about I hit Rudy on the wing or in the corner? He’s covered? Go to the rim for a lob. Or, how about swinging it to Nic for a Pippen-like drive to the hoop? None of that’s working? “BRoy, you’re in”… BRoy drive left, two foul shots, BRoy pull-up jumper… (opposing coach: (“Time Out”)

And you can bring in a rested all-star, and 4 other starting quality offensive players off the bench? I’m telling you, Dante, Graph and Bayless are going to average 10+ mpg in about 50 games this year, because we’ll be winning a lot of games early.

I _really_ hope that we don't rely on Brandon anywhere near as much as we have in year's past. Sure, need a game winner, by all means, it's Brandon's shot. But if we play up to this squad's abilities, and utilize our assets in a fast break up-tempo game, we won't need many game winning miracles from BRoy.. BRoy has one weakness that have seen: he's not a good fast break player. So let not try to fit that square peg.. But there is no reasonto squander the considerable fast break talents of this squad because it doesn't fit your best player's talents. But if we cam keep Brandon around 30 mpg, just think how much better a rested BRoy would look in June 2010 in the finals.

So, in conclusion (sorry so long, but it's a nice lazy Sunday, too hot to be outside): If you look at the criteria needed for a fast break team, we fit the mold. We have a dominant defensive rebounder and very good team rebounding. We have incredible depth. We are the youngest age per minute team in the NBA (just made up that stat, but I like it), with a fleet of guys that can run all day. The starting lineup I propose would have a great ballhandlers and halfcourt attack. The bench would be the best in the league, behind BRoy, the perennial sixth man.

In fact, I really wish the Blazers would bring in a fast break coach, somebody who knows how to get the wings filled, couple of dribbles, a pass or two, slam dunk basketball... Get a big man for Greg to teach him the finer points of the outlet pass. Get a scheme together. A fast break can be a play, too!

So Your Thoughts:

- would you like to see the Blazers run more?

-do you think BRoy, coming off the bench behind a fast break unit, could be the ultimate 6th man?

Poll

Blazer Fast Break Basketball, with BRoy as 6th man is:

Crazy idea, what r u drinkin?

298 votes

Never going to happen with Nate

69 votes

So crazy it just might work

45 votes

412 votes | Poll has closed

Learning how to win; and biding our time

Visionary1 — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 05:59:22 -0000

We're young and talented in a very deep and experienced league. Enjoy our development, and be patient. Our time will come.

I was back in New England recently, and read a Boston Globe article that described how Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the owner all - wait for it - flew to Rasheed's house! - and after a 3-hour meeting, got him to sign the deal. It struck me how different that approach was from the Blazers, flying Hedo (sans wife) out here. Now, I'm sure they flew him out on the private jet, and gave him a good tour. But without the wife, it ultimately didn't matter. Perhaps they should have gone to them. Now, I'm glad they didn't get Hedo, but I do hope the young Blazers management learned things that will help them land the next big fish (that we will REALLY need).

This led me to think about how many teams in the NBA have gotten substantially better this year. Boston now boasts 4 legit stars, plus double-double Rondo and the improving Perkins and Davis (7 very strong players), in essence to compete with the Cavs (Shaq and LeBron may be the most physically intimidating duo to ever play on the same NBA team) And I'm not even talking about this year's conference winner Orlando.. And then you look at the West, with LA adding Artest (although I think that'll backfire), Denver adding Ty Lawson, Dallas adding Shawn Marion, and San Antonio, adding the most talent I think of any team in the offseason, adding Richard Jefferson, and Antonio McDyess??, and stealing DeJuan Blair, who may make every team regret passing on him. Man, that's an awful lot of VERY good teams...

Which leads me to my conclusion. The Blazers have a GREAT and exciting but VERY YOUNG team. But we are playing in a league of Men. The odds of this incredibly young team going from bounced out in the first round to championship this year are astronomical. Fun to think about and root for, absolutely, but let's think with a rational long-term view here.

Kobe is going to aggressively defend his turf. San Antonio is primed for a challenge - THIS year. The Cavs and Boston will hopefully plan an amazing championship series. Big, physical, aggressive, defensive-focused, veteran teams, with 3 legitimate superstars and a great supporting cast, win most championships.

I love our Blazers, don't get me wrong. I hope we never trade most of them. But are our Blazers Physical, Aggressive Defensive and Veteran? Not yet. And our superstar barely cracks the top 10 of most league ratings, and our #2 is 50-ish, and our #3 is (supposed to be) Greg (our backup 5)? Can this roster win an NBA championship this year? Sure, if they gel, all the young guys improve leaps and bounds, other teams have lots of injuries, and we get lucky? Sure we can. I'll be rooting them on, as a fan, all year to do just that, and shock the world.

But the prudent thing, the rational thing, is to wait, learn how to win, and think long-term. I am fully confident that we can add a star to this team before the trade deadline. (And I don't mean an old star, either). But right now, we don't have a clue what position the right star should play!

So, there is NO REASON to make the move yet for the big veteran final piece of the puzzle for a championship. We're just not there yet. We have tremendous assets in cap space, at least one trade exception, and young, improving talent teams covet, most of whose value will increase over the year. Wait. If our best acquisition of the summer was Bill Bayno (returning coach who will transform Greg), I'm OK with that.

Becuase it will be very fun watching this group learn how to win. It's the journey! I think Greg will win the Most Improved Player award this year, and make the Defensive first team, and All Star team. I think Rudy will have an amazing year, and be a regular on plays of the week. Batum will put up more points, play awesome D, and keep growing. I hope Martell comes back and hits 45% 3's. BRoy, LA, Joel and Blake will be as solid as ever. Bayless will show signs, but still play like an inconsistent young kid. I think even our 2nd round picks will contribute. I fully expect us to be a fun, exciting team (during the wide open regular season).

But enjoy the ride. Wait. Let it bake. There are at least 6 NBA teams who will be better than us this year, but I don't think that will be true a year from now. Be patient. Enjoy. Peace. Out.

Brandon Roy as Harry Potter: 2009 = Book One

Visionary1 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:34:57 -0000

OK, so I have young kids, so my mind has been warped (well, that, and... well, never mind). But it occurred to me while watching Rebecca interview Blazers Prez Larry ("this is just the first" in a series of playoff years!!) Miller tonite, that our Blazers (and our hero, one Brandon Roy) could be likened to Harry Potter and his friend's titanic struggles against Evil (the Rockets for now, but ultimately, of course, the L*kers) and the Dark Load Voldemort (Yao for now, but really, who else could play the role but Kobe?).

This year is Book One.

Prelude: Before the infant Harry (our Blazers) even has (ok, I know I should say 'have' here, but I'm done with that, OK?) thoughts of greatness, Lord Voldemort and his army (L*kers in game 1) places a scar on him (blowout, Greg injured).

Early Chapters (regular season): The Blazers (especially your Blazer rookies Batum, Rudy, Greg) (Harry and his friends), just start to figure out their magical powers... They face a few tests and figure, hey we're pretty good!

(Book Gets Serious, Chapters 5ish) (Game 1): In your introduction to the big time, you got smoked. Malfoy (Yao) knocked you down and laughed at you, and before the train even left the station, you felt like you didn't belong. We all wondered how, or if, you'd survive.

As the year (series) progresses, our young hero(es) find that, though they are strong, there are many villans and other instructors who have many mysterious (some of the calls), dark (Yao 9-9), arts (Ar(ts)test)... and heretofore unknown powers. (Houston casting a 'petrify' spell on our offense in Game 1, e.g.)

Chapter 10 or so: (Game 2): You scored a major victory, as you stood up for yourself, you manned up, you gained the respect of your peers, and you laid out a blueprint for future success...

The sub-plot and moral of our story is that while you can study moves and countermoves in class (film), until you find yourself in a real battle (the playoffs) you can't truly test yourself: to see if you have truly learned all you think you have been taught. (grasshopper)

So far, I think our students are way ahead of schedule, and I can't wait for the rest of the novel, and the entire, gold-bound series to play itself out.

Nate's 20-Second Rule!

Visionary1 — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 06:07:47 -0000

I have to say, as a long-time and forever advocate of fast-break, full-court D basketball, I am THRILLED to have Rebecca tonite on Comcast unveil Nate's

"20 second rule"

which he has used (coincidence? I don't' think so) during the Blazers 4-game 20+ plus point blowout streak.

The rule is: all players have to cross mid-court before the clock reaches 20. For those of you who are math-challenged, that's only 4 seconds after our home team obtains possession off a made or missed possession by the opponent.

This is a BRILLIANT move by Nate to instill in his team the required mindset to become a punishing fast-break team. As I think I said in my first post, it's fast break basketball, fueled by team D, that wins championships.

To see Nate use this young, deep, athletic squad to punish opponents with a fast break offense is, IMO, a thrilling development.

As I said in my prediction post (15-9 (check!), "sneak by Utah in the last week to gain third seed" - close!), this team has a chance to go far - not in a 2-3 years distant a future opening window - but NOW! THIS! YEAR!

I'm telling you, I've seen it before...the last 4 games have made me harken back to the beautiful basketball played by the '86 Celtics....when Walton came off the bench to spell McHale, and when Bird passing to Walton to (hell, anybody) was a guaranteed 2.

Most telling? The team D. Batum is becoming a shut-down D monster. He was, IMO, the MVP tonite, taking Durant completely out of the game. Joel is having a career D year. LaMarcus deflecs a pass a game. Greg - immense presence down low... Blake- doing EVerything.. In short: the D is just jelling beautifully, at just the right time.

But I like to think it's al because of one simple change Nate made, deep in the mindset of his players: the 20-second rule.

Go Blazers!

Get Home Court!

Win a series - make a city proud

Win 2? Shock the world

Win 3 (and face the Celtics in the finals?) (To me, a long time C;s fan..) priceless

Why? Becauseif my old town C's face my new town Blazers in the finals... I'm going to parade, one I just have to fly to!

ML, the Visionary1

Tony Luftman Drinking Game

Visionary1 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:23:06 -0000

I love my Blazers. Watch (almost) every game. Live in the valley, so can’t get DirecTV anymore, and it’s only OK because I get the Blazers on Comcast. Which is awesome. Love Mike, Mike and Rebecca. Love to read Blazers edge, catch up on all the news, listen to Quick on the Game, listen to the Fan, read the Oregonian…

So I want to revel in the highlights of Blazer victories on the post game shows (and, when they start out well, on the halftime highlights). But Tony Luftman has made that very hard for me to enjoy. Until tonight. As any Comcast viewer will tell you, let’s just say that Tony has a fairly limited working vocabulary. So tonite I invented the…

Tony Luftman Drinking Game!

Whenever Tony says any of his favorite clichés, yell it out, and if you are first, everybody else has to take a drink (if you’re watching yourself, drink, and try to keep track, and see if Tony can beat his old record – tonight was 22). Feel free to track your own, but to get you started, here are:

Tony’s all-time favorite clichés:

“Very impressive” (I counted 3 occurrences tonite, if you count ‘really’ impressive as one…)

“That’s fantastic” (only once tonight, but he’s as consistent with this as BRoy is for 20, 5 and 5…)

“Tell them what they’ve won Michael” – (I only counted twice tonite, but I swear the over/under is 4)

If that’s not enough celebration/diversion for you, you could always expand with any of Tony’s favorite words:

“partner” (3 times tonite, twice in less than 10 seconds, a new Luftman cliche record!),

“specTACular” (another very consistent, LA jumper like, performer)

“rolls on”, “move on”, “cruising on”. “coasting” (please, do what you say, Tony...)

“the Association” (OK, only twice tonight, but I just hate this one, and not from just Tony – I immediately punch to the Fan anytime CIP (Chump in Portland) says “a-SO----she-A-shun”… gimme a break)

And of course, whenever you hear Tony say

“Back out to Mike, Mike, And Rebecca” – everybody CHUG and FILL, because we’re leaving Tony and returning to the Blazers game!

Hope this helps all Comcast viewers enjoy their game more…

Visionary1

Did Darius Make RLEC more valuable to us?

Visionary1 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:58:59 -0000

Hmm, Just wondering... Now that Dairus's 9 mil is on our cap for this and next season, I believe that means that we are going to be "over the cap"... And if I'm not mistaken, part of RLEC's value is that, when his contract expires, we get to use some % of that "expiring contract" to sign a player EVEN IF WE ARE OVER THE CAP...

Not to mention, RLEC has some insurance clause thingy that pays the Blazers (or whoever owns that contract) some big bucks every month... which Blazers ownership might want to "offset" the Miles impact...

So, bottom line: does Darius mean that we now need RLEC as much as anybody else, and therefore, can we now delete 50% of the trade rumors??

The other interesting thing is that with RLEC, you can sign one of the many great free agents... If you trade RLEC, you're trading him for a player under a big contract...and probably can't dip into that big free agent pool...

So does this mean that Darius might have actually HELPED the Blazers??

First 24 Games in the Books... How did you do with your prediction?

Visionary1 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:55:20 -0000

OK, well, despite having attended the last home game (great game except for the last second), and being bummed about the no-show in Utah tonight, I am somewhat consoled by the fact that the Blazer's late fade brings the Blazers to 15-9, which is what I wildly optimistically predicted in Dave's "beginning of the year Prediction Post..."

(I don't know how to do those link things.. that'd be a good post., BTW.. basic stuff like how to do that for us infrequent posters) but anyway, I said:

"I see two possibilities: Post 1: 2008-2009 Oden is as big a difference maker, immediately, as Shaq was. The team jells much faster than anybody expects, and we go through the first tough 24 games at a surprising 15-9 clip,

OK, so Oden isn't Shaq (I still have to add: yet), but not bad, eh? Do I win a BEdge T-shirt?

OK, so go search that post and see how you did...

(and. OK, the rest of my prediction is still wildly opimistic, but I bet you're much more likely now to agree with the next part of my prediction now then you were at the start of the season:

"... and finish with a 54 win season, good enough for fourth in the West. "

Whether or not we can go on to win it all, of course, is still a few breaks away.. But.. can a brother get a rec here? :-)

Maybe now I deserve to continue to sign on as the...

ESPN Fantasy Rankings: Who's Wrong?

Visionary1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:26:05 -0000

I don't think this has been discussed anywhere, but the ESPN annual FANTASY basketball rankings are out, here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/basketball/fba/story?page=nbadk2k9_top190

I took a look at 3 team's player rankings, and found the following:

Blazers World Champs Fakers

42 BRoy 9 KG 3 K0bIe

59 Greg Oden 23 Pierce 30 Pau Gasol ???

69 LAMA 64 Allen 45 Odom

116 Rudy 85 Rondo 55 Bynum

139 Bayless 164 Perkins 160 Fisher

146 Blake 169 Tony Allen?? 170 Farmer

148 Outlaw

Some comments:

1) Yes, these are FANTASY rankings, so except for blocked shots, defense doesn’t matter (why KG is probably #9). Team defense, heart, etc. don’t factor in.

2) Forever, you’ve needed 3 superstars to win in the NBA. We’re certainly in the mix with our top 3, although you have to give the nod to the other two teams, at least based on these ratings..

3) Who here would rather have Pau Gasol over anybody on the Blazers? Me neither…

4) We have DEPTH. (Duh) Our second unit should destroy the opposition on a nightly basis, at least in the regular season. Both the C’s and Fakers have a noticeable drop off after #4, and in fact we have 7 guys better than their 5th.

5) Other notables: Rose #95, Beasley #65, which would make Oden their projected ROY, with the Blazers having (as I’ve been saying all along) 3 of the top 5 rookies this year!

6) Whither Martell?

But what I really want to hear your thoughts on is the answer to this question: Who’s Wrong?

Are our “homer” expectations REALLY out of line?

Or, even given high praise in the national press, is the rest of the country still sleeping on this potential juggernaut?

Because if you were to give me these rankings without the team names on them, I’d say that team “A” is deep, but needs true superstars (at least one top 10 guy, and 3 top 50) to make a run…

So, who’s wrong? Us, or ESPN?

Great Article on Portland's Versatility on the "Bleacher Report"

Visionary1 — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:30:02 -0000

Great Article on Portland's Versatility on the "Bleacher Report"

Season Tix are IN!

Visionary1 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:27:17 -0000

I wanted to title this post "The New Phone Books are here, the New Phone Books are here", but it was too long, and I wasn't sure enough people are old enough to catch the reference, but for those that are, that's how geeked I am to see my tickets, which means the season is NOT too far off!

I thought I'd put up this post to see how many BEdgers are also Season Ticket holders... (Or, like me, Half Season Ticket Holders)... (Well, OK, if you count the other four guys that are sharing them with me, I guess I'm a 1/10 of a season ticket holder, but still.... I gots my tix!

Also, I was wondering while reading the Rudy at the Airport posts, and reading about people excited about meeting other BEdgers, if perhaps we could arrange to meet some time (perhaps before a game at Shonz' Place)?

Anybody? Bueller? Anybody?