Winchester
Apr 21, 2008 Jan 07, 2010 14 712
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Chad Ford tells us what we already know.
"I've spoken with the Blazers and the feeling I got was that they don't know yet. So many players are injured, the value isn't high on many of them. I think if someone gets moved it will be Steve Blake."- Chad Ford
and...
"They really need a point guard. Andre Miller was so critical to them. Jrue Holiday will be good someday, but I'm not sure they really want to wait another year or two for that to happen. I think they're wishing there was a way to get Andre back."-Chad Ford
Memphis wanted Outlaw for draft picks.
"The process began earlier this season when the Grizzlies approached tonight's opponent, the Portland Trail Blazers, about a potential trade involving forward Travis Outlaw. According to league sources, the Blazers weren't interested in swapping Outlaw merely for draft picks so the deal quickly fizzled. It was the second time since last season that the Griz expressed interest in Outlaw, who is out another two months while recovering from a broken bone in his left foot."-Memphis Commercial Appeal
The minute crunch is much worse than last year. Go ahead and try to stick that Martell Webster slice back into the lineup. It’s pretty much impossible. Do you want Batum to play more than 14 minutes a game? Me too.
Last year when I posted the first pie chart, most people came to the conclusion that Jack and Jones were the most likely to leave the team. Looking at this new chart I would say Outlaw and Frye have the biggest chance of getting the boot, but maybe not both of them. It also seems pretty clear that we have way too many point guards.
over 3 years ago
Winchester
38 comments
14 recs
The most accurate (low-noise) adjusted plus-minus ratings ever to appear in the public domain.
I love this measure of a player’s worth. It takes a much better look at the impact a player has on defense, something that Hollinger always seems to ignore. Apparently 82 games tweaked the formula to make it more accurate although there are still some obvious anomalies. Some things I noticed:
1. Devin Harris is 8th overall. His defense counts for a lot more with this particular formula.
2. LaMarcus Aldridge is ranked 22nd defensively. This might have more to do with our lack of options when he is off the floor, but it’s nice to see none the less.
3. Gerald Wallace is ranked 23rd defensively and Tayshon Prince is 18th. I love those guys.
As with any rating system it has a million flaws, but it seems a little better than the normal plus-minus statistic.
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of Darius Miles' life.
by Winchester on Oct 26, 2008 12:41 PM EDT
on Blazer's Edge
"Adding insult to injury?: While the Celtics have been praising Darius Miles, two NBA general managers said the Blazers have been bad-mouthing the free agent forward to potential suitors. "He can still play and he also hasn't played in two years, so you have to understand that he will get better," one NBA GM said. "Too bad Portland is putting out bad information that he is not a good kid. Anything and everything they can say bad they are. It's too bad. He's a nice kid with a bad injury who has fought back. Right now, he's still an NBA player and he's going to get better. He's going to improve. It will be a smart pick-up for someone." The Blazers declined comment on the accusation. When asked about Miles being waived by the Celtics, Blazers coach Nate McMillan said, "That situation, it's behind us. What he was doing in Boston, that's behind us. He's no longer with us."-Boston Globe
Normally I wouldn't put much stock in this, but it makes me uncomfortable that it's coming from a general manager. I would be very curious to know who's saying it. Could it possibly be coming from one of our future competitors in the West? Hopefully everything is cool with the Blazers and the Bobcats. I want to see Gerald Wallace in a Blazers uniform.
I still don't think Darius is coming back, especially to a team that would actually benefit from us losing cap space.
31 comments
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1 recs |
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Veteran center Joel Przybilla said Nicolas Batum has made "huge strides" since arriving in Portland last month to play pickup games with teammates at the team's Tualatin training facility.
"It's not like he was struggling, but what he's doing now ... wow," Przybilla said. "He's kind of like a Andrei Kirilenko. He can do a bit of everything. He's long, athletic and agile. And he's young. He's going to keep on improving."
With starting small forward Martell Webster out another 7-9 weeks following surgery for a stress fracture of a leg, Nate McMillan may look at Batum to fill a starting role.
"Once he is hitting his shot consistently, I think he would be a forward you could start," McMillan said. "Because defensively, he's ahead of the game." -- The Portland Tribune
This blew my mind.
I think right now, Nic is NBA-ready defensively. I really do," McMillan said. "I think his feet are good and his positioning is pretty good. What he has to learn is about the hand-checking and all that. But for a young guy coming into this league, he defends well. Not only is he on the perimeter guarding, but he is blocking shots, he's getting offensive and defensive boards, he's starting fast breaks. He has a lot of talent. I like him. He's smooth. Really smooth.
McMillian on Batum
A few notes I made while watching the Celtics training camp on NBA TV.
- Darius looks funny when he runs. He sort of just plods along at a decent pace. I thought he was supposed to look "smooth"?
- One of the commentators loves Darius. He always uses the words "exciting" and "promising" when he mentions his name.
- I have yet to see Darius attempt a basket. He is barely used in the drills and mostly just watches from the sidelines. He looks really, really nervous.
- Holy crap, he is actually playing pretty good defense (He's guarding Glen Davis for some reason). He has a couple steals, a few rebounds and maybe a block. He doesn't really do anything on offense, which is really strange for a guy who used to be pretty much 100% offense.
- Darius Miles would not make the 15th spot on the Blazers. I'm not sure he could make the 15th spot anywhere. Watching this really put my mind at ease.
over 3 years ago
Winchester
6 comments
1 recs
I really hope he makes the team.
Shavlik Randolph looks super tough. He reminds me of this guy who tried to fight me at a gas station yesterday. Apparently I made eye contact too long. That's a big mistake. Guys who don't wear shirts in public really hate it when you look them in the eyes. Hopefully Bayless won't look at him too long or Shavlik is going to go crazy.
According to his agent, Shaun never worked out for the Heat nor is a workout scheduled. This means the Blazers and Minnesota are the only two teams who are still in the running to sign him. Livingston claims his knee is close to 100% and he can't wait to show people how well he is doing. I don't know how well Livingston fits with Minnesota. Kevin Love makes the team perfect for fast breaks, but can Livingston still run the floor like that for 82 games? If the Blazers sign Livingston and he actually makes a come back, I think KP will have officially creeped me out with his near perfect judgement calls. That would be some good luck, as in, he made a pact with Satan sort of luck.
over 3 years ago
Winchester
0 comments
1 recs
Minute Crunch
by Winchester on May 18, 2008 9:28 PM EDT
on Blazer's Edge
There are a lot of people advocating that the Blazers stay with their current roster this coming season. I say that these people are taking crazy pills. We already have a ten man rotation (nine if you don’t count Sergio), and we have two guys coming in who should be getting starters minutes. Our playing time per game looked like this. How are we going to add Rudy and Greg without making some trades?
A minimum of 50 minutes has to be shaved off this chart in order to successfully play Oden and Rudy (not to mention our 13th pick). How exactly are you going to do that without making any trades? Realistically I think two or three people need to go. The question is who.
Martell said a couple really interesting things on the radio the other day. First he mentioned that Nate wants him to play some shooting guard and maybe a little point next year. Later while describing Rudy, Webster calls him a point guard. When the host tries to correct him, saying Rudy is a shooting guard, Martell sounds a little surprised and says something like, “I don’t know, I think Brandon has that position locked up”. Is that not a crazy statement?
1. How could Martell not know what position Rudy plays?
2. Why would Nate tell Webster he is going to get minutes at SG and PG if Jack and Rudy will already be sharing playing time with Roy? Who needs four shooting guards?
3. Is Rudy our starting PG next year? I don’t care how many points Chris Paul scores, he will still be posted up like crazy on the other end.
4. Jack is basically gone right?
73 comments
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6 recs |
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Channing Frye is a extraordinary person of magnificent importance.
by Winchester on Mar 30, 2008 4:38 AM EDT
on Blazer's Edge
Maybe not , but he is certainly undervalued by most Blazer fans. These are some reasons he should get more respect.
- He is playing out of position.
- He has a great blog.
- He loves the city of Portland.
- He hates the city of Sacramento.(This illustrates his good judgment.)
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