SBNation.com User Blog: blazethenugs

the 2012 NBA Draft:Special(or not so special) edition

blazethenugs — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:20:49 -0000

Note: This post is going under the assumption that the Blazers will end up with (their current projecttions) no.7 and no.11 picks in the 2012 NBA draft.

Well I would love to somehow get MKG, T-Rob, or Beal but they are very likely to all be off the board within the first five picks.

A guy that could realistically fall to us is Drummond. I love the Andre Drummond; he would be excellent C to pair next to LMA. Drummond would be my pick if he somehow falls to no.7.

I wouldn't draft either Kendall Marshall, the 6’4 197 pure PG with insane passing skill from UNC or PG/SG 6’2 190 Damien Lilliard, this year’s D-1 leading scorer at no.7 I feel it’s just too high for them and both or at least one could be around when we draft again at no.11, if we really wanted em. At no.7 I'd rather the Blazers go for Andre Drummond and if he is off the board we should look to DPA(Draft Best Player Available) or package the no.7 in a trade.

Others players to look at with no. 7 pick would be

Jeremy Lamb 6’5 SG from UConn and Harrison Barnes 6’8 SF from UNC(if Barnes slips)

I think it is REALLY important that the Blazers don’t reach for someone at no.7 if no one they like is around.A no.7 pick could be a really nice piece to add to a trade.

Onto the no.11

At no.11 I would definetly take Kendall Marshall unless someone really skilled was magically still left on the board(no that’s not Sullinger, he’s already too injury prone) Terrence Jones 6’9 PF from Kentucky (local guy from Portland played at Jefferson HS) would be a convenient pick for the Blazers and Paul Allen being the PA seems to like local NW ballers.

My first round Sleepers:

Tony Wroten 6'5 lefty PG from UW that he could end up being one the better players in this class, hes If he can make a jumpshot his offensive game is virtually unstoppable. Projected to go 15-25.

Arnett Moultrie: 6'10.5 235 PF from Mississippi State: High level athlete, runs the floor like a guard and has an excellent motor.He is also nifty around the basket and is skilled at quick leaping for a rebound and getting the putback.He can fill it up inside and has a nice jumper out to 15 feet.Nice scorer and one of nations leading rebounders for two years in a row. Projected 13-20.

Terrence Ross: 6'6 SG/SF out of UW. Could be another great NBA scorer to come out of the pacific NW.

Hating on: John Henson: I’m drinking the haterade on this one. I think he will be one of the worst picks in the first round of this year’s draft. He will struggle defending and keeping most NBA PF's off the boards as well as in front of him. He has a nice jumper but, I’m skeptical he plays enough to become effective with it. I could be really wrong on this one and no personal dislike for the guy, just my personal, wacky opinion.

2nd round We have 3 PICKS in the 2nd Round. We have the 40th(via HOU:camby trade), 41st. and 49th(via DEN: Felton trade) picks in the 2nd. Nothing to get overly excited about but, at the same time it gives me an excuse to research some lesser-known players that could end up being steals and 2nd round picks can be nice additions to trades as well as good value picks to fill out the bottom spots of the roster.

Here are some nice prospects that could be available in the 2nd.

I really like Scott Machado, the PG from Iona. He is not huge at 6-1. 185 but, he not as slight as the weight may suggest and was a good rebounding Point guard and did everything well in college, nice 3 pointer and is a pure PG. It looks like he could be one of the major steals in the draft, someone a team-like the Spurs would draft and then in two years he becomes a legit rotation player. Not sure he falls far enough for Blazers to draft him in 2nd but if hes availbe we should snag him.

Draymond Green 6’7 250 SF/PF from Michigan State.An excellent athlete, one of the best athletes in the class. Draymond also played football at MSU before devoting himself to BBall. He could have a great NBA career as a useful utility do a little bit of everything type of guy coming off the bench.He can pass a bit, is an excellent rebounder, can defend multiple positions, is quick and agile despite being strong, can defend PF’s successfully due to excellent upper and lower body strength.He will go early in the 2nd if he doesn’t get drafted in the first.

JaMychal Green, 6'9 PF from Alabama has alot of offensive skill facing up at the basket, posting up, and rebounding. Good athleticism but there have been questions about his desire but has put those to rest in the later years of his college career. Id love him in a Blazers uni.

Kevin Jones 6'8 248 PF from West Virgina is a BEAST of a dude. Guy has a great motor. Very aggressive in his takes to the hoop. Finds ways to score in close with variety of power moves and keeps you honest with a solid midrange jumpshot. Despite being listed on some sites at 6'7, he was a great rebounder at the college level due to his strength athleticism and was skilled at snagging the offensive rebound and getting putbacks. He may get picked in late first round or early second but, if he drops to us I would be thrilled.

Drew Gordon 6'9 245 PF from New Mexico and Mike Scott 6'8 237 PF from Virginia and Herb Pope 6;8 261 from Seton Hall are other PF's that could turn out to be bangers in the NBA, all guys that could carve out careers as rotation guys.

I didnt like that many C's in this years draft, especially in the 2nd. Henry Sims a 6'11 257 C for Georgetown could be available but he didnt do much in college and is not a guy with alot of potential. Festus Ezeli from Vandy looks garbage, no offense Festus/Vandy fans. ;)

Good Luck Blazers!!! Here is to hoping the FO signs a GM and then a coach and then knocks this draft out of the park! Cracking my Ninkasi now...

Note: This post is going under the assumption that the Blazers will end up with (their current projecttions) no.7 and no.11 picks in the 2012 NBA draft.

Well I would love to somehow get MKG, T-Rob, or Beal but they are very likely to all be off the board within the first five picks.

A guy that could realistically fall to us is Drummond. I love the Andre Drummond; he would be excellent C to pair next to LMA. Drummond would be my pick if he somehow falls to no.7.

Others players to look at with no. 7 pick would be

Jeremy Lamb 6’5 SG from UConn and Harrison Barnes 6’8 SF from UNC(if Barnes slips)

I think it is REALLY important that the Blazers don’t reach for someone at no.7 if no one they like is around.A no.7 pick could be a really nice piece to add to a trade.

Onto the no.11

My first round Sleepers:

Tony Wroten 6'5 lefty PG from UW that he could end up being one the better players in this class, hes If he can make a jumpshot his offensive game is virtually unstoppable. Projected to go 15-25.

Terrence Ross: 6'6 SG/SF out of UW. Could be another great NBA scorer to come out of the pacific NW.

Here are some nice prospects that could be available in the 2nd.

Good Luck Blazers!!! Here is to hoping the FO signs a GM and then a coach and then knocks this draft out of the park! Cracking my Ninkasi now...

not one NBA trade despite being just two days before the deadline? odd...

blazethenugs — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:15:53 -0000

It is eerie, the lack of trades that is, so close to the deadline. Maybe it is just me but, I recall the NBA trade deadline as a time where huge deals are swung. We haven't even had a multi-player deal of some middling talent, yet.

Do you guys feel this is entirely due to the new CBA? If so, than it is clear that the new CBA is taking alot of fun out of the game. As a fan, I eat up the NBA trade deadline like it was my Grandma's german chocolate cake. They are exciting, rosters are changed as is the fans experience. This new CBA seems to be so prohibitive that no teams are willing to pull the trigger on deals. I hope the next few days up until the deadline will prove me wrong but, for some reason I envision only a few trades on deadline day and only one big multi-player deal(not involing Dwill or Howard).

Onto the Blazers. What should the Blazers do before the deadline passes?

I don't mind the Blazers sitting until deadline day IF it appears that they pulled some(as in two to three) solid deals and that waiting didn't make the trade more expensive. I realize I am greatly underestimating the benefit to letting the contracts of Felton and Camby expire. However, I would rather we trade these players for draft picks and young talent instead of attempting to sign FA's. Portland has some struggles being a small-market team signing the big stars of the NBA and I find it unlikely any big name FA of the likes of Howard and DWill and maybe even Rondo would chose to resign with ut. In our team history we have had to drafyt our stars it seems.

What do you guys feel the Blazers ahould do at the deadline?

and the impossible question...When in the bleep blurp will we hire a GM?

Onto the Blazers. What should the Blazers do before the deadline passes?

What do you guys feel the Blazers ahould do at the deadline?

and the impossible question...When in the bleep blurp will we hire a GM?

CRAZY stat from Houston game

blazethenugs — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:05:08 -0000

CRAZY stat from Houston game

From espn.com Plus-Minus Note of the Night
All 10 starters for the Rockets and Trail Blazers finished the game with a negative plus-minus. However, All five Rockets bench players finished in positive territory. Chase Budinger, who scored a game-high 22 points, recorded a game-high plus-15. Jamal Crawford, who led the Blazers with 21 points off the bench, was the ONLY Portland player to avoid a minus, finishing at plus-8. from espn.com

Thoughts on Houston & OKC Games

blazethenugs — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:58:22 -0000

OKC GAME
First off, I have to say that I INTENSELY hate you Scott Foster. Not only did he make the egregious horrible puke-in-your-mouth GOALTENDING call with 6 seconds left in a game and even after the game he would not acknowledge his error. Shucks if I ever am reincarnated as an NBA referee I know I would be bending over backwards apologizing for missing that call. At the bare minimum you should acknowledge that you are wrong when you are wrong. I know officiating professional sports, especially basketball, is a very challenging job but I really feel that NBA refs have it way to easy. The NBA has not made them accountable (excluding Donaghy) for missing calls or making mistakes. They hardly EVER get fired. Why does the NBA have the same refs that have been around for 10, 15, 20 years? Seeing Dick Bavetta huffing and puffing up the court a few years ago and Joe Crawford’s ancient decaying mass making that horrible call in the PHX serious. Hey NBA if your listening, a few thoughts. Keep tally of the most horrendous calls. If there are glaring descrepencies in the amount of errors per person then you figure out who is making the bad calls and not necessarily fire him but keep a little closer tab to him. OR if there is ref who consistently calls a way larger # of fouls in the 4th quarter that would be another very useful statistic to keep ahold of and measure. Accountability, accountability, and more accountability.

HEY TRAILBLAZERS, THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL SPORT. BE PROFESSIONALS AND COME READY TO PLAY.

Our team played with NO fire in the first half at Houston. Sometimes in the first half it seemed that the Blazers literally were playing with 4 players. We were molasses and they were ms.butterworths today. LMA was not LMA. Camby was not Camby. Felton put in a Felton-like in his performance today. Matthews had an ok game on the offensive side but on D he got torched by Courtney Lee multiple times. GW was good, but he also got TORCHED by Budinger tonight. Crash and Batum both got schooled by the Zona sharpshooter. Batum had an ok game by my standards. His stats weren’t great but when he comes in the game you can just instantly see our defense improve. Besides not closing fast enough on Budinger, Batum played pretty good defensively. So our team defense? Calling our team defense, ahem, excuse me, WHERE THE @$ WAS OUR TEAM D TONIGHT??? Like, im talking about our help D. It seemed non-existent until a familiar storyline decides to pop up again, you know, the one where the Blazers wait until they closely resemble slugs, get blown out, and then decide to try and make the valiant comeback only to…..fall short. Yo, Jamal!!! Even though you got 21, Jamal, I am calling you out for your bad help and team defense in the first half. Again, I must first say that I hate Nate’s defensive switching schemes that create all sorts of mismatches for our defense to cope with. In that 2nd quarter there were probably 4 straight possessions of a Houston guard probing a mismatch against one of our bigs after the switch and Jamal never made an effort to head back to the guy heading to the basket. Jamal was talked to at halftime by Nate and in the 2nd half he was a different player on the defensive end and even got a nice blocked shot as a reward. I really hope these players/Nate really really start to get angry about these performances and fix these throwaway games we are starting to see on a regular basis. OKC GAME First off, I have to say that I INTENSELY hate you Scott Foster. Not only did he make the egregious horrible puke-in-your-mouth GOALTENDING call with 6 seconds left in a game and even after the game he would not acknowledge his error. Shucks if I ever am reincarnated as an NBA referee I know I would be bending over backwards apologizing for missing that call. At the bare minimum you should acknowledge that you are wrong when you are wrong. I know officiating professional sports, especially basketball, is a very challenging job but I really feel that NBA refs have it way to easy. The NBA has not made them accountable (excluding Donaghy) for missing calls or making mistakes. They hardly EVER get fired. Why does the NBA have the same refs that have been around for 10, 15, 20 years? Seeing Dick Bavetta huffing and puffing up the court a few years ago and Joe Crawford’s ancient decaying mass making that horrible call in the PHX serious. Hey NBA if your listening, a few thoughts. Keep tally of the most horrendous calls. If there are glaring descrepencies in the amount of errors per person then you figure out who is making the bad calls and not necessarily fire him but keep a little closer tab to him. OR if there is ref who consistently calls a way larger # of fouls in the 4th quarter that would be another very useful statistic to keep ahold of and measure. Accountability, accountability, and more accountability. HEY TRAILBLAZERS, THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL SPORT. BE PROFESSIONALS AND COME READY TO PLAY.

Serious Injuries to Danilo Gallinari and Chauncey Billups

blazethenugs — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:54:55 -0000

Chauncey Billups fell to the ground untouched trying to run to a loose ball in the second half of the Lob City Vs. Dwight and Ho's game. He was able to leave the court putting slight pressure on his foot but early reports say that it is very likely he tore his achilles tendon. Too bad for Chauncey who is just an awesome guy first off, great ballplayer second. This is a serious blow to LAC if confirmed.

Danilo Gallinari badly twisted his ankle during a drive after stepping on the foot of Houston Rockets defender Chandler Parson. An X-Ray revealed a chip fracture of the foot and Gallinari could very well miss the rest of this short season. Chauncey Billups fell to the ground untouched trying to run to a loose ball in the second half of the Lob City Vs. Dwight and Ho's game. He was able to leave the court putting slight pressure on his foot but early reports say that it is very likely he tore his achilles tendon. Too bad for Chauncey who is just an awesome guy first off, great ballplayer second. This is a serious blow to LAC if confirmed.

Kenneth Faried Beasts on Summer League...

blazethenugs — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 05:50:00 -0000

Kenneth Faried Beasts on Summer League Competition

http://www.ballislife.com/video/kennethsummermix

I still really like the Nolan Smith pick. Nolan is a great kid who may never be an all-star but will always be a solid contributor in the league. However we could really use a powerful, young, rebounder/shotblocker to play the 4/5 position. He is more a 4 than a 5 but could actually be a nice addition to LMA on the court. This man is Kenneth Faried. This is a highlight clip from ball is life of Faried playing in a 2011 pro-am summer league. I realize its against lowly competition but just watch the athleticism!

If we keep the 21st pick who would you draft? (thorough list included)

blazethenugs — Fri, 27 May 2011 06:57:30 -0000

I will attempt to list (in no particular order) some realistic prospects for our 21st pick from each position, not taking into account our team needs but just if the player is likely to be available.

PG's: REGGIE JACKSON, Darius Morris, Iman Shumpert, Nolan Smith, Charles Jenkins, Norris Cole, Josh Selby, Shelvin Mack, Andrew Goudelock, Isaiah Thomas, Julyan Stone, Demetri McCamey

SG's: JORDAN HAMILTON, Klay Thompson(one of few on this list that could go much earlier), Marshon Brooks, Scotty Hopson, Jimmer Fredette(if Utah doesnt take him early) Malcolm Lee, Travis Leslie, David Lighty, E'Twaun Moore, Cory Joseph, DeAndre Liggins, Justin Holiday, Jacob Pullen, LACEDARIUS DUNN(could be a steal in the second round,really underrated)

SF's: Chris Singleton, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Honeycutt, Kyle Singler, Davis Bertans, Gilbert Brown, Jereme Richmond, Jan Vesely, Chandler Parson, Tobias Harris, Chris Wright, Bogan Bogdanovic,

PF's: KENNETH FARIED, Markieff Morris, Keith Benson, Jordan Williams, Trey Thompkins, Justin Harper, Jajuan Johnson, Nikola Mirotic, Jamie Skeen, Ric Jackson, Jon Leuer, Willie Reed,

C's: Lucas Nogueria, Greg Smith, Nikola Vucevic, Jonas Valenciunas, Jeremy Tyler, Michael Dunigan

Despite this being a weak draft there are alot of intruiging Euro prospects as well as a boatload of solid PG's too be had. There is also many excellent defensive players in this draft. I hope the blazers buy an unwanted first round pick or two to either trade up or to draft two solid nba players. If we were able to even come away with Kenneth Faried and Reggie Jackson id be pretty stoked about our draft. On a random note I wonder where Armon would go if he was in this draft, so many good PG prospects...Well hope this list inspires you guys to research a few unknown players who will be drafted a month from now. GOD I LOVE THE NBA DRAFT.

I will attempt to list (in no particular order) some realistic prospects for our 21st pick from each position, not taking into account our team needs but just if the player is likely to be available.

SF's: Chris Singleton, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Honeycutt, Kyle Singler, Davis Bertans, Gilbert Brown, Jereme Richmond, Jan Vesely, Chandler Parson, Tobias Harris, Chris Wright, Bogan Bogdanovic,

PF's: KENNETH FARIED, Markieff Morris, Keith Benson, Jordan Williams, Trey Thompkins, Justin Harper, Jajuan Johnson, Nikola Mirotic, Jamie Skeen, Ric Jackson, Jon Leuer, Willie Reed,

C's: Lucas Nogueria, Greg Smith, Nikola Vucevic, Jonas Valenciunas, Jeremy Tyler, Michael Dunigan

What should our offense look like this season?

blazethenugs — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 19:17:52 -0000

blazers 2010-11 NBA CHAMPS

I love Nate McMillan as a coach, he does many things right. He strongly emphasizes fundamentals, tough defense and has gained respect of his players, staff, and others around the league. However, I believe our offense is stagnant in part to his style of coaching. Good defense doesn't necessarily create solid offense. I cant blame Roy for his love of the iso play, as he is the best player on the team and excels with the ball in his hands. But, the iso sets should be saved for the fourth quarter or when our offense is totally stagnant. Having no true inside post threat, no knock on LA, our team needs to strongly emphasize ball movement on the offensive end. This means backdoor cuts, multiple screens on and off the ball to create easy looks. It will also make teams more honest on the defensive end and have to guard every player on the floor. As much as I dislike the Utah Jazz(LOL, diehard blazer fan) i would love to see a similiar offense to Jerry Sloans implemented, atleast until Oden, our primary post threat returns. Our team could be extremely lethal with such an offense. It would be impossible to guard Roy, Batum, Matthews, Bayless, and Rudy if they are constantly running off picks and then looking for the next pass.

This season I would like to see the blazers expand from their ultra-conservative offensive approach. I dont want our team to become a run-and-gun phoenix suns prototype, although, if we did implement such an offense, with our roster we could achieve decent success doing so. Batum is a great player that needs to be unleashed, not sitting in the deep corner waiting for threes. He has the ability to be a lethal scorer if plays are called with him cutting to the hoop against smaller players as well as bigger and slower ones. I know I am largely harping on the same points but our offense needs some sort of a jumpstart. Miller is a very solid PG in terms of running an offense, and will look to get everyone involved. BRoy should have the ball more, but not always in iso sets, as the isolation play is one of the most predictable and easily defended plays in the game.

I think McMillan should worry less about catering to his players offensive tendencies and force them to do things that are not the norm. LA and Roy do not need constant isolation plays called for them to score, they can score at will, and I would argue that a more fluid offense with multiple screens on each position, (yes LA and BRoy would be running and screening as well) would create better opportunities for our stars to score by creating mismatches and forcing the defense to scramble to them. The defense would have a much harder time defending than in an iso set, which I saw so many times last year and the result was a stifled offense. Roy and LA can still get the same large amount of touches in each game. But putting them in different positions, unfamiliar to the defense, would create huge chances for our role players to excel, and I could see many games this season where someone other than Roy and La would lead the team in scoring and our team would still win.

I am done with this unorganized rant, just really needed to get some thoughts/hopes out for some offensive changes this season. GOOOOOOOO BLAZERS!