SB Nation User Blog: homerandflanders

brandon jennings

homerandflanders — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:48 -0000

sorry, I know a lot of you are going to hate this post, but its just that last night I watched 2 games: Bucks/Bulls and Blazers/Hawks.

After watching Brandon Jennings outwork Derrick Rose (he didn't outplay him necessary, but he definitely outworked him, playing D every possession and trying to penetrate every chance, not settling for jumpers), and then watching the Blazers, I couldn't help but dream.

I know its easy now to look back and say this, but damn, it would have been great to get Brandon Jennings. I know its a small sample size, he has a "selfish" rep, and that team chemistry is what has led to the Blazers resurgence in the past 4 years.

In June, we wanted an elite point guard. Everyone dreamed of it being Rubio. The idea of trading for Jennings never crossed my mind, nor did I ever hear it suggested. But after watching him torch the Bulls on penetration last night, and then watching the Blazers settling for jumpers in the 4th quarter, Jennings just seemed like the perfect fit.

Let me ask you guys a couple questions.....

homerandflanders — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:50:46 -0000

I used to go on GSOM a fair amount a couple seasons ago when I thought it would be a travesty if the Warriors didn't get the 8th seed. After the home loss to the Nuggets, effectively ending their chances, I have not been back on. So its been a while since I have had a good discussion on the state of the Warriors. And man, has a lot changed. Some for the good, but mostly for the bad. So I was wondering if I could ask you guys some questions as to the state of your franchise.

I live on the East Coast. I am busy until about 10 pm every night, so the Warriors' games that start at 10:30 my time, 7:30 your time, work out perfectly for me. I probably watched bits and pieces of at least 45 games.

1) Is the consensus among Warrior fans that Don Nelson must go? I think he does.

2) Is the consensus among Warrior fans that "Captain Jack" must go? I always thought he got too much credit for the Dallas series, and that Jason Richardson didn't get enough. Nothing upsets me more than when I am watching a Warriors game and the ball is swung to Jackson and he jabs, sets, sets again, jabs again, sets again, then shoots the same shot he has already faked shooting 5 times.

3) Is Monta Ellis a Top-20 guy in the league? What guard would you ideally want playing alongside him?

4) Was re-signing Biedrins the correct decision? My feeling has always been that while Andris is a solid, likable player, the Warriors will never get better as long as he is their best front-court player.

5) Was the Corey Maguette signing really as bad as people say? I have always thought that under a better coach and system, and on a team that didn't already have one giant ball-stopper in Stephen Jackson, Corey Maguette would make a perfect 6th man. The way he piles up foul shots is absolutely unbelievable.

6) Has Brandan Wright showed any signs of anything? I watched him at UNC a lot and he always reminded of Calvin Booth. I thought he sucked. I have seen him score maybe 10 points in two seasons.

7) Has Marco Bellinelli showed any signs of anything?

8) Finally, is Anthony Randolph the cornerstone of the franchise?

I feel for the you Warrior fans because I really don't think you guys are that far away from the West elite. But a terrible management hierarchy, led by a terrible coach who foolishly believes that Stephen Jackson is Larry Bird, will hinder the growth of the franchise. I think its sad.

Just a sign of how much talent this team has, I have gotten this far into the post without even mentioning Stephon Curry, who I think is a definite baller.

In defense of Hidayet Turkoglu

homerandflanders — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:15:32 -0000

Turkoglu shot a terrible 41% for the season. In the playoffs, he had games where he went 2-8, 3-12, 3-14, 4-14, 3-13, 1-11, 3-12, and 3-11. He was torched for a buzzer beating jumper twice (once to a dreadful outside shooter in Andre Iguodala). He is pretty slow. He cannot finish strong. In fact, he has trouble finishing, period. He is slow to close out on shooters. He was schooled by Trevor Ariza in the final game of the 2009 NBA season. He is 30 years old.

Yet, the Blazers should most definitely sign Hedo.

1) Spacing: imagine LMA in the low block, with BRoy cutting, and Rudy and Turk on the wings, and Przy/GO on the weakside rebounding. LMA either gets single coverage or they leave Rudy or Turk alone for an open 3.

2)Ball Movement: Trout/Blake are ball movement killers. Outlaw can get the ball to the basket but can't pass, Blake can pass, but can't get to the basket. You wind up with two guys who dribble a lot yet cannot create a shot for a teammate. There is a reason why all his teammates are pleading through the media to keep Turkoglu. He is great to play with. Lewis, Nelson, Pietrus, CLee, Reddick. All those shooters, and they all got shots. Turkoglu is great a reading the double-team out of the pick and roll, or simply swinging the ball. Rudy Fernandez and (potentially) Martell Webster would have a field day playing with Turkoglu.

3)Winner: hands down the best game I saw all regular season was Orlando at Portland way back in December. What was crazy about that game was that the Blazers played simply awesome. But the Magic hit three 3's in the final 3 minutes after being down 8 to win. The last one, of course, was Turkoglu's shot that no doubt everyone on this site remembers like it was yesterday. Most people probably think it was lucky, but the truth is, great players get lucky shots to go in. Like LeBron in Game 2 of ECF, Roy vs. Rockets, Kobe vs. Blazers over Ratliff in 2004...... But just go to youtube and search for "Turkoglu game winner". The list is long; vs. the Celtics, the 76ers, the Sonics, the Bulls, the Blazers, the Pistons, the Wizards.

4)He is a well-respected veteran: with that, comes all the priviliges; you get to whine and complain to the officials, you get to clutch and grab on D, you get to push off to get open on O.

5)Great Chemistry: The Orlando Magic were composed of "Superman" from Atlanta Dwight Howard, $18 million per from Houston Rashard Lewis, and Skip-to-My Lou from Brooklyn Alston/hard-ass from Philly Jameer Nelson. Yet, when the game is on the line, all the aforementioned players gave the ball to this unathletic, dorky looking man from Turkey and just waited for their chance to contribute. The reason is simple: Trust. They loved him. They loved playing with him. They loved going to war with them. In spite of all the bad shots and turnovers, they trusted him. They went to war with him. They knew that when the moment got tough he would not back down. It was a joy to see.

6)He will be great for GO development: Turkoglu never shoots to get himself into a rhythm. He shoots to execute the play drawn up. Dwight Howard, a man with ZERO post moves, averaged 20 ppg. literally off offensive rebounds from Turkoglu's drives or Turkoglu swinging the ball after the pick and roll and Howard just planting himself in the paint waiting for the ball.

Turkoglu has balls. Simple as that. This team has two guys with cojones like that: Broy and Przybilla; LMA shows signs, so does Rudy. GO needs to develop them. But, with Turkoglu on board, suddenly, in my eyes at least, the Blazers became the best team in the West.

start up venture: in 2010 you can buy stock in the draft prospects

homerandflanders — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:51:10 -0000

I comment on BE fairly regularly. 90% of my ideas ilicit vulgar responses from the majority of the community (my proposal to trade for Baron Davis; my proposal to trade for Lou Williams; my suggestion that Joel Przybilla belongs on the Heat).......I apologize for using BE as a forum to gauge interest in this start-up venture, but I figured that there is no greater concentration of NBA maniacs in the world than on Blazers Edge. So, here it goes.....

I am working with a company called Thrill Capitall (www.thrillcapital.com). We hope to create a "stock exchange" of sorts with NBA contracts. If we were already up and running, this is how it would work:

Realizing that his hype may never be higher, Ricky Rubio comes to us before the draft wanting to lock in some profit right now. So, he signs a contract whereby he auctions off 50% of all his future basketball income in exchange for a fixed payment now. The 50% interest will be divided into hundreds of thousands of shares.

So, if AK1984 is convinced that Ricky Rubio is the next Jason Kidd, and will make over $100 million over the course of his career, then AK1984 will bid per share at a pro-rated price below $50 million. So, for the sake of simplicity, lets say that AK1984 buys all of Ricky Rubio's 50% shares in exchange for $40 million dollars. Then, if Ricky Rubio winds up making $100 million over the course of his career, then AK1984 gets $50 million (50% of $100 million), and makes a profit of $10 million.

But, if Rubio sucks up the joint, and turns out to be no better than Dan Dickau, and only makes $20 million over the course of his career, then AK1984 gets $10 million (50% of $20 million), loses $30 million, since he paid Rubio $40 million. This is a way for Rubio to insure himself.

The fun part will be that as long as AK1984 owns "stock" in Rubio, he will be able to trade his stock on our trading platform (just like the NYSE or Nasdaq). So, lets say that Rubio's first game as a pro he puts up a 31/14/8 line with 5 steals, AK1984 may be able to sell a "share" of Rubio for a lot higher than the prorated $40 million he paid for him.

Essentially, its a way for players to insure themselves by putting the risk on investors (fans), while allowing investors (fans) to profit off of heady investments in good players.

Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Personal Insults? Please, the more comments the better.

Rafer Alston

homerandflanders — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:46:21 -0000

I am not a Magic fan, and this is my first post on Third-Quarter Collapse, so forgive me if this is in the wrong spot:

I have never seen a player seem to care so little in such an important game as Rafer Alston did tonight. Forget the 1-10 shooting and the -20 while he was on the floor, those can be chalked up to just having a bad night. But there were a handful of plays where it appeared as though Alston didn't care whether the Magic won.

Examples:

-Magic make early run at start of 3rd quarter to go up 62-56, and Rafer drives the lane, jumps in the air with no where to go, and throws it away.

-Magic up 64-61, Rafer throws a bad pass which is stolen by LeBron, and he casually jogs over and just shoves LeBron. He easily could have fouled him earlier, but he casually jogged over and wound up fouling him from behind to get a clear path foul. Terrible.

-Magic up 67-63, Courtney Lee steals the ball and the Magic have a 2-1 break against LeBron James, and Lee passes it to Rafer, who just stops running. Rafer just stopped! Rather than risk challenging LeBron, Rafer just stopped running! Pathetic.

-Magic up 90-89, Mo Williams misses a 3, and Rafer easily could have gotten to the rebound, but he doesn't make much of an effort to get it, and Williams gets to it and throws it off of Alston.

I realize the 3rd quarter of game 4 was an abberation, and I don't expect much out of him. But I at least expect him to want to win the game.

Anyone who recorded the game, I challenge you to watch the game over and find a single good play Rafer Alston made tonight. Pass, defensive rotation, ball movement. Anything. I seriously did not see him do a single positive thing other than make that one three-pointer.

Focusing on the wrong 76er(s)

homerandflanders — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:37:59 -0000

I am really really against the Blazers acquiring Andre Miller. The 2001-2002 Los Angeles Clippers won 39 games; they were one of the young and up and coming teams in the NBA. On their last game of the season, a sold-out Staples Center gave them a standing ovation, and the players returned the favor by jumping on the press table and cheering them on. Up to that point, it was the best moment in Clippers history.

So the Clippers entered the 2002-2003 season with loads of excitement. And with reason. Not only did they return their core of Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Corey Maguette, and Quentin Richardson, they had also acquired Andre Miller from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Miller had just averaged 16 points and 11 assists for a team that had won 29 games.

So how much did the Miller acquisition improve the Clippers? They lost 12 more games than the year before. Miller shot a whopping 40% for the season, 20% on threes, and only 6 assists per game, even though he was playing the same amount of minutes. He only lasted one season with the Clips. He has since gone on to the Nuggets and 76ers, where he has led his team to the playoffs 5 times in 6 years, getting eliminated in the 1st round every time.

Andre Miller cannot shoot. Teams sag off of him. He kills team spacing. Yet, post after post I read that fans think he is the veteran leadership we need. I do not see it.

However, all the focus on Miller led me to an idea. How about Louis Williams? He turns 23 in October, and just averaged 12 points per game (on 40% shooting to be fair), but he is locked up until 2012-2013 at $5-6 million per year. The 76ers are in financial hell. Even though they are in a big market, with the Phillies, Eagles and Flyers all playing well, the 76ers are drawing terrible attendance. They need to slash payroll after that horrific Elton Brand signing, and, they probably think that if they can get far enough under the cap by 2010, lEbron, Bosh, or DWade will come calling. Also, the Sixers need to save money to resign Thadeous Young in a couple of years. They will be willing to make a deal.

So, I know you all hate trade posts, but I suggest, Trout, Martell and Blake for Louis Williams and Sam Dalembert. The thing is, even if Louis Williams turns out to suck, his contract makes him extremely manageable. Dalembert can back up LMA, making a Dalembert/Oden (backup) frontline incredible imposing.

Any thoughts?

A wizards fan reflects......

homerandflanders — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:50:24 -0000

I learned to read on a SI for Kids issue with Clyde the Glyde on the cover. The oldest memory I have is watching Blazers-Bulls game 6 in 1992, where Craig Hodges led a 15 point Bulls comeback in the 4th Qtr. on NBC. In 8th grade, the 1999-2000 season, I begged my father to get NBA League Pass because I was dying to see the Scottie Pippen, Steve Smith, Damon, Sheed and Sabonis Blazers.

So when my hometown Wizards mailed it in the first week of the season, who better to fill the void than the Blazers. I fell in love with BRoy's composure, the "militant efficiency" of Joel Przybilla, the incredible skill LMA, the potential of Nicolas, and, of course, the incredible teamwork of Sergio and Rudy. Ironically, the game that made me a Blazers fan for the year was a loss. At home. Versus Orlando. I know you all remember the game. Everyone remembers the Turkoglu shot, but do you remember how great a game that was? How great the crowd was? The multiple alley-oops between Sergio and Rudy? LMA displaying his range? Absolutely amazing game.

Anyway, to the Blazers, to BlazersEdge and especially to the Blazer fans who make every game at the Rose Garden worth watching on tv, I say THANK YOU. You made the NBA season relevant for me.

Here are my end of the year thoughts. I realize most of you will not read them, but nevertheless, I listed the players in their "net asset value" to the team:

Brandon Roy: love him. He is not, will not be Kobe or lEbron, but he is very close to Dwyane Wade. I am supremely confident that you can win a title with him as your best player. At time I find that he dribbles way too much, and he passes too much to Trout, but, god I love Broy. You are lucky Portland.

LMA: I go back and forth on him so much. I was begging the Blazers to trade him for Amare at the deadline. But, I think the Blazers were correct not to. He impressed me in the playoffs. I wished he got to the line more, was more physical inside, and put on about 10 pounds, but, when he is definitely a great #2 option. As long as he doesn't compromise your cap space by asking ridiculous amount, he should stay a Blazer. Stop comparing him to Sheed though. He is NOTHING like Sheed.

Rudy: he had a terrible game 6. But, he is fabulous. I think he and Roy need to spend more time together, because they lack great chemistry. I mean, really, I don't think Blazer fans realize how great luxury they have in Rudy. Did you see that pass to GO in the 4th when GO missed the dunk? He needs to improve his handle, but I really see him as a more athletic version of Manu.

Joel Przybilla: nothing needs to be said. Love him to death.

Nicolas Batum: incredible potential. Apart from his perfect NBA perimeter physique, his attitude is his best attribute. I love Batum.

Jerryd Bayless: I loved his defensive tenacity. However, if the right trade comes along, he is expendable. But god i love how he carries himself while sitting on the bench. He pays close attention and always cheers on his teamates. No pouting. And wow is he jacked! I dont know really. Jury is still out.

Greg Oden: one of the funniest things about BlazersEdge is the way people come to the immediate defense of Kevin Pritchard for picking GO over Durant. Its like you guys are in denial. There is no way at this point you can say that it was the right decision. As great as Joel has been, as great as Durant has been, I cannot believe how you guys have convinced yourselves that GO was the way to go. I root for Greg. He seems like a great great kid. But I just dont see it. I dont see him developing into a superstar. Sorry. I know I am in the minority on this site.

Sergio: one of the weirdest players, because when he is on the floor, the offense either runs through him, or it doesnt run at all. Like, he just dribbles around for 15 seconds and he either shoots it, finds someone for a wide-open shot or turns it over. I actually think he could be a great point guard. He is easy to root for. Some of those passes. Awesome.

THE FOLLOWING PLAYERS WILL NOT HELP YOU

Trout: seems like a great kid, but I cannot stand him. He is a chucker and doesn't rebound. He is a scorer, who can't really score all that well. He is a poor mans Corey Maguette, which is a bad thing. I hate it when he's in the game.

Steve Blake: I have been watching Steve Blake since he was a freshmen at Maryland. He was on the Wizards for a bit. And I know he was the Blazers earlier in his career with Juan Dixon. HE IS NOT A STARTING NBA PG. All year long I have been advocating acquiring Baron Davis. I always get ridiculed. Well, BD could have gotten you eliminated in the 1st round as well.

Frye: sucks.

Martell Webster: he reminds of Tariq Abdoul-Wahed. The athletic, talented guy that no one has ever really seen play.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I love the Blazers. I love the Rose Garden. I love Mike Rice and Barrett. I love most of your team. But, for the love of god, why did you not make a deal at the trade deadline? The window of opportunity closes so quick in the NBA. You had the most valuable asset in the NBA in Raef. And no move was made.

Oh well, I know no one will read this whole thing. But, thanks Blazers Edge. Good luck Portland.

ball movement

homerandflanders — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:11:41 -0000

maybe its been present all season and i am just noticing it more now that the Blazers are losing. maybe is has to do with sergio not playing and there not being any sergio-rudy alley oops and stuff.

But whats killed me about the Blazers this series has been the complete lack of ball movement. The way the Rockets work the ball around the perimeter allowing Yao to set and repost is a joy to watch. Blazer possessions usually consist of Steve or BRoy dribbling for 15 seconds, and then whomever they pass it to chucking up a shot.

Rudy and Trout shoot the ball just about every time they catch the ball. I am really hard on Trout, but I have to point this out. I just watched the 2nd half again, I counted the number of times he passed the ball. Not assists. Literally, the number of times he caught it and just passed it to a teammate. 3. He passed the ball 3 times in the 2nd half, while going 1-6 from the floor with a turnover. 3 passes from our 3rd leading scorer in the 2nd half of the most important game of the season. Not a good sign for the offense.

Rudy was almost as bad, although I do notice him looking inside a lot more than Trout. (Actually Rudy does probably a better job than anyone of looking for Greg on the inside).

A few other thoughts on the game: BROY did not box out Kyle Lowry on the possession Lowry got the offensive rebound and was fouled by Blake. It was a long rebound, and Lowry made a nice play, but BRoy has to box him out. He just stood and watched. LA did not box out Landry one time on the rebound to the far side. Landry's other offensive rebound late was impressive, where LA actually did box him out but the rebound went long and Landry beat LA and BRoy to the ball.

The more I watch the more it occurs to me that the Rockets are just a really really tough matchup. Our centers are great against every center in the NBA......except Yao. As a result, LA has to help out soooo much, and their 4 guys are just absolutely killing us.

who remembers the 1995-1996 Blazers?

homerandflanders — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:38:04 -0000

I was in 4th grade and living overseas, so it was really hard for me to follow the team, but I remember checking the score every morning on CNN/Headline News bottom line and seeing that the Blazers rolled off like 20 out of 24 or something ridiculous like that to end the year and make the playoffs. They then lost the first 2 games in Utah, but then won games 3 and 4 at home, only to get blown out in Game 5 at Utah.

I think the only game I got to see of that entire season was Game 5. And if memory serves me right, there was another Game 5 that preceded it, which ran long, so by the time NBC got to the Blazer game, it was the end of the 1st quarter and the Blazers were down 15.

For whatever reason I really liked Rod Strickland. I don't remember exactly why. Anyway, like I said, I didnt get to see many games that year, but I do recall them going on some ridiculous hot streak to end the year.

Can anyone reflect on that team? Was the end of the regular reason great to watch? I would just like to hear what people remember from that team.

Would Baron Davis have helped?

homerandflanders — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:43:05 -0000

I hope this is a civil discussion, no need for insults.

I was very strongly in favor of trading Raef and Jerryd for Baron Davis early in the year. As the trade deadline loomed, we could probably have gotten BD for nothing more than Raef and a 1st round pick. Every time I made the suggestion, people were disgusted. I received nothing but negativity for the suggestion. I was laughed at, ridiculed, and told that I was smoking too much crack.

However, now the playoffs are here, and we are getting murdered at the PG position. I LOVE STEVE BLAKE. I root for him so hard. But he just can't cut it.

There is no way Baron Davis lets Aaron Brooks school him like that. Baron DAvis was the story in the NBA two years ago when he knocked off the Dallas MAvericks. The passion and intensity he played with were Jordanesque. He was fat, lazy and selfish this year. But there is no doubt in my mind that the opportunity of a deep playoff push would have motivated Baron to play out of his mind.

My question is, taking everything into consideration, BD's hefty contract, Darius Miles coming back on the books, the Blazers not having a single good expiring contract to trade this summer, and Aaron Brook's absolute anihalation of the Blazers in games 1 and 2, does anyone else regret NOT trading for Baron Davis back in February?