SB Nation User Blog: kickbrass

BO Outlaw is back!

kickbrass — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:44:36 -0000

BO Outlaw is back!

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points for the Blazers, who made 14 of 26 3-point attempts. Brandon Roy scored 16 points, Bo Outlaw had 15, Rudy Fernandez added 14 and Joel Przybilla contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=281121023

Shareef calls it quits

kickbrass — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:31:53 -0000

Link

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is calling it a career after giving up on his latest recovery from knee surgery. I remember Abdur-Rahim coming to Portland as the "centerpiece" of the Rasheed Wallace trade and being underwhelmed but irrationally optimistic that the Blazers knew what they were doing at that point dumping one of my favorite (albeit embattled) Blazers. I remember being very bummed out that they just missed the playoffs by one game (41-41, familiar?) and then everything went to pieces after the Z-Bo and Miles extensions. Abdur-Rahim seems like he's always been a good guy who never lived up to his potential as a top-3 pick. I wish him well in his post-basketball endeavors, though.

My question for you all: did Shareef make enough of an impact during his Blazers tenure to be considered a Blazer by posterity? Or was he just another player who passed through but didn't make an impression on the Blazermaniacs of Portland? He came during a dark time of the Jailblazer era, does that matter?

Discuss ...

Poll

Do you consider Shareef Abdur-Rahim a Blazer now that he's retired?

Yes! He holds a special place in Blazer history for his efforts.

24 votes

No! Those years of Blazers history never happened.

110 votes

Who?

33 votes

167 votes | Poll has closed

OT: Court Rivals Season 4

kickbrass — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:23:31 -0000

Hey everyone,

So none of us quite made the CR Playoffs this year, which is too bad, but we'll definitely be there next year.

Along those lines, I know this was brought up in a post before but Honka Playboys (formerly Bedgers2) are losing a few players and will be looking to fill slots for two Power Forwards. If you've got a PF/C and are interested in joining one of the top-tier B-Edge operations, PM me (kickbrass) in the in-game mail or leave a post here on the forum.

Other teams feel free to announce openings as well. To look for intra-BEdge candidates to poach from other teams to fill your positions, consult the Google Player Attribute Spreadsheet.

Thanks everyone and keep on training! Good luck next season.

OT: Court Rivals 8/28

kickbrass — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:57:09 -0000

Since the thread is falling down, falling down, here's another to keep you up to speed:

important links:

Google Player Attribute spreadsheet

http://www.courtrivals.com/

Some of you have noticed that Bedgers2 changed our name. We felt that we deserved a name that didn't leave us as being "#2" to anyone else, so we took the name of this year's Finnish League Champions, Honka Playboys.

Continue your witty Court-Rivals-related banter here in this thread.

Court Rivals 8/12/08

kickbrass — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:02:06 -0000

It is that time Court Rival fans, time for a new Court Rivals thread! I apologize to everyone that doesn't play court rivals and has no interest in this thread. We are doing our best to cut down on the amount of these that are created and try to maintain all the info in as few threads as possible. Thanks for your patience and understanding, oh and for being TomInHawaii.

Carrying on! Here is the latest Google Player Attribute spreadsheet which was updated on 8/6/08 by the kind and wonderful Jerryd Oden. If you have access and can update your team regularly it would be a great help, and reduce the work of one person.

In the latest BlazersEdge faux-league standings we have a Google League Standing Spreadsheet brought to us by the great Lamarcus Royden. Thanks guys!

OK full disclosure: I copied the first three paragraphs from the last court rivals thread. Continue discussion of all things Court Rivals here as the last one slipped way down the fanposts.

Also, if you want access to the Player Attribute spreadsheet, just tell me your email and I'll add you.

And from the depths of the offseason ...

kickbrass — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:30:49 -0000

It may be the middle of August, but on behalf of the Blazer's Edge community I have an important announcement to make with regards to the exciting 2008-2009 season.

Many believed that with the departure of Jarret Jack and the apparent relegation of Sergio Rodriguez to Rudy's Translator, the great Sergio/Jack Controversy died out with a whimper.

However, it appears that it didn't take long for the Playing Time Controversy of the Year to take shape!

Yes, that's right folks, we have a new Sergio/Jack conundrum! Ladies and gentlemen, Let the New Debate Begin! Who will serve as the main guard next to Brandon Roy in the Fourth Quarter?

In one corner, we have Jerryd Bayless, the mercurial one-and-done Wildcat, a six-foot-three (with shoes) combo guard taken with the 11th pick in this year's draft. He took home the Vegas Summer League MVP Trophy after a very impressive showing against less-than-impressive competition. Bayless scores a lot of points, plays solid defense and has a good handle despite a much-discussed short wingspan.

In the other corner, we have Rudy Fernandez, the star of Spain's ACB league last year, whose arrival has been anticipated by Blazer faithful ever since we drafted him last year with the 20th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Rudy is currently playing the 6th man sparkplug role on the very talented Spanish National Team. He has a sweet stroke and a knack for highlight-reel theatrics with an open lane. Not known yet for his defense, however, Rudy is believed at this point to be an offense-oriented guard only at this stage in his career.

This debate is already beginning to rage in a number of other threads (including the "who plays in the fourth quarter" thread that inspired this post.)

So, Blazer's Edgers, weigh in early, and often as the season progresses and one side starts accusing Nate of having a Man Crush on the other! Good times!

Poll

Who plays in the backcourt with Brandon Roy in the fourth quarter of a close game?

Jerryd Bayless, Bayless Face and T-Rex arms in tow

64 votes

Rudy Fernandez, Sweet Stroke and Matador Cape in tow

57 votes

You have to choose one! There are no other options in this poll!

29 votes

150 votes | Poll has closed

OT: Court Rivals Team Rosters

kickbrass — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:12:43 -0000

Hi all,

I thought I'd compile a list of everyone participating in Court Rivals to see if anyone might want to shuffle the teams around to help out everyone involved. I think there are a few on each team who aren't training, and I know some of those of us who came later (Just Blaze, B-Edge Odenizers) would love to be play with a team that's all there in terms of commitment to training and roster balance.

Here's the spreadsheet:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pR9UfPvKWC0b902MfARodAg

For example, I'd be willing to bet that LaRoy Oden and Wyatt Brinkman be interested in moving onto the Bedgers2 (if they cut Josh Thatcher and Dave Deckard Jr who haven't been training it seems,) and Red Unit would benefit from that if Marcus Lucas and Billy Ray Johnson came over from Just Blaze.

THIS IS UPDATED THROUGH:

July 28

An additional note: I can set this up so each team can keep this up on their own, which would be helpful (7 teams is a lot to do all at once) ... let me know if you'd be up to doing that for your team every couple of days.

So we didn't trade LMA for Beasley ...

kickbrass — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:51:43 -0000

Big surprise, right?

Well, after a polite disagreement regarding some pre-draft speculation, the Blazers pulled off an EXCELLENT draft without indulging my slightly out-of-left-field idea. Next, though, is free agency and the summer trading season.

I love the Bayless pickup, as it gives us some options at PG. I think he'll be a great fit next to Roy. Obviously the big focus in the short-term is what to do with that SF situation. I don't think that KP is done for the summer, but I also don't think he'll move RLEC until the trade deadline, where it will be a more valuable asset. Maybe Sergio goes with him as a throw-in once he's helped Rudy move to Portland...

Anyway, I'm thinking KP's summertime target is Tayshaun Prince. Would Webster, Frye and cash/future pick(s) get the job done? If it did, I'd be all over it. Now I don't know if Detroit would do that, but it does seem that they're trying to retool and gather up assets around the Amir Johnson/Rodney Stuckey/Jason Maxiell generation, and this could help them do that.

I'm curious to see where people are at with Martell and Frye. It is my belief that the community here overrates Martell because we took him so high, traded CP3 for him, etc. It's a classic case of cognitive dissonance: some part of our brains really wants to defend that pick even though it was a big mistake (and please don't trot out the "well we never would have had Oden if it wasn't for that!!" argument. We've been over that enough times here.) I'm also curious to see who the BEdgers are salivating over besides our own players, because as Dave pointed out some of them will be moved soon.

So, is Tayshaun a worthy haul for giving up on the Nash-era Golden Boy? Is there anyone else out there who you think would be a better fit? If so, is THAT small forward worth Martell and filler?

I'm looking forward to reading your responses.

Poll

Tayshaun Prince for Webster, Frye, cash/picks

Heck yeah! omgpritchslap

33 votes

No way! I love me my Webster too much.

42 votes

No way Detroit is that stupid.

46 votes

121 votes | Poll has closed

One big name we haven't been talking about ...

kickbrass — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:50:47 -0000

Speculation leading up to the draft is just so much fun, I thought I'd put my "what if" scenario in there and see if this gets anyone talking:

Awhile back some of you were debating whether or not you'd give up LMA for the #1 pick and take Derrick Rose. After the point guard troubles we had last year, it seems like the perfect solution to our problems.

Personally, I don't think I'd do that deal if I were Chicago. But after listening to all of the speculation about Miami shopping the #2 pick ...

Say Chicago takes Rose at #1. If you were KP would you offer up LMA to Pat Riley for the chance to take Michael Beasley at #2? I know it sucks that LMA has to be the guy who's being talked about all the time as trade bait, but it sure ain't going to be Roy or Oden.

That would give us a new "Big Three", and I know some of you are already attached to this one (many were even arguing against trading LMA for Rose). Personally, I think LMA is almost as much of an unproven commodity as Beasley. LMA put up solid numbers on a high volume of shots as a main option on a lottery team, Beasley put up disgusting numbers on a middling college team. I'd do this deal, but I'm curious to know what you think:

All other things (cap rules etc) being equal, assuming these were the centerpieces of a Portland-Miami trade, would you do this?

Poll

LaMarcus Aldridge for Michael Beasley?

Are you kidding? Miami would never do that!

12 votes

Are you kidding? No way we give up LMA!

232 votes

Pull the trigger, KP!

8 votes

252 votes | Poll has closed

Speaking of Terry Porter ...

kickbrass — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:49:27 -0000

Looks like he's the first to interview for the Suns vacancy! Now really, who saw that one coming?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3398493

Pretty neat, huh? I thought he got sort of a bum rap in Milwaukee. This could be huge for him if he gets to show he can coach a team that is actually good. My prediction: everyone writes them off and says they'll miss the playoffs, and they end up around the 6th seed just ahead of the Blazers.

All I can say is best of luck to him and who knows, maybe he can even show Nash a thing or two?