SB Nation User Blog: rmcdougall

Blazers make it to Sports Section of New England college newspaper

rmcdougall — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:28:24 -0000

Blazers make it to Sports Section of New England college newspaper

Tufts University's daily newspaper ran a story by Ethan Landy on the topic of the Blazers' impressive run to the playoffs.

Why does this matter? Tufts is secretly a hot-bed of Blazer loving, and it shows how much we care.

1/29/09 Junk: Sergio or JayBay edition

rmcdougall — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:07:27 -0000

I'm posting this on Eastern time because I want to make sure to ask you all a question:

If you could only keep Sergio Rodriguez or Jerryd Bayless going into next season, which would you keep? More importantly, why?

To guide your meditation, here are some points to consider:

Lifespan of Steve Blake as a Trailblazer
Compatibility with Brandon Roy as a potential starter
Usefulness as a flexible combo guard
Basic skills: passing, shooting, ball-handling, defense

I won't color your responses with my own opinion, but I will say this: even if you feel your choice is obvious, please explain why you feel that way. Explain as if to a layman, define your terms and premises.

Thanks so much, and a happy National Puzzle Day to all!

Truehoop on Magic Game

rmcdougall — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:01:18 -0000

Truehoop on Magic Game

I'm sure you guys have already read this, but if anyone is not a Truehoop follower, here's the link.

Abbot seems to agree that Roy had the ball an awful lot at the end: "But last night looked a little different. The mix was more Roy-centric. His teammates were touching the ball less, and Roy was alpha-dogging more. It was looking a little like Cleveland's "everyone watch LeBron dribble" play from crunch time of yesteryear. Was it some kind of ascension to a new level of stardom for Roy?"

Toronto game, 12-7-08

rmcdougall — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:05:42 -0000

Toronto game, 12-7-08

Junk Drawer | 11/30 Sunday Mornin' Edition

rmcdougall — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:29:20 -0000

Nets beat the Jazz by 17 last night. Harris once again had 30+, and New Jersey forced a bunch of turnovers. Glad to see a division rival go down, I suppose.

This Nets team is strangely competent. They start Yi Jianlian at PF and Brook Lopez at Center, and they're above .500. What are their chances of playoffs? Probably pretty solid, if they manage to keep this up. Vince Carter has actually shown some stellar play, just when I thought he'd go the way of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury, who seemed like stars of a similar vane vein.

Summary: This post was actually a trolling trade post. Feel free to react as you normally would.

Wizards Fire Jordan after 1-10 start

rmcdougall — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:59:16 -0000

Wizards Fire Jordan after 1-10 start

Injury-plagued Wizz fire coach after slow start. This is the guy that surprisingly managed to get their team into the playoffs for the last 4 years, despite similar injuries.

The Los Angeles Lakers: Prior to the game, the broadcasters and sideline reporter were engaged in a...

rmcdougall — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:21:47 -0000

The Los Angeles Lakers: Prior to the game, the broadcasters and sideline reporter were engaged in a gratuitous display of Laker butt-kissing, and the talk wasn't about whether L.A. could beat the Pistons...it was whether they were going to match the best start in NBA history (15-0). That discussion can officially end, though, since the Lakers weren't able to even make it to 8-0. Detroit controlled the entire game and showed us how the Lakers can be beaten. First off, as talented as they are on offense, the Forum Blue and Goldians can be stopped by a sound, fundamental defensive plan executed by a team with a few versatile defensive players. Also, while the Lakers certainly have a significant size advantage against most teams, their team speed is lacking. By a lot. I don't think there was a single L.A. player who didn't get taken off the dribble at least once on Friday night...even Kobe. This enabled the Pistons to basically get any shot they wanted (they hit almost 51 percent of their field goals on the night).

Furthermore, the Lakers' second unit -- which has been the prime mover of the team's strong start -- is also full of slow, limited athletes. They make up for their deficiencies with a swarming, gambling defense which generates turnovers and enables them to score a lot of easy transition baskets. But that sort of D -- which was employed liberally by the Nuggets last season -- isn't effective against teams (like Detroit) who can execute and take care of the basketball. And all that gambling and scrambling, when it doesn't work, leaves players wide open for easy shots.

Even more interesting was the play of Kwame Brown, the much-maligned former Laker who responded to boos from the L.A. crowd by going off for 10 points (4-for-5), 10 rebounds and 3 assists. He also did a good job on Pau Gasol, blocking one of the Spanish Marshmallow's shots and drawing a charging call against him in the fourth quarter. And, for one night at least, he was superior to Andrew Bynum, who finished with 8 points (3-for-7) and 9 rebounds. Said Phil Jackson: "He outplayed Andrew [Bynum] in a game that was essentially a matchup."

Brandon Roy in Men's Health

rmcdougall — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:17:22 -0000

Brandon Roy has a pretty good feature in the most recent Men's Health. It, like all press with Roy, shows him as a classy guy with a long-term plan. Just a really good read about how Roy thinks of himself and thinks of his career. Good tips for an aspiring athlete too. It's cool to read, and cool to see our boy in the national press. Linked here:

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=fitness&category=sports&conitem=ee52dab131e49110VgnVCM20000012281eac____

Off Topic Post Script: Did anyone catch the Wimbledon final? Not my favorite sport, but Feder and Nadal are clearly at the peak of it. Best Tennis I've ever seen.

White Unit vs. Memphis Starters

rmcdougall — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:58:53 -0000

Take a look at our bench. It is stacked. Stacked. In fact, let's take a look at it together.

PG: Jerryd Bayless

SG: Rudy Fernandez

SF: Travis Outlaw

PF: Channing Frye

C: Joel Pryzbilla

Bayless and Rudy are both rookies next year, so a lot of their value is based on their potential. But they certainly do have plenty of potential. Joel is a tested veteran who gives good defense and great rebounding in the interior. Channing has shown that he excels playing the 4 with a big center on the floor, and this gives him that opportunity. And Outlaw gives the white line a go-to scorer who has proven he can get his own shot. This line-up doesn't have tons of outside shooting, but has competent scorers and very decent defensive potential [note, since this team will play as a unit, I think they have a chance of being the best defensive bench unit in the NBA. That cohesiveness matters]

Being the stereotypical Blazers fan that I am, I naturally wanted to brag about this in as effective a way as possible. So I will be comparing our bench unit to the Memphis Grizzlies starting line-up. Let's take a look at that line-up below:

PG: Mike Conley Jr.

SG: OJ Mayo

SF: Rudy Gay

PF: Hakim Warrick / Darrel Arthur

C: Darko Milicic

For more on the woes of Memphis, check out their clubhouse page at ESPN. Yup, it has a big picture of Pau Gasol. They really update that page well! Note that I believe Marc Gasol won't be starting, at least not at the beginning of the season. I also believe Mayo will have trouble proving himself better than either members of the Grizzlies' current backcourt.

So let's do this head-to-head:

Bayless vs. Conley

Bayless is an unproven rookie. Conley is a somewhat proven sophomore. Conley distributes the ball well and has above-average handles. He won't be confused with a great shooter, but you can't leave him wide-open. Bayless will be in the game as an energetic defender and shooter. I wouldn't be surprised if he has trouble playing as a true point guard for the white unit, and we won't rely on him to run the offense much. If Bayless plays to the peak of his potential, then he wins this matchup. As it is, Conley is the proven commodity [didn't think you'd hear that phrase any time soon, did you?], and has the advantage going into the season.

Fernandez vs. Mayo

Rudy is the MVP of the best basketball league outside of the NBA. He comes in with an NBA-ready body and a game a bit like Ginobili's. He was able to score some buckets in Spain based on superior athleticism, but he won't be able to do that in the NBA. He's not known for his defense, but has the physical tools to be a capable defender. Mayo was the consensus #3 pick in the draft. Memphis obviously has high hopes for him fitting into their system, since they traded a very capable Mike Miller for his rights. Mayo is a slasher, with good handles and an eye for distributing. His game is a bit like Rudy's, but I think Rudy will come into the league at a higher level.

Outlaw vs. Gay

Besides Roy and Aldridge, Gay is the best player to come out of the 2006 draft. He plays a bit like Outlaw, and both are capable of playing the 4. They can both score i bunches, and rebound decently for a SF. The biggest difference is that Gay has proven himself as a starter, and Outlaw has only been successful playing in somewhat limited minutes off the bench. For now, Gay is the embodiment of what Outlaw could be. Like Bayless, if Outlaw played to the peak of his potential, he would win this matchup. Otherwise, you'd have to give Gay the advantage here.

Frye vs. Warrick

Frye is a long, athletic outside-shooting big man. Last year, he played best when he had a big body to play next to. In the white unit, he'll have Pryzbilla to do the heavy lifting of rebounding and defense, allowing Channing to focus on taking 18-foot jumpers. Warrick is a very athletic big man. A bit like Outlaw, he'll likely be able to drive past Channing on occasion. Still, I think Frye is a more established professional player and would win this matchup by an inch. Note that rookie Darrel Arthur could get minutes here, but Channing's experience would trump Arthur's potential for now.

Pryzbilla vs. Milicic
Pryzbilla belongs in the NBA. He would definitely start on a lot of teams. One of those teams is Memphis. Milicic struggles mightily against quality defenders and doesn't provide much defense of his own. With Darko on the inside, Bayless, Rudy, and Outlaw can drive at will without anyone to stop them. Pryzbilla, conversely, won't allow easy layups. I think this is the biggest advantage for the Blazers.

Obviously, this is a rather homer-ish opinion. This isn't something I'd recommend linking to on the Grizzlies blog. But I think the real lesson here is that we have a chance at having a darn good bench. The more they play together, the better they'll get, especially defensively. The Celtics won a championship in large part due to the strength of their bench defense. Hopefully, we can do the same.

New Draft Pick

rmcdougall — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:29:57 -0000

Hey Guys. ESPN.com has a new mock draft and it features a new guy I haven't heard of.

Here's a big box quoted from their site:

Portland
Alexis Ajinca Position: C
Height: 7-1
Weight: 240
Age: 20
Country: France

The skinny: It seems unlikely the Blazers will actually keep this pick. They are loaded with young players and have a history of draft day activity on the trade market.

GM Kevin Pritchard is already burning up the phone lines. I think either he'll package some of his young players with this pick and move up in the draft to get a solid prospect or he'll trade the pick for a veteran. The Blazers have had talks with the Nets about Richard Jefferson, the Suns about Leandro Barbosa and the Grizzlies about a deal that would send the No. 13 pick and the expiring contract of Raef LaFrentz to Memphis for No. 5, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins.

In case they do keep the pick, the Blazers have been eyeing Joe Alexander and Russell Westbrook. The Blazers would like to move up to get one or both players, but so far they haven't found the right deal. For the past several weeks we've had Brandon Rush in this spot. But the more I talk to the Blazers, the more I think they may go for a bigger splash. Ajinca is a long, athletic big man who is pretty skilled. He doesn't fill a need for the Blazers, but Pritchard loves to gather assets.

Found here:

http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=MockDraft-080623

What do we think?