SB Nation User Blog: usmcr3049

Does Brandon dominating the ball hurt the Blazers?

usmcr3049 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:05:25 -0000

Does Brandon dominating the ball hurt the Blazers?

This was on truehoop this morning, about CP3 and the Hornets dealing with him coming back from his injury. As I was reading this I couldn't help but since that they could easly replace Pual's name with Roy's, and the Hornets team with the Blazers.

"Niall Doherty of Hornets247 has been watching the Hornets, and Paul, closely:

In five games since returning from injury, he's averaging 15.8 points, 14 assists, 4.8 boards and 3.4 steals.

Having noted all of that, this next sentence might seem a little misplaced: Chris Paul is part of the problem.

I say that because I don't see him buying into what Jeff Bower and Tim Floyd are trying to do with the offense. We saw some nice progress made towards more ball movement and less pounding when Paul was out injured, and I assumed that would continue when CP came back. Unfortunately though, I'm seeing the offense regress into Paul dribbling most of the shot clock away before launching a contested jumper while his teammates stand and watch.

Of course, there's no denying Paul's brilliance, and with the way he's been shooting this season those contested jumpers aren't necessarily bad shots. The problem is that the Hornets can only go so far with Chris Paul dominating the basketball. For the Hornets to be a real threat offensively, they need everybody involved, multiple passes on each trip down the floor, not just one guy prodding the defense for 15-20 seconds. That requires too much of Paul and too little of everyone else, including the guys playing defense.

Chris has been responding to the team's poor performance by playing hard, playing hurt, and getting on his teammates even more so than usual. I'm thinking what would serve him and the team better is to realize that his Herculean efforts aren't adding up to more W's. A smarter approach is needed."

First NBA All-Star results released

usmcr3049 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:54:05 -0000

First NBA All-Star results released

Once again we have failed the Blazers in All-Star voting. Roy is behind Aaron Brooks, amoung others in the voting.

Charley Rosen - Latest injury will derail Oden for good

usmcr3049 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:53:57 -0000

Charley Rosen - Latest injury will derail Oden for good

I can not understand some people, and by some people I mean people like Charley Rosen. Can he really believe the crap he is putting on paper? I expect it from other fans, the "I told you so" comments, the "he is another sam bowie" comments. But to say Greg is done as a player and the Blazers shouldn't even resign him after his rookie deal is done? Really?

Did he write this piece about Andrew Bynum last year when he hurt his knee cap and had to sit out the second half of the season for the 2nd straight year? Did he howl at the moon when the Laker's resigned him?

What is really sad is that Rosen is not the only guy out there saying this, Sherman Alexie said on truehoop that Oden is, "likely done as an everyday player for good". Have these guys not seen Bynum playing today? How about big Z in Cleveland setting the franchise record for games played? Have they forgotten that he couldn't stay on the court for his first couple of seasons?

I guess what makes me so upset at Charley Rosen is that what he rights has the power to influence the masses. Eventhough I know he must have been brain dead when he wrote that, a casual fan does not. They just see a story on Fox about how Greg is done. And maybe it is because so many of my friends are just casual fans, because I have already had to help bring some friends back from the edge.

The Blazers are self centered. They need to put their best players on the court together, then go...

usmcr3049 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:30:41 -0000

The Blazers are self centered. They need to put their best players on the court together, then go out and leave it all on the court together and make it work. Enough of this, "I can't play with him" or "I am more comfortable with this guy".

No link. This was from the NBA on ESPN crew of the Heat/Lakers game

Greg Oden is developing an offensive game. This is the moment in Jurassic Park when they realize...

usmcr3049 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:41:25 -0000

Greg Oden is developing an offensive game. This is the moment in Jurassic Park when they realize the raptors are breeding.

twitter

Brandon Roy plays for the....the pacers?

usmcr3049 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:24:28 -0000

Brandon Roy plays for the....the pacers?

Yahoo sports makes a typo...
Incase that change it...

"The Pacers were just completely impotent in that second half, and though the team is perhaps allowed some room to swoon due its sound start (winning five of eight games before this loss), the whole exercise feels unseemly.

Ford can be a terrible, terrible point guard. For long stretches. He's been in the league since 2003 and he still makes decisions that would get a high schooler benched, and Indiana has little or no recourse if Earl Watson(notes) (who missed all seven of his shot attempts) is playing like Earl Watson usually plays at all points leading up to earlier this month.

Ford missed four of five shots, he had seven rebounds, five assists, and five turnovers. He's averaging 6.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 turnovers in 32.5 minutes per game over his last two contests, on 20 percent shooting.

Brandon Roy(notes) has hit fewer than a third of his shots this year, and he's missed 16 of 19 attempts over his last two games against defensive stalwarts from New Jersey and New York. Good god.

Eddy Curry's(notes) return (10 points, four rebounds, four fouls, three turnovers in just under 12 minutes) was pleasant, if predictable. "

• One observation I left out of Monday's Daily Dime: This was the first time I'd seen Portland play ...

usmcr3049 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:34:18 -0000

• One observation I left out of Monday's Daily Dime: This was the first time I'd seen Portland play in person this season, and I was very impressed with the improvement of Rudy Fernandez on defense. His activity off the ball was far greater than I'd seen in his rookie season, and he was really disruptive in passing lanes, as well.

My spies in Portland concur that he's improved quite a bit at that end, which is one more reason the Blazers rank a surprising third in defensive efficiency.

Hollinger PER Diem

McMillan said the key to having success on the road comes down to one thing: winning.

usmcr3049 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:05:07 -0000

McMillan said the key to having success on the road comes down to one thing: winning.

Columbian Notebook

JA Adande: "The BLazers are self-mutilating."

usmcr3049 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:51:59 -0000

From today's Daily Dime on ESPN:

The Blazers are self-mutilating. Dropping a home game to Anthony's Nuggets by missing two free throws at the end. Letting the Atlanta Hawks outrebound them 46-36. The Hawks are supposed to be younger and more energetic than most teams ... but not the Blazers.

Their No. 1 overall pick from the 2007 draft has 19 personal fouls and 16 field goal attempts. Their offseason free-agent acquisition is shooting 34 percent. They are 2-3, with two home losses.

There are plenty of other teams with losing records. Most of them were supposed to be that way. Utah and New Orleans might be surprises, but most Conventional Wisdom watches had down arrows next to those teams and an up arrow by Portland. The other teams with optimistic outlooks are at least at .500 now, unless you want to include the Clippers. And the Portland Trail Blazers didn't assemble this roster to be compared with the Clippers. That's the neighborhood they've stumbled into. That's the reason for fear.

The Blazers are not looking good right now, and like Dave said in the pregame report, something is going to happen soon, either good or bad, there is a storm approaching.

Everytime sum1 ask me who i play for and i say Oklahoma city they say "if u work hard, maybe u will...

usmcr3049 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:33:53 -0000

Everytime sum1 ask me who i play for and i say Oklahoma city they say "if u work hard, maybe u will be a pro" Nobody knows about us yet..YET - Kevin Durant.

http://twitter.com/KevinDurant35/status/3725511194