SB Nation User Blog: webted

Things Western Conf. teams need to do to compete...

webted — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:49:10 -0000

...in light of the Shaq trade:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7772940/Will-rest-of-West-hop-on-the-trading-block?

I like Hill's take on trades Portland might need/want to make:

"...and even suggested young forward Travis Outlaw as part of the compensation package.

I don't think the Blazers are insane."

Bottom line:

"The only thing -- besides Oden -- Portland needs to reach elite status is experience."

Ahh... refreshing! Like a nice fresca.

A reason for LMA's drop-off?

webted — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:35:27 -0000

I only post this because I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=6941

I didn't get to tune in until midway through the second quarter, and I had to leave at the end of the 3rd quarter. But, in the part of the game I saw, LMA seemed like a non-factor on the offensive end.

Here's the jist of the article:

The injury occurred at the end of the first quarter and he could not recall the specific player. Aldridge's right hand was visibly swollen but there is no word yet on a prognosis.

How we got here

webted — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:42:07 -0000

Synopsis of symbiosis:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=6931

Thesis:

At first glance it is easy to attribute the Boston Celtics success to offseason trades with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Seattle SuperSonics. However, it was the Celtics dealings with the Portland Trail Blazers more than a year-and-a-half ago that set the stage for both blockbuster moves and allowed the Trail Blazers to build the foundation for success. Boston and Portland may be more than 3,000 miles away from each other, but these teams are closer than it seems.

Charley takes it like a man.

webted — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:10:09 -0000

His mea culpa on Roy:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7675808

Key section:

I'm not seeking to please or displease any particular segment of NBA fans. All I can do is call 'em the way I see 'em.

As far as the Roy flop-flap is concerned, I can only repeat the mantra chanted at one time or other by players at every level from MJ to the no-game hackers who have next-after-next in the schoolyards.

My bad.

Current players that could coach?

webted — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:30:44 -0000

According to Chris Wallace (Grizzlies GM) in an article by Paul Forrester over at SI.com:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/paul_forrester/01/09/players.coaches/2.html

Steve Blake: "Energetic, heady and a consummate gym rat, he's made himself into a player," Wallace said of the Trail Blazers' starting point guard. While a national title at Maryland helped Blake get into the NBA, his work while in the league has made him a success, despite not being a first-round pick.

SI article on the Trailblazers

webted — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:27:42 -0000

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/chris_mannix/01/08/roy.blazers/index.html

Here's a nice nugget:

"Sensing a weakness in his pick-and-roll play, he spent the summer working with the SuperSonics' Luke Ridnour and Nick Collison in Seattle. Thanks to that work, Roy believes he is much more effective with the pull-up jump shot, while his assist total has increased from 4.0 to 5.6."

Charley reviews the Blazers...

webted — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:41:30 -0000

...through the lens of last nights matchup with Chicago:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7633536

"Roy is rarely spectacular, but he's the kind of guy who comes up with whatever's needed for a win -- from a big shot to a big rebound, from a crucial assist-pass to the recovery of a loose ball. In other words, he's a winner. Some day, he just might merit serious consideration as the league's MVP. That's how good he is."

Ime the warrior?

webted — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:54:11 -0000

From a bizarre, rambling blog over at hoopshype...

http://hoopshype.com/blogs/muoneke/index.php/2007/12/09/ime-the-great/

You'll have to scroll through umpteen paragraphs describing "servants" (I think he means "savants"), texas, training and Nigeria. Fortunately, he put a header on the Ime story, which is near the bottom.

Martell and the failure of expectations.

webted — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:43:56 -0000

Over and over, teams would draft a young guy out of high school and rave about his potential. The GM, the coach, the owner, the assistant coach, the trainer, the ball boy, etc... would all rave about his upside - "in a few years."

Fan nation would swell with hope with every scrap of news (He's stroking it in practice!). Expectations would first be addressed as "he could eventually be as good..." and later slip to "he's going to be as good..." and finally, "he's as good as..." Every glimpse of play - mostly in the closing minutes of a 20-point blowout - we'd say, "see, it looks like he's really starting to get it!"

Now certain that he's just a few steps (maybe a little more playing time, what's with the coach?) from greatness, his sophomore year is a dashing disappointment. Exposed to the unflattering glare of the full spotlight, overshadowed by all the shiny new rookies that fill the small niche in the heart of the fan, they realize that he DOESN'T get it. Maybe he never will. Maybe he's just a bust.

It's probably his attitude. Maybe he just coasts because we liked him so much. They probably aren't being strict enough.

The fact is: Martell is right on track. As painful as it is to say, he's right on the track that John Nash and Steve Patterson thought he'd be on.

It doesn't matter how you get from here to there. Maybe it's a few years to adapt to being coached. Maybe it's a few years to put on enough bulk to play in the post. Maybe it's a few years to learn how to rotate on defense. The bottom line is that it's a few years!

Eveyone keys in on the conclusion that Martell wasn't very coachable before. Jason Quick set him up for that with his summertime interviews and articles. It seemed a bit harsh for a second year player out of high school. It's one opinion, and certainly one part of the equation, but the reality might be more nuanced than that. Maybe he wasn't that coachable because he didn't yet understand enough. Sometimes, you have to learn a lot before you can appreciate how little you know. Maybe Martell spent two years learning a lot - everything he was capable of. Maybe he didn't need much coaching to accomplish that part of the learning curve. Some people absorb a lot through observation. Now that he has that out of the way, he's in a position to learn more, but he needs help, so he's sought out coaches to provide it.

This is only Martell's third year, and he's starting to contribute. He's ahead of schedule! Hooray!

Whitsitt traded away Jermaine O'Neal AFTER four years, and he was still a year away from being a consistent double/double guy. More playing time might have moved that up one year, but probably not two. Sure, conventional wisdow says that big guys are slower to develop, but still!

I love the fact that Martell is coming into his own. I even more love the fact that we don't have to waste as much time developing high schoolers now. I wish they'd make it a two year college requirement. The delay in access to the tiny handful of prep to pro superstars (Kobe, LeBron, Kevin) would be more than made up by the overall increase in size and quality of the rank and file. How much more excited would we be with Travis if this was the start of his third year in the league?

New game review at Fox Sports

webted — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:15:19 -0000

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7393552

Pretty Spurs-centric, but I actually think Charley gave the game a fair assessment, although I'm not so sure about this "3 of 10" nonsense about Portland's zone. I need Tivo!

Money quote: "But it was Aldridge who exposed Duncan as a rather limited man-to-man defender. The second-year player went over and around Duncan, and the threat of his quick first-step also enabled Aldridge to repeatedly burn TD on step-back jumpers."