# MB on McMillan and impressions on the 5v5



## Driew (Oct 20, 2007)

Here's the link to that blog

Interesting part:



> -Oden will be back in the five-on-five games next week, and is right on schedule. He's been incredibly impressive so far, and has wowed his teammates with his quickness, explosiveness, footwork, and soft hands. He catches just about anything thrown to him, and doesn't like to lose- even if it's just a meaningless pick-up game. Anyone who's been on his team can attest to this.
> 
> *-Martell Webster is in very, very good shape, and has shot the ball well during the early games. He's going with the clean-shaven look on his head, and says he's sticking with it.
> 
> ...


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## LameR (Jan 4, 2004)

Nice. The season can't come soon enough! Thanks for the link.


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## Webster's Dictionary (Feb 26, 2004)

Freaking sweet about Bayless, well all around, but I'm excited to see Bayless as the backup point. I don't even expect him to be quite as good as Jarret was last year, so maybe he can blow away my expectations.


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## hoojacks (Aug 12, 2004)

This was my favorite part, Nate talking about Rudy


> "The thing I loved most about his game is the fact that he plays completely all out, all the time," said McMillan. "He's got great energy on defense, and you had better find him and get a body on him on the offensive end, because he's got a nose for the ball. He's got a way of getting to offensive rebounds and loose balls, and can save possessions for his team. That will be very valuable."
> 
> 
> 
> McMillan hasn't made many comparisons, but did tell me the fans are going to love him in Portland, and thinks he's got a bit of Jerome Kersey in him, in the way he shows complete hustle and scrap when he's on the floor.


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

Webster's Dictionary said:


> Freaking sweet about Bayless, well all around, but I'm excited to see Bayless as the backup point. I don't even expect him to be quite as good as Jarret was last year, so maybe he can blow away my expectations.


While I think there may be some similar issues (such as turnovers) Bayless is a better PG than Jack if only from a defensive perspective and Fernandez is a better SG pretty much all the way around. Unlike, say, Brent Barry or even Roy, Fernandez, or Bayless, Jack is the sort of combo guard that's neither a real 1 or a real 2. Bayless would, arguably, have similar issues on other teams, but because he can really D-up on even one position and because he almost certainly fits so well with both Roy and Fernandez, I expect that, a month into the season, the _worst_ Bayless and Fernandez will do will be was Jack averaged last season.


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## #10 (Jul 23, 2004)

Forgive me if I'm a bit gunshy, but we've read this from MB before. Randolph is in the best shape of his life, etc. I'll believe it when I see it on the court.


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## Driew (Oct 20, 2007)

#10 said:


> Forgive me if I'm a bit gunshy, but we've read this from MB before. Randolph is in the best shape of his life, etc. I'll believe it when I see it on the court.


Very true...


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

Yeah okay, but this time there's a lot more than MB's word to go on. Bayless takes over summer league? Well sure, and guys like Woods have done that too. But then to go on and be part of the practice team for Team USA? And then there's his track record in high school and college.

Fernandez is even more likely to be a sure thing, based on his Olympic performances _and_ his performance this whole last year. And then there's Oden.

It's nice to hear good things about guys like Webster but they're unlikely to make or break this team. And Aldridge? While he's a bigger part of things than Webster, if all he does is perform as well as he did last year, with the addition of Oden, the apparent growth of Frye, and Przybilla getting to play with the second unit, the bigs are in fine, fine shape.

In short, while I agree MB should be taken with a grain of salt, there's so much suggesting this team is ready to really make some noise that I'm not feeling the need for cautious optimism -- bring it on, NBA!


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## Hector (Nov 15, 2004)

#10 said:


> Forgive me if I'm a bit gunshy, but we've read this from MB before. Randolph is in the best shape of his life, etc. I'll believe it when I see it on the court.


Last summer, we read that Aldridge had put on 15 pounds of pure muscle. When the season started, it was invisible. Then we read that Oden had put on some large number of pounds of muscle. Take all this flesh talk with a grain of salt.


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## MrJayremmie (Dec 29, 2007)

Awesome! If anything, Bayless's D will get him on the court a lot. He may be our best perimeter defender.


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Great stuff. Here are my thoughts


1. It's nice to know Bayless can and will D up on people. He seems to be a little bit of an pest....which is a good thing 

2. A bigger Aldridge will be bad news for the rest of the league. If anything, that was his only real weakness. 

3. Martell needs to play well this year. It's nice to hear he's in great shape, and playing well

4. I had forgotten Oden didn't go last year because of surgery


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## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

Hector said:


> Last summer, we read that Aldridge had put on 15 pounds of pure muscle. When the season started, it was invisible. Then we read that Oden had put on some large number of pounds of muscle. Take all this flesh talk with a grain of salt.


I definitely could see that Aldridge put on Muscle between his 1st and 2nd years. So far what I've seen of Oden in workout clips and what not it is pretty obvious he has put on significant muscle since last summer.


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## MrJayremmie (Dec 29, 2007)

Yeah, MB is the 2nd person to report Aldridge putting on noticeable muscle. 

Aldridge is one of the hardest workers on the blazers, and is a gym rat like Oden and Bayless.


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## #10 (Jul 23, 2004)

Hell, maybe Aldridge really did bulk up, who knows. None of that matters until we see how he uses his supposedly new guns to become a tougher inside player (or not) in a game.


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## Kmurph (May 7, 2003)

We got Oden!


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## HispanicCausinPanic (Jul 2, 2005)

#10 said:


> Hell, maybe Aldridge really did bulk up, who knows. None of that matters until we see how he uses his supposedly new guns to become a tougher inside player (or not) in a game.


I don't want LA to become a tougher inside player. His games needs to counter Greg's strengths. Him floating outside hitting j's is what we want. You got 2 big guys who all they can do is bang down low you end up with a Eddie Curry/ZBO situation!


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## STOMP (Jan 1, 2003)

PorterIn2004 said:


> In short, while I agree MB should be taken with a grain of salt, there's so much suggesting this team is ready to really make some noise that I'm not feeling the need for cautious optimism -- bring it on, NBA!


no doubt. Prior to Greg going down last offseason I was projecting a winning season for the first time in what seems like forever (50-32 actually). It didn't surprise me that much that they still went 500. Having this core a year older is a year better and I'm not projecting the struggles for their new guys that some are. They've got a near ideal blend of talented, good sized, athletic players that I just can't see very many other teams being able to match. For good reason this should be a very confident bunch and there are plenty of reasons for a fan to also believe in them.


HispanicCausinPanic said:


> I don't want LA to become a tougher inside player. His games needs to counter Greg's strengths. Him floating outside hitting j's is what we want. You got 2 big guys who all they can do is bang down low you end up with a Eddie Curry/ZBO situation!


or even closer to home SAR and Zach. You don't want too many cooks in the (low block) kitchen... one is optimal.

Ideally LaMarcus hones his body to be big and strong enough to bang with other Bigs, but not at the expense of his speed. Similarly, while I'm glad to hear about how Greg's jumper is better then advertised, heres hoping he doesn't lead the team in 3 point attempts. Hoops is a fluid game and it's optimal if guys have talents that extend beyond their roles, but LA's best and projected spot on O is up on the high post where his agility length & jumper are prototypical. I'd be more excited about news that he'd improved on his passing or pick and roll/pop play then about having bigger guns. 

STOMP


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## B-Roy (Feb 12, 2008)

#10 said:


> Forgive me if I'm a bit gunshy, but we've read this from MB before. Randolph is in the best shape of his life, etc. I'll believe it when I see it on the court.


Shugah!


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## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Considering how much bulk Aldridge put on last year, I puzzles me why people would even question it. The dude put on 20 pounds of muscle last summer.


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## ThatBlazerGuy (May 1, 2003)

Were just going to kick so much *** this year. That is all.


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

I wonder why they aren't releasing any footage of the workouts. Surely, since they're just pick-up games, the Blazers aren't concerned about other teams scouting new plays or any such. I can't figure out what the harm would be and the benefit, beyond helping many of their fans retain what's left of our sanity, would be the additional stir they'd almost certainly create, with more and more casual fans getting interested, more people buying gear, etc. It wouldn't need to be very much -- just a minute or two, like last off-season.

Otoh, they _did_ eventually pull those videos and I don't recall any explanation being offered. Maybe the NBA (that is, Stern) got its (his) nose all out of joint over it for some reason?


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## dreamcloud (Aug 8, 2008)

Hector said:


> Last summer, we read that Aldridge had put on 15 pounds of pure muscle. When the season started, it was invisible. Then we read that Oden had put on some large number of pounds of muscle. Take all this flesh talk with a grain of salt.


Seriously? You really think those were fake? Wow..


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## Public Defender (May 5, 2003)

#10 said:


> Randolph is in the best shape of his life, etc. I'll believe it when I see it on the court.


Let's remember, that when MB said that - and I believe it was preceding Randolph's last year as a Blazer - Z-Bo was in the best shape of his life, probably. He'd finally lost all that baby fat. The fact that Randolph still played lousy defense (other than rebounding) and was a black hole on offense had nothing to do with the kind of shape Randolph was in. Of course, the stuff I just mentioned, MB seldom talked much about. 

Yes, MB is frequently, perhaps perennially, a "glass half-full" (or even two-thirds full) kind of guy when it comes to the Blazers. But he doesn't lie, and I would say he tends to use decent judgment when he weighs in on something. Notice, he's not saying "Travis Outlaw hasn't made any mistakes in practice!" or "Joel Przybilla is draining three's!" He may not be the most objective, or most critical of observers (in fact, I'm sure he's not), but I tend to believe him when he writes positively about someone. A fair criticism of MB, though, would be to note that he tends not to say much about the problems that players are having (other than the obvious stuff, like injuries, etc.).


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## HispanicCausinPanic (Jul 2, 2005)

I love MB as much as a man can love another man!


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

HispanicCausinPanic said:


> I love MB as much as a man can love another man!



My goodness! Does Hap, er... Dan know? After all, it wasn't that long ago that there were wedding bells in the air.


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## HispanicCausinPanic (Jul 2, 2005)

I like reading MB's inside info! Better then having nothing there. I'm sure a lot of team's play by play guy doesn't blog cool stuff like Mike does.


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

HispanicCausinPanic said:


> I like reading MB's inside info! Better then having nothing there. I'm sure a lot of team's play by play guy doesn't blog cool stuff like Mike does.


That's a great point, actually -- between the Blazers themselves and the rest of the local media (not to mention all the internet sources like this one) we Blazers' fans probably get a lot more team coverage and information than most fans get about their teams.

Edit: With that, how many teams have their play-by-play announcer doing his own two hour radio show four to five days a week?


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## HispanicCausinPanic (Jul 2, 2005)

I'd say none. Radio wise, I know Mychal Thompson is the Lakers color guy on the radio and hosts a show in the afternoons.


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

HispanicCausinPanic said:


> I'd say none. Radio wise, I know Mychal Thompson is the Lakers color guy on the radio and hosts a show in the afternoons.


I'd bet that, across the league, there's gotta be at least a couple more. However, do those same teams also have two local sports radio stations (both of which do a remarkable job of booking players, coaches, and even the team's GM), the kind of coverage that the Oregonian, Tribune, and even non-sports papers Willamette Week provide, and all the internet sites like Blazers Edge and this one? It's certainly possible (and a place like Chicago seems almost likely) but there can't be many.


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## HispanicCausinPanic (Jul 2, 2005)

I've been to towns like OKC and Charlotte and there is barely any coverage of their team.


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## STOMP (Jan 1, 2003)

PorterIn2004 said:


> That's a great point, actually -- between the Blazers themselves and the rest of the local media (not to mention all the internet sources like this one) we Blazers' fans probably get a lot more team coverage and information than most fans get about their teams.
> 
> Edit: With that, how many teams have their play-by-play announcer doing his own two hour radio show four to five days a week?


here in the Bay Area the W's announcer co-hosts a 12-3 show 5 days a week. He is such a ridiculous over the top homer he makes MB look like Mike Wallace, but he does have airtime. A couple of his recent gems are that the W's are clearly a playoff team and Monta is a top 20 player in the league.

STOMP


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

STOMP said:


> here in the Bay Area the W's announcer co-hosts a 12-3 show 5 days a week. He is such a ridiculous over the top homer he makes MB look like Mike Wallace, but he does have airtime. A couple of his recent gems are that the W's are clearly a playoff team and Monta is a top 20 player in the league.
> 
> STOMP


Is that Barnett?


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## SheedSoNasty (Dec 31, 2002)

HispanicCausinPanic said:


> I don't want LA to become a tougher inside player. His games needs to counter Greg's strengths. Him floating outside hitting j's is what we want. You got 2 big guys who all they can do is bang down low you end up with a Eddie Curry/ZBO situation!


Except for the facts that our guys can actually defend, are team players, and have a brain.


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## dreamcloud (Aug 8, 2008)

Just a shame half it's fans can't even get TV coverage of the actual games itself to go along with that extra stuff..


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