# Portland @ Houston Game Thread



## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

I didn't see a thread started for this yet so I thought I'd start one............

Don't know if anyone is even watching but I guess you should consider youself lucky if you're not.....


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## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Yea no crapola there. What the hell is up with giving Leanard minutes over Martell?


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

so...darius loafs on defense two straight plays, and shoots two crappy shots from the floor...and he's rewarded by staying in the game?


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

I can't believe how careless Zach is with the ball. He stands there haphazardly with it in his palm and is surprised when McGrady grabs it right out of his hand and runs away with it. 

And holy crap Darius is lazy. He doesn't want to play real defense so he acts like he's going for steals all the time instead of covering anyone and just stared at a guy shoot right in front of him. Then he stands there while a guy runs right by him and gets a layup. Mike Rice who never says anything bad about our players even complained about those two lazy Darius moves back to back.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

oh yeah Outlaw did a lot dixon hogging miles 

shooting blanks oh joy


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

hasoos said:


> Yea no crapola there. What the hell is up with giving Leanard minutes over Martell?


my only guess is that he's completely totally utterly given up and is like screw it let's throw in all the guys that never touch foot on the court like lenard and ha? uh yeah i don't know what nate's doing but it definatley seems he's given up quite early. even though dixon had that stupid turnover he _was_ the only guy on the court scoring the team was 0 for 7 i think i heard besdies dixon who was 3 for 3.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

if Darius's knee is bothering him as much as it's been made out to be (as it could be evident by his pathetic defense tonite) sit him down.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

someone help me out cuz i can't tell, is khryapa playing well tonight or does he just look good compared to the rest of our cruddy team? he did just make that three....hmmmm.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

darius is waking up and viktor is a solid player 

we are within 6


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

wow what happened? i went to go throw in some laundry and come back to hear the mikes saying "and portland goes on an 8 and 0 run!"


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## Blazer Freak (Jul 11, 2004)

Blake with 11 straight points. Houston is falling apart, like Rice and Barrett said they usually do at home. They aren't rebounding very well and not playing good D.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

bballchik said:


> wow what happened? i went to go throw in some laundry and come back to hear the mikes saying "and portland goes on an 8 and 0 run!"


well, you know how sometimes your luggage shows up late to the airport?

Apparently, the blazers game showed up late to Houston.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

blake for the three for the tie....blake for the three again. wow i never thought we'd be tied at all in this game after how awful we looked in the beginning. geez and blake again for the two.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Hap said:


> well, you know how sometimes your luggage shows up late to the airport?
> 
> Apparently, the blazers game showed up late to Houston.



ahh i see. makes sense. =)


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

Let's see . . . Darius gets dogged for every bad play, but when he makes good plays, nothing. Actually I think one fan gave him props . . . so four bad posts and one good post . . . I hate to see when Darius has a bad game. 

This is a Blazer site right. Even when Blazer players you hate do good, that is supoose to be a good thing right?

Props to Blake, Miles,Dixon and Victor for the first half. Let's get a road win!


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

holy bitterness. yikes. breeeaaattthhheee. :angel:


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

bballchik said:


> holy bitterness. yikes. breeeaaattthhheee. :angel:


Only after the Blazers win


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> Let's see . . . Darius gets dogged for every bad play, but when he makes good plays, nothing. Actually I think one fan gave him props . . . so four bad posts and one good post . . . I hate to see when Darius has a bad game.
> 
> This is a Blazer site right. Even when Blazer players you hate do good, that is supoose to be a good thing right?
> 
> Props to Blake, Miles,Dixon and Victor for the first half. Let's get a road win!


not trying to fight with you because you're clearly quite feisty right now and i don't think this is one of the fights that can be won, it's too intangible. but just food for thought... perhaps people aren't too thrilled when miles finally shows up for the game because they feel as one of the highest paid players he should show up full force to each and every second of each and every game. just a thought. please don't go postal on me.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> Only after the Blazers win


well ok you might pass out before that happens though. don't say i didn't warn ya.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

This the best I have seen Blake play


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

oops i forgot other teams are allowed to travel when they play against us.


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## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

I'm stuck watching the oscars with my wife so I only get to check the game once in a while and it's been weird. First down so much in the first quarter then I turn it on and they are leading! Now down by nine. I seen that Viktor was doing well and help with the come back. What happen?


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

yeah! mcgrady just went into the locker room! :banana: they're 3 and 15 without him, hopefully that'll help us out now.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

McGrady going to the locker room. Start double teaming Yao


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

I love what I'm seeing out of Blake, but nobody is helping him out.

Dixon is becoming more and more worthless by the minute, and Darius would be more helpful on the bench than on the court. 

Let's hope we can make a big run with McGrady on the bench.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

mgb said:


> I'm stuck watching the oscars with my wife so I only get to check the game once in a while and it's been weird. First down so much in the first quarter then I turn it on and they are leading! Now down by nine. I seen that Viktor was doing well and help with the come back. What happen?


Game of spruts. Niether team is playing real well. In fact my analysis is both teams are playing bad and when one team plays decent, they go on a run. McGrady in the first. Yao in the third. Miles and Blake in the Second


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

mgb said:


> I'm stuck watching the oscars with my wife so I only get to check the game once in a while and it's been weird. First down so much in the first quarter then I turn it on and they are leading! Now down by nine. I seen that Viktor was doing well and help with the come back. What happen?


Blake's playing well and scoring a lot when we need it, however Nate decided to take him out and as Rice says "nate wants to give telfair good practice time even though he's o for 4 tonight", nice. take out our best player. 

Viktor is hustling as is Skinner. Darius goes through spurts of waking up and sleep walking. He is currently sleep walking which is helping get us down by 9. Also much too lazy to go inside and bang with the big boys (or perhaps much too hurt, however you want to look at it) he's taking ridiculous shots, as Mike Rice said, "when you're down by this much you need to be really careful with shot selection:.....something Darius isn't doing. 

Ha was also out there stinking it up for a while, kept fouling and sending Yao to the line to get some easy points on us and was completley lost on defense.


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## southnc (Dec 15, 2005)

You gotta give credit to Blake for adapting to the team needs. While he is mainly a facilitator, he his willing to help with the scoring and adapt his game to what's needed. I wish the rest of the team would do the same. If the traditional scorers on this team cannot hit their shots, then they need to find other ways to contribute.

Still, it's Yao that's killing the Blazers in this game. We really need our centers - Joel & Theo. Once those guys make it back, interior defense will improve.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

apparantly our guys have also had a pow wow and decided it'd be more fun to not play any defense. just run around like chickens with their heads cut off watching the rockets shoot. perhaps they're observing their form, let's hope they learn something.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

how many turnovers could a miles get if a miles could get turnovers? what is he doing?!


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## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Thanks for the updates guys/gals. Dang, was hoping we made another come back since I last look but we are down by 18.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

I'm all for givin a guy a chance and all but Lenard is starting to seriously piss me off. He can't make a shot to save his life and just threw the ball out of bounds. grrrrrrrr.


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## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

What happen to Zach?


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

why is zach going into the locker room?? no more injuries please!!!!

nice ball movement by telfair and blake but telfair really should stop shooting now he's 2 for 10.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Ya know...if Martell isn't even going to get PT when Leonard and Miles playing crap like this....why even bother watching? Sheesh. 

Give us somethign to look forward too!


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## barfo (Jan 2, 2003)

bballchik said:


> why is zach going into the locker room?? no more injuries please!!!!


Zach and T-Mac are going to meet out behind the arena and smoke cigarettes and act cool.

barfo


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Why is Miles getting PT? He's playing terrible, lazy and just so bad. Martell at leasts trys to play defense out there and within the offense...


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

I am very pissed that Nate's not playing Martell....crap....what the hell?


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

wtf,no martell until like 46 minute of the game? Nate is slowly turning into cheeks...ugh!!!!!!!!! :curse:


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Xericx said:


> Ya know...if Martell isn't even going to get PT when Leonard and Miles playing crap like this....why even bother watching? Sheesh.
> 
> Give us somethign to look forward too!


I'm not quite sure why for you Martell is the only thing to look forward to in life but that's kinda your problem. As far as developing the young guys goes, Outlaw and Telfair got significant minutes and even Ha saw some action tonight.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

bballchik said:


> I'm not quite sure why for you Martell is the only thing to look forward to in life but that's kinda your problem. As far as developing the young guys goes, Outlaw and Telfair got significant minutes and even Ha saw some action tonight.


Because he's a hard working player that deserves PT. Miles doesn't.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Not that I'm condoning playing the lifeless Miles or the worst shooter ever shooting guard Lenard but perhaps Nate kept Martell out to give more minutes to some of the other guys since Martell has had his chance in the last few games and hasn't performed well enough to earn continuing minutes (wasn't he 0 for 5 last night?). I'm sure Nate just wants to get a fair look at all of his options to see who his better players are. He saw Martell last night and maybe wanted to see Lenard tonight? I dont' think it would be fair of Nate to hand someone minutes simply because of their age, "oh he's a young guy he needs minutes", I think he needs to give minutes to the guys that are playing the best for him and give them all a fair look. Just a thought.........


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Xericx said:


> Because he's a hard working player that deserves PT. Miles doesn't.


No perhaps Miles doesn't deserve PT but I don't necessarily see how that translates directly into giving it all to Martell. Aren't they different positions anyway? It looked to me like Telfair and Lenard took a lot of Martell's minutes as they were in there as the 2 guards a lot while Blake was at the 1.


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

MAS RipCity said:


> wtf,no martell until like 46 minute of the game? Nate is slowly turning into cheeks...ugh!!!!!!!!! :curse:


 lol...let's not get out of control now.


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

OK, I left early but heard the end of the game on the radio. Here are my, and Clydes takes on the game. WTF is Nate doing. Martell Webster should play ahead of both Dixon and Lenard, not the final minute of a blow out loss. Clyde was hillarious...Side note why is he working for the Rockets instead of the Blazers? Clyde thinks Darius Miles is a waste of skin. I believe his exact words were " Why does he even bother to dress for games" Clyde also thinks Zach is a good player, but Portland should look to trade him and Miles in the off season beause a team with them on it will never win. He thinks Telfair, Outlaw and Jack are good players to build upon, and Webster and especially Khryapa should be the foundation of the team. He said Khryapa reminds him of an old teammate named Jerome Kersey because he does a little bit of everything to help the team. he said the player most likely to shatter all his records is Webster. he said he loves the kid and couldn't figure out why he wasn't playing. He said Blake is a good solid PG, but that Dixon would be better off in a smaller role if the team wanted to succeed. He said he would welcome the opportunity to come back to the Blazers. That he pleaded with Harry Glickman to draft Michael Jordan because they could play together and also pleaded for the team to trade for Charles Barkley before he was traded to Phoenix. I taked to Clyde a bit durring half time (got my hat signed....said it was for my son....yes I'm a dork) He was quite candid about wanting to come back and restore the love of Blazer basketball to Portland. He said he and Terry Porter would be great choices for GM because they know Portland. He also said Porter should have been named coach, but the team just doesn't get it. The first thing he would do is trade Miles and Zach. Said his time in Portland was his happiest, and said he would be sad if things continue the way they are.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

bballchik said:


> No perhaps Miles doesn't deserve PT but I don't necessarily see how that translates directly into giving it all to Martell. Aren't they different positions anyway? It looked to me like Telfair and Lenard took a lot of Martell's minutes as they were in there as the 2 guards a lot while Blake was at the 1.


Martell's been playing the 3 at times. He needs PT on the court in order to get more shots and actually learn to put the ball on the floor more. Especially with a small backcourt that Houston was running...

And Voshon sucked it up. The "veteran moves" that Rice was drooling over was vastly overrated.


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

Great post, I appreciate you doing this because it's always nice to hear what people outside of Portland are saying about the team.



mediocre man said:


> He said he and Terry Porter would be great choices for GM because they know Portland. He also said Porter should have been named coach, but the team just doesn't get it.


This right here proves Clyde doesn't get it. Bringing Terry (not Clyde) back as GM might be a good move, but Nate was a better choice when it comes to coaching. Clyde was my favorite player, but he hasn't shown to know anything about coaching or the business of basketball since leaving the game. I'd love to have him back in some sort of PR position though.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

mediocre man said:


> OK, I left early but heard the end of the game on the radio. Here are my, and Clydes takes on the game. WTF is Nate doing. Martell Webster should play ahead of both Dixon and Lenard, not the final minute of a blow out loss. Clyde was hillarious...Side note why is he working for the Rockets instead of the Blazers? Clyde thinks Darius Miles is a waste of skin. I believe his exact words were " Why does he even bother to dress for games" Clyde also thinks Zach is a good player, but Portland should look to trade him and Miles in the off season beause a team with them on it will never win. He thinks Telfair, Outlaw and Jack are good players to build upon, and Webster and especially Khryapa should be the foundation of the team. He said Khryapa reminds him of an old teammate named Jerome Kersey because he does a little bit of everything to help the team. he said the player most likely to shatter all his records is Webster. he said he loves the kid and couldn't figure out why he wasn't playing. He said Blake is a good solid PG, but that Dixon would be better off in a smaller role if the team wanted to succeed. He said he would welcome the opportunity to come back to the Blazers. That he pleaded with Harry Glickman to draft Michael Jordan because they could play together and also pleaded for the team to trade for Charles Barkley before he was traded to Phoenix. I taked to Clyde a bit durring half time (got my hat signed....said it was for my son....yes I'm a dork) He was quite candid about wanting to come back and restore the love of Blazer basketball to Portland. He said he and Terry Porter would be great choices for GM because they know Portland. He also said Porter should have been named coach, but the team just doesn't get it. The first thing he would do is trade Miles and Zach. Said his time in Portland was his happiest, and said he would be sad if things continue the way they are.


Clyde Knows WHAT'S UP!


:clap:


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

mediocre man said:


> He thinks Telfair, Outlaw and Jack are good players to build upon, and Webster and especially Khryapa should be the foundation of the team. He said Khryapa reminds him of an old teammate named Jerome Kersey because he does a little bit of everything to help the team. he said the player most likely to shatter all his records is Webster. he said he loves the kid and couldn't figure out why he wasn't playing.


Did he elaborate more with reasons to why Webster and Khryapa should be the foundation of the team? I know Khryapa does a little of everything but he's not that spectacular, I just don't see it, and Webster?


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Tince said:


> This right here proves Clyde doesn't get it. Bringing Terry (not Clyde) back as GM might be a good move, but Nate was a better choice when it comes to coaching. Clyde was my favorite player, but he hasn't shown to know anything about coaching or the business of basketball since leaving the game. I'd love to have him back in some sort of PR position though.


Yeah. Nate is great!


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## barfo (Jan 2, 2003)

Tince said:


> Clyde was my favorite player, but he hasn't shown to know anything about coaching or the business of basketball since leaving the game. I'd love to have him back in some sort of PR position though.


Maybe he could take over for Shonz doing the Blazer History moments or whatever they are called. Or perhaps he could be the next Blaze?

barfo


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

mediocre man said:


> OK, I left early but heard the end of the game on the radio. Here are my, and Clydes takes on the game. WTF is Nate doing. Martell Webster should play ahead of both Dixon and Lenard, not the final minute of a blow out loss. Clyde was hillarious...Side note why is he working for the Rockets instead of the Blazers? Clyde thinks Darius Miles is a waste of skin. I believe his exact words were " Why does he even bother to dress for games" Clyde also thinks Zach is a good player, but Portland should look to trade him and Miles in the off season beause a team with them on it will never win. He thinks Telfair, Outlaw and Jack are good players to build upon, and Webster and especially Khryapa should be the foundation of the team. He said Khryapa reminds him of an old teammate named Jerome Kersey because he does a little bit of everything to help the team. he said the player most likely to shatter all his records is Webster. he said he loves the kid and couldn't figure out why he wasn't playing. He said Blake is a good solid PG, but that Dixon would be better off in a smaller role if the team wanted to succeed. He said he would welcome the opportunity to come back to the Blazers. That he pleaded with Harry Glickman to draft Michael Jordan because they could play together and also pleaded for the team to trade for Charles Barkley before he was traded to Phoenix. I taked to Clyde a bit durring half time (got my hat signed....said it was for my son....yes I'm a dork) He was quite candid about wanting to come back and restore the love of Blazer basketball to Portland. He said he and Terry Porter would be great choices for GM because they know Portland. He also said Porter should have been named coach, but the team just doesn't get it. The first thing he would do is trade Miles and Zach. Said his time in Portland was his happiest, and said he would be sad if things continue the way they are.


I do think that part of the management doesn't get "it" (it being our history with the team, and how to connect back with us)..and that part isn't Nash, and it's not entirely Allen.

do the math.

anyways, nice to hear your notes on Clyde and TP. While I'm not a terribly big fan of Drexler as I used to be (always liked TP more) I wuoldn't be opposed to him and TP being brought back in in some form or another.

I like what he says about our youngins (and I'm actually quite surprised he said that), and I like what he said about Zach and Darius.

I do think that they do need some kind of connection with Drexler/Porter era, and not in a purely token position either (as in, kersey was a token position)..but I'm not sure if I'd want to fire Nate, to hire TP. I don't know if either one is President material (the one I think need to either be replaced, or supplanted with a Blazer) but I do think that it wouldn't hurt to give them a decent REAL position within the team, and not just one of "thanks Clyde! now run along" sorta thing either.

I doubt tho, that Drexler and TP would take those kinds of positions. TP probably wants to coach, and Drexler probably wants to be GM.


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Tince said:


> Great post, I appreciate you doing this because it's always nice to hear what people outside of Portland are saying about the team.
> 
> 
> 
> This right here proves Clyde doesn't get it. Bringing Terry (not Clyde) back as GM might be a good move, but Nate was a better choice when it comes to coaching. Clyde was my favorite player, but he hasn't shown to know anything about coaching or the business of basketball since leaving the game. I'd love to have him back in some sort of PR position though.



I agree with this, although when explaining what he would like to do to the roster I agreed with most of it. He said the team needs to stop drafting highschool players and start drafting basketball players. He said to get rid of Zach and Darius because they have no heart, and he said that the people in Portland want to watch a team that runs and has fun along with working hard. He doesn't understand why this team doesn't with the athletes they have.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

mediocre man said:


> He said the team needs to stop drafting highschool players and start drafting basketball players.


I can predict with 100% certainty that they will indeed stop drafting highschool players! :banana:


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## barfo (Jan 2, 2003)

Hap said:


> I do think that part of the management doesn't get "it" (it being our history with the team, and how to connect back with us)..and that part isn't Nash, and it's not entirely Allen.
> 
> do the math.


Ah, it is all Kevin Pritchard's fault.

barfo


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Xericx said:


> I can predict with 100% certainty that they will indeed stop drafting highschool players! :banana:




LOL yeah I was thinking the same thing


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

mediocre man said:


> I agree with this, although when explaining what he would like to do to the roster I agreed with most of it. He said the team needs to stop drafting highschool players and start drafting basketball players. He said to get rid of Zach and Darius because they have no heart, and he said that the people in Portland want to watch a team that runs and has fun along with working hard. He doesn't understand why this team doesn't with the athletes they have.


Was it a big crowd tonight? I was suprised to see all the empty seats on the lower level to start the game. It looked like it slowly filled up. . . but never heard it get loud. Typical crowd, or just a small crowd given the opponent.


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

barfo said:


> Maybe he could take over for Shonz doing the Blazer History moments or whatever they are called. Or perhaps he could be the next Blaze?
> 
> barfo


 :biggrin: I'm sure he'd love that.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

bballchik said:


> Did he elaborate more with reasons to why Webster and Khryapa should be the foundation of the team? I know Khryapa does a little of everything but he's not that spectacular, I just don't see it, and Webster?


My guess (for webster) is that he's decent sized (6'8"?), not rod thin, and has a lot of tools.

He's a great shooter, he's smart, has good basketball IQ and is hard working, and more athletic than people give him credit for.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Xericx said:


> He needs PT on the court in order to get more shots and actually learn to put the ball on the floor more. .


Why can't he learn in practice? Maybe he'll get more time once he shows improvement in practice, who knows. We don't know what goes on behind those practice doors, maybe he's been sucking it up in practice just the same he sucked it up on the court last night going 0 for 5. All I'm saying is Nate is a good coach, maybe he knows something we don't? 



Xericx said:


> And Voshon sucked it up. The "veteran moves" that Rice was drooling over was vastly overrated.


Yeah he sucked, and we probably won't see him the next game just like Martell sucked last night and we didn't see him much tonight. I think Nate just wants to take a fair look at everyone. 

Am I the only one that thinks it's fair to give minutes to the guys who are playing harder and better both in practice and games not just hand someone a role and some minutes on a silver platter solely because they are under the age of 22? Call me crazy but I think they should EARN it. 

But at the same time I realize this is the same argument going on all season people who think guys should earn minutes vs. people who think it should be given to them to develop, bla bla bla. so whatever.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

why not TP and DRexler as the next owners i would prefer them to damon, golden era vs tarnished era.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

barfo said:


> Ah, it is all Kevin Pritchard's fault.
> 
> barfo


well, they don't call him Trader Kev for nuttin!


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

bballchik said:


> Why can't he learn in practice? Maybe he'll get more time once he shows improvement in practice, who knows. We don't know what goes on behind those practice doors, maybe he's been sucking it up in practice just the same he sucked it up on the court last night going 0 for 5. All I'm saying is Nate is a good coach, maybe he knows something we don't?


People don't like this response, but I agree with you 100%. I would love to see Webster play more, but I'm confident that he's not playing for a reason. We don't have the luxary of seeing players during practice, in the film room, etc, so we only get a sample of how NBA ready these players are.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

bballchik said:


> Why can't he learn in practice? Maybe he'll get more time once he shows improvement in practice, who knows. We don't know what goes on behind those practice doors, maybe he's been sucking it up in practice just the same he sucked it up on the court last night going 0 for 5. All I'm saying is Nate is a good coach, maybe he knows something we don't?
> 
> 
> > You can't learn in-game experience in practice. The Shooting Guard rotation should be Dixon and Martell essentially splitting the time. Not 1 minute in a blowout loss where the other swingmen on the team were stinking it up.


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

bballchik said:


> Did he elaborate more with reasons to why Webster and Khryapa should be the foundation of the team? I know Khryapa does a little of everything but he's not that spectacular, I just don't see it, and Webster?



He told me durring halftime that Khryapa has Ak47 written all over him and just needs to learn the NBA game. He said his numbers would be 20/10 if the team fed him like they do Zach, but he would also dive for lose balls and play defense. While I disagree with 20/10 I believe he could be really good in a year or so. Webster he said has a shooting touch unrivaled in the NBA...I don't remember Webster missing in warmups by the way. He said that the kid is a sound player as well and was the one of the Blazers few hopes for a superstar from this roster along with Telfair. Said in 2-3 years it could be one of the best back courts in the league along with Khryapa and a guy like Morrison or Gay....(yes he used those names) and Oden or Przybilla which he also said nice things about, this team could be extrememly good in a few years. Especially with Oden. Clyde was nice, he sat and talked to me for about 5 minutes at the half after saying he would catch me at the half durring warmups.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

mediocre man said:


> He told me durring halftime that Khryapa has Ak47 written all over him and just needs to learn the NBA game. He said his numbers would be 20/10 if the team fed him like they do Zach, but he would also dive for lose balls and play defense. While I disagree with 20/10 I believe he could be really good in a year or so. Webster he said has a shooting touch unrivaled in the NBA...I don't remember Webster missing in warmups by the way. He said that the kid is a sound player as well and was the one of the Blazers few hopes for a superstar from this roster along with Telfair. Said in 2-3 years it could be one of the best back courts in the league along with Khryapa and a guy like Morrison or Gay....(yes he used those names) and Oden or Przybilla which he also said nice things about, this team could be extrememly good in a few years. Especially with Oden. Clyde was nice, he sat and talked to me for about 5 minutes at the half after saying he would catch me at the half durring warmups.


Hap=Clyde :biggrin:


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Tince said:


> People don't like this response, but I agree with you 100%. I would love to see Webster play more, but I'm confident that he's not playing for a reason. We don't have the luxary of seeing players during practice, in the film room, etc, so we only get a sample of how NBA ready these players are.


Who is playing markedly better than him at that position? Maybe he lags or sucks in practice.....but seeing how he composes himself or how he is when he's on the floor...i just don't see it. 

Running Jack at the 2 guard is a horrible idea (although blake did so nicely tonight).


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> Was it a big crowd tonight? I was suprised to see all the empty seats on the lower level to start the game. It looked like it slowly filled up. . . but never heard it get loud. Typical crowd, or just a small crowd given the opponent.


LOL it was certainly Blazeresque in terms of fans, but it's the first game I've been to so I have no idea if it was average or not. I've heard on the radio that the team doesn't draw well.


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> Hap=Clyde :biggrin:



You know I've met both, and there's no real resemblence


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Zach had ONE shot within 5 feet of the basket. That's sad. A bunch were 6 feet..but he needs to get closer in the post!

:curse:


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Xericx said:


> Who is playing markedly better than him at that position? Maybe he lags or sucks in practice.....but seeing how he composes himself or how he is when he's on the floor...i just don't see it.
> 
> Running Jack at the 2 guard is a horrible idea (although blake did so nicely tonight).



I obviously don't know about practice, but Martell was out before the game shooting and dribbling


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Xericx said:


> Zach had ONE shot within 5 feet of the basket. That's sad. A bunch were 6 feet..but he needs to get closer in the post!
> 
> :curse:



The guy I was sitting next to who was a Rockets fan kept saying that too. Wondered why a guy that big pivots away from the basket everytime he touches the ball.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

mediocre man said:


> LOL it was certainly Blazeresque in terms of fans, but it's the first game I've been to so I have no idea if it was average or not. I've heard on the radio that the team doesn't draw well.



iirc, they had trouble selling out one of the finals games back in the mid 90s.


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

Xericx said:


> Who is playing markedly better than him at that position? Maybe he lags or sucks in practice.....but seeing how he composes himself or how he is when he's on the floor...i just don't see it.
> 
> Running Jack at the 2 guard is a horrible idea (although blake did so nicely tonight).


 Xericx, you won't find me defending the other SG on our team. If you've read my posts, you know I hate Juan Dixon, so I won't even begin to defend why he should get minutes. 

I actually said, I would like to see Webster play more, but I bet there are reasons that we don't know that are causing him not to play. When I was coaching, I had players who would dog it all during practice, but play ok during the games. Parents would wonder why I didn't play them more, but they weren't there at practice to understand. I'm not implying that Webster dogs it during practice because I've heard just the opposite is the case, but I can't think of a good reason why Nate would not play a young, more talented, high draft pick over Dixon unless it was warrented. I don't buy the "acts of the powers above" reason other posters do.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

mediocre man said:


> The guy I was sitting next to who was a Rockets fan kept saying that too. Wondered why a guy that big pivots away from the basket everytime he touches the ball.


I have a vision of where I want guys on this team....and ZACH should be in the post. Telfair should be driving to the hole...not launching 3's...and Miles needs to be cutting to the basket.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Xericx said:


> bballchik said:
> 
> 
> > Why can't he learn in practice? Maybe he'll get more time once he shows improvement in practice, who knows. We don't know what goes on behind those practice doors, maybe he's been sucking it up in practice just the same he sucked it up on the court last night going 0 for 5. All I'm saying is Nate is a good coach, maybe he knows something we don't?
> ...


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

I wonder if for some reason Webster is in Nate's doghouse. Webster was sent down to D-league and at times appears to be the last option for Nate. Nate knows Webster is young and that he is the 6th overall pick. I figure Nate is aware of the pressure to play Webster. I'm more about earning minutes, but for some reason Nate isn't giving Webster many chances.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

bballchik said:


> Martell HAS gotten some in game experience, he even got to start a few games and with the exception of a few stellar games that bring up his stats considerably, for the most part he bombs out there. Gets nervous and chokes. Maybe Nate knows what he needs better than you and perhaps Nate in his wisdom feels Martell needs to gain confidence by first, just time itself (it is his first year out of highschool, I don't know if throwing hin into the fire is the best way to go about confidence building for everyone), and second, playing minutes in blow out games where the defense is lax and he can get shoots up easier. Perhaps it's the psych major in me but I know that everyone cannot improve and cannot be motivated in the same mannor. Maybe for some guys, their confidence does improve by throwin them out there to crash and burn and learn in trial by error, but perhaps Nate knows the young, quiet Martell needs a different type of nuturing, one that doesn't involve playing and losing? Like Tince said, there is probably a reason we are not seeing more of Martell in a game, we don't know what goes on behind closed doors......


Martell's problems:

1. He often takes the first shot he gets (3-pointer)
2. He doesn't get into position to get the ball

Both of these are remedied by more PT and more touches. By getting more touches, Webster will be able to pick and choose his shots more carefully instead of trying to impress for the few sporadic minutes he does get. 

Personally, what I've seen on the floor the past few games, I'm absolutely BAFFLED why he's not getting minutes. There is no reason he shouldn't be getting 20 minutes a game at this point on one of the worst teams in the L.


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

The guy in the twilight of his career that was included in a trade as filler got 21 more minutes than our highest draft pick in more than 20 years. Things like make me want to not be interested in the Blazers. I don't mind the losing, but I do mind it when our high potential players aren't developing. If they would just develope ONE of those young guys into a superstar, we could win a lot more. That's why this team is so jacked, Martell will play 40 minutes one game and 1 minute the next. So ****ing rediculous. There is zero excuse for that. Seriously. If anyone has any idea of contacting Nate to send a verbal slap in his face please say so.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Xericx said:


> I have a vision of where I want guys on this team....and ZACH should be in the post. Telfair should be driving to the hole...not launching 3's...and Miles needs to be cutting to the basket.


I don't know if I agree with you with Telfair driving to the hole since he can't finish once he gets there. Maybe if he works on that first..... Even our own announcers were talking about how he needs to learn how to finish.


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

bballchik said:


> Xericx said:
> 
> 
> > bballchik said:
> ...


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## LameR (Jan 4, 2004)

I didn't get to watch, and have a couple of questions (sorry if they've already been asked/discussed).

Did Ha really get 4 fouls in 5 minutes?

Why did Martell only play 1 minute?

Overall thoughts?


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Actually the first quarter was musical chairs for the team. Pity Martell didn't get in there though.


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## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

who cares what martell does in practice, he's our only hope for a stud sg. dion is maxed out on potential. justl et webby play andm ake his mistakes, its not like we need the wins anyways.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

bballchik said:


> I don't know if I agree with you with Telfair driving to the hole since he can't finish once he gets there. Maybe if he works on that first..... Even our own announcers were talking about how he needs to learn how to finish.


He gets hacked alot...he can finish...he did effectively against the spurs I believe...or was it a game last week. 

The main thing that driving does it that it breaks up the opposing team's defense and all the wing players get a little more breathing room....drive, kick to the wing...blam.


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

bballchik said:


> I don't know if I agree with you with Telfair driving to the hole since he can't finish once he gets there. Maybe if he works on that first..... Even our own announcers were talking about how he needs to learn how to finish.


Drving to the hole doesn't equal shooting. Wanting Telfair to drive to the hole is exactly what you want the kid to do, he's one of the best at that already. He can break ANY guy off the trible and get to the hole, he can pass it off for an easy two or finish himself. He definitly needs to become more consistent on finishing but I'm really not worried about his ability to do so. He was finishing a lot of shots that were much more difficult in games against New York and Sacramento.


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

MAS RipCity said:


> who cares what martell does in practice, he's our only hope for a stud sg. dion is maxed out on potential. justl et webby play andm ake his mistakes, its not like we need the wins anyways.


 I care how he does in practice. If players are earning minutes over Webster in practice, then they should be playing in the game. You send a very negative message when you play players based on where they were drafted or how much they make. Players will play their hardest when they feel like they are getting a fair shot.


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

MAS RipCity said:


> its not like we need the wins anyways.


Dude, it's not even about NEEDING the wins, it's about GETTING the wins. I could understand if we could GET the wins, but we obviously can't. Not playing Martell= No Win, Playing Martell=No Win. Guess which one I like better? The one that developes this franchise's highest pick in the past 20 years.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

Nate unequicocally said after the break that he was going to give minutes to the ones who worked the hardest and showed the most desire. If we are to belive him, than apparently he doesn't think Webster is doing that??????


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

Tince said:


> I care how he does in practice. If players are earning minutes over Webster in practice, then they should be playing in the game. You send a very negative message when you play players based on where they were drafted or how much they make. Players will play their hardest when they feel like they are getting a fair shot.


So a guy who's had 2 maybe 3 practices with this organization should get 22 minutes over the guy who's been here all year? I agree that players will likely play their hardest when they feel like they are getting a fair shot but I can't fathom Martell actually thinking he's getting a fair shot. Especially considering the lack of effort Miles repeatedly displays.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Maybe Miles, in practice, plays like Jordan.


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

Fine, you win. Iverson should never play another NBA game again since he repeatedly plays with less effort in practice than his teammates.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> Nate unequicocally said after the break that he was going to give minutes to the ones who worked the hardest and showed the most desire. If we are to belive him, than apparently he doesn't think Webster is doing that??????



On the plus side, at least I would assume in your opinion, it'd suggest that he thinks miles is doing that.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Sambonius said:


> bballchik said:
> 
> 
> > Xericx said:
> ...


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

Xericx said:


> Maybe Miles, in practice, plays like Jordan.


 Nah. I think it's the fact he is the second leading scorer and has the highest shooting percentage (not counting centers). Nate tries hard not to play Miles, but in the end just can't keep Miles on the bench. :biggrin:


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

Sambonius said:


> So a guy who's had 2 maybe 3 practices with this organization should get 22 minutes over the guy who's been here all year? I agree that players will likely play their hardest when they feel like they are getting a fair shot but I can't fathom Martell actually thinking he's getting a fair shot. Especially considering the lack of effort Miles repeatedly displays.


 This is a very valid point. Lenard WAS a proven starting SG in the league who USED to understand how the game was played. My only guess is that Nate was thinking that we lose when we play Dixon, we lose when we played Smith and Monia, we lose when we play Webster, so what's there to lose. However, your point is a great one and I would be surprised to see Lenard get 22 minutes Tuesday.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Sambonius said:


> Drving to the hole doesn't equal shooting. Wanting Telfair to drive to the hole is exactly what you want the kid to do, he's one of the best at that already. He can break ANY guy off the trible and get to the hole, he can pass it off for an easy two or finish himself. He definitly needs to become more consistent on finishing but I'm really not worried about his ability to do so. He was finishing a lot of shots that were much more difficult in games against New York and Sacramento.


well i agree with you that he can break a guy off the dribble and pass it off but the only problem is he only passes it off about 10% of the time. so sue me for saying driving equals shooting, cuz with him it usually does. but perhaps that will change. who knows. just saying that right now he doesn't pass it off much, he usually gets lost in the jungle of arms and legs and gets a turnover of some sort whether he tries to pass it out or tries to shoot.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

bballchik said:


> Sambonius said:
> 
> 
> > bballchik said:
> ...


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Tince said:


> I care how he does in practice. If players are earning minutes over Webster in practice, then they should be playing in the game. You send a very negative message when you play players based on where they were drafted or how much they make. Players will play their hardest when they feel like they are getting a fair shot.


 :yes: couldn't agree more. i've been talking about the "message" since the beginning of the season. unfortunately you and i are the only two on this board that believe this, and probably the only two that will EVER believe this. oh well, great minds think alike right?


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## Tince (Jul 11, 2004)

Sambonius said:


> Fine, you win. Iverson should never play another NBA game again since he repeatedly plays with less effort in practice than his teammates.


 I was using that as an anology to prove the point that fans don't always know what happens behind closed doors, not that Webster doesn't try hard in practice.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Sambonius said:


> Fine, you win. Iverson should never play another NBA game again since he repeatedly plays with less effort in practice than his teammates.


Luckily for Iverson, Nate's not his coach. Unluckily for those who don't agree with his vision, but Nate is our coach and believes in giving minutes to the hardest working players.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> Nah. I think it's the fact he is the second leading scorer and has the highest shooting percentage (not counting centers). Nate tries hard not to play Miles, but in the end just can't keep Miles on the bench. :biggrin:


Yup. He even said it in the papers, he said he can't not play Darius or Zach since they put up 18 points/game a piece. I think it's obvious he doesn't want to play Darius, but is pretty taped out with injuries and whatnot and is grasping at straws here.


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## barfo (Jan 2, 2003)

bballchik said:


> Luckily for Iverson, Nate's not his coach. Unluckily for those who don't agree with his vision, but Nate is our coach and believes in giving minutes to the hardest working players.


Or at least he believes in saying that. I have a hard time seeing any evidence that he acts on that supposed belief. Are we supposed to believe that Khryapa was a lazy slug at the start of the season, but Monia was working really hard? And then all of a sudden Monia quit working hard, and Khryapa started working hard? Is Voshon a hard worker? Is Ha really lazy? Etc.

barfo


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

Tince said:


> This is a very valid point. Lenard WAS a proven starting SG in the league who USED to understand how the game was played.



That's what I was thinking. it appears Nate is a very frustrated coach and wants to play someone who plays the game right. I don't think we will be seeing much of Lenard, used sort of like Charles Smith. What I get out of it more than anything is Nate is frustrated.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

bballchik said:


> Yup. He even said it in the papers, he said he can't not play Darius or Zach since they put up 18 points/game a piece. I think it's obvious he doesn't want to play Darius, but is pretty taped out with injuries and whatnot and is grasping at straws here.


What injuries affect Miles minutes?

Didn't you just say you believed Nate is giving minutes to the hardest working players?


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

mediocre man said:


> LOL it was certainly Blazeresque in terms of fans, but it's the first game I've been to so I have no idea if it was average or not. I've heard on the radio that the team doesn't draw well.


 This is definitely a bandwagon basketball town. Only thing that brings in consistent sell-outs is winning, which we haven't had since the Hakeem-era. All the injuries this season have also kept the casual fans at bay.

Outlaw has a sweet shot, between him, Webster and Khryapa, Portland has a pretty solid core of wing players. Telfair, I'm not so sure about.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

barfo said:


> Or at least he believes in saying that. I have a hard time seeing any evidence that he acts on that supposed belief. Are we supposed to believe that Khryapa was a lazy slug at the start of the season, but Monia was working really hard? And then all of a sudden Monia quit working hard, and Khryapa started working hard? Is Voshon a hard worker? Is Ha really lazy? Etc.
> 
> barfo


Maybe he says it, and wants to do it, but has to combo it with what makes the people above him happy?


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

bballchik said:


> Sambonius said:
> 
> 
> > bballchik said:
> ...


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> What injuries affect Miles minutes?
> 
> Didn't you just say you believed Nate is giving minutes to the hardest working players?


i said he wants to and probably is giving minutes to the hardest working players, with the exception of miles and zach since he has to play them because of the 18 points thinggy. 

i was thinking the injuries that may affect miles minutes are theo and joel since we need someone over freakin 6'3'' 170lbs out there to rebound and block shots and whatnot.


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Sambonius said:


> bballchik said:
> 
> 
> > Sambonius said:
> ...


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## bballchik (Oct 22, 2005)

Kiss_My_Darius said:


> holy bitterness. yikes. breeeaaattthhheee. :angel:


I'm not bitter I swear! :smile: He's just crazy mean and attacking! Whew!


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## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

I think this game was a punishment game for Martell...Against San Antonio he played horribley and didn't do a lot of the basic things right, such as blocking out Duncan on his missed free throws for an easy 2 for him....I wouldn't put much into it, he's a young player and Nate his taking him along slowly and trying to teach him the game while doing so...


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## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Sounds like Nate just wanted to take a look at Lenard.



McMillan said:


> For McMillan, the lesson was that his experiment to play newly acquired veteran Voshon Lenard 22 minutes probably wasn’t worth the look-see when considering it came at the expense of prized rookie Martell Webster, who played only the final 1:09.


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