[HoopsWorld] The Blazers Report Sep 29, 2003
The Blazers Report
By Jeff Robertson
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Sep 29, 2003, 11:43
Welcome to the September 29, 2003 edition of The Blazers Report. The Blazers
Report is proud to welcome the faithful 12 to the cusp of training camp and the
excitement that is certainly building in everyone for the 2003-04 season. Well
maybe excitement is just a bit too strong, maybe reluctant obligation is more
of the feeling.
Remarkably, and I mean this seriously, the Blazers are entering camp with the
same roster that they had the year before, minus the troublemakers that
management promised to send out the door: Antonio Daniels; Scottie Pippen and
the worst malcontent of all, Arvydas Sabonis. Fortunately for us fans, the
Blazers kept the really solid citizens of Damon Stoudamire, Rasheed Wallace,
Ruben Patterson and Zach Randolph. It’s kind of hard to believe that Ruben
Patterson was the only one who managed to a) actually get through his probation
without a problem and b) was the only not to be arrested this offseason amidst
the Blazers new zero-tolerance policy.
One Fan At A Time
Several issues are clear from this offseason. First, the Blazers are not all
that serious about cracking down on issues with the law. We have seen 3 of the
Blazers top players get in trouble with the law this offseason. I have yet to
see any discipline taken against these players. And I do not really care that
some of these issues are minor: Zach’s drinking and Rasheed’s driving. The
problem with the Blazers has been the minor issue not some major felony. How
can anyone tell me that the Blazers are really serious about their code of
player conduct when you can have these 3 players all be arrested in the
offseason. Now I know the problem is not just Portland, but in basketball
players in general. I know first hand that these players have no idea how to
live a normal life. I can tell you about one Blazers player who did not know
that the garbage collection only comes curbside and does not come to your
house, knock on the door and collection your refuse for you, this player
actually complained to the person who sold him the house as if it was the
seller’s fault. It was not really negative, the player just had absolutely
no idea. Basketball players are coddled, they are playing in front of millions
of fans, they have serious money and yet they cannot drink legally. I
understand the ridiculousness of this, but it does not change the issue that
you do not get arrested. You just do not drink if you are not 21. We have
all been out driving and we have all been pulled over before, but how
difficult is it for the Blazers to line up the players at the start of camp,
prepare a checklist of issues like “why a trading card is not a valid
drivers’ license” and “how to hide a J when driving a yellow hummer 90 mph
through Centralia.”
Can you tell I am in a ranting mood? As I was saying, the Blazers enter the
2003-04 season with essentially the same roster but maintaining a few holes
without making any offseason acquisitions. If I had told you that the Blazers
would not make one offseason move, would you have believed me? Now, I never
thought it would be a comprehensive change, but not one move? Not one? The
Blazers did not make a trade, they did not sign a free agent (sans the
minimum guys they are bringing into camp), and did not make much of a sniff
to re-do this team. Blazers basketball, one fan at a time.
Rock and Hard Place
The second thing that is clear is that the Blazers are in a rock and a hard
place with Rasheed Wallace and Zach Randolph. The Blazers want Zach Randolph
to start and Zach wants to start. When Zach feels like he should be the man
but does not get the minutes, his production tends to go down. Zach has
improved this attitude issue, but he still desperately wants to be
“respected” as he feels he should be and the Blazers are well aware of this.
Now, the solution is not as easy as fans think it should be. Rasheed Wallace
has proven in the past that he is not the most effective player at the 3.
Yes he shoots outside, but he is not strong at taking his man to the basket
and is not strong as a passer. Rasheed is by far most effective at the 4
position playing in the post and leaking out, maybe a little less than he
would like, to take the outside shot. Zach Randolph is likewise most
effective in the post using his strength and array of moves very similar to
Karl Malone. Not counting Bonzi, the Blazers have their 2 best players at
the same position and need to find a way to work both players together. This
likely ends up with Rasheed and Zach playing together at the 4/5 and seeing
Dale Davis on the bench against teams without sizable post presences. The
downside of this approach is on the defensive end where the Blazers already
lack a big shotblocking presence, they become downright nonexistent with
Rasheed and Zach in the middle. The Blazers will use camp to determine what
is the best approach or whether they are resigned to Zach coming off the
bench and playing with Rasheed in limited minutes rather than as a base
lineup.
Guards
The third issue that is clear is that the Blazers have no idea what to do
with their guards and seem to not realize that they cannot shoot. The Blazers
have Jeff McInnis, who did not play well last year, and Damon Stoudamire, who
the Blazers would like to simply release if not for the bad press they would
receive from Jason Quick. The Blazers expect Bonzi Wells to have a breakout
year and his confidence has never been higher. I cannot figure out why the
Blazers do not think that Bonzi will sit in a zone defense fortunate to get
up any shots. Was it the Dallas series? Could be, but Dallas’ zone was
certainly not what you might see against the Spurs or Phoenix or some other
longer more athletic teams. The only good thing in the guards rotation is
that you can count on a DA injury to soften up the rotation. On a positive
note, I do believe that losing Pippen and Daniels will be good for the guards
rotation as these 4 players know that they will receive significant minutes
this season and there are minutes at small forward to be had.
Lineup
The Blazers enter camp with a probable starting lineup of Damon, Bonzi, DA,
Rasheed and Dale Davis. The Blazers will work significantly with a lineup of
DA, Bonzi, Rasheed, Zach and Dale during the preseason. I do not believe
this will be the opening night lineup, but you may see this lineup sooner than
later if it clicks during camp and during the rotation for the first few games
or if Damon struggles out of the gate.
Blazers News and Notes
The Blazers enter camp with roster spots to McInnis, Stoudamire, Bonzi, DA,
Patterson, Woods, Outlaw, Rasheed, Randolph, Davis, Boumtje Boumtje. This is
11 players leaving probably 3 spots up for grab in camp. The Blazers will
include one guard on the active roster, most likely Robert Pack unless Norman
Richardson makes an unexpected contribution. Additionally, the Blazers will
include one more big man, most likely N’Diaye or Jason Jennings. Finally,
the Blazers will likely sign the best camp performer of Scott Padgett, Tracy
Murray or Jerald Honeycutt. Here is betting that Scott Padgett gets the call
based upon his jump shot and experience.
As was written in the Oregonian, the Blazers are more than a little concerned
about Ruben Patterson, off probation which was his quoted reason why he did
not punch Zach last year, and his ability to function with the team and
whether the Patterson/Randolph heavyweight fight will have a rematch. Ruben
is a scrappy, intense and focused practice player and sparks will fly between
Ruben and several players on a regular basis. The Blazers are concerned when
those sparks fly between Ruben and Zach. The Blazers continue to make efforts
to move out Ruben Patterson, but such a move is unlikely at this time. He
has the most value to a young team or a team looking to win a championship
because of his defensive abilities. Neither group wants the image of Ruben
at this point.
The Blazers have stopped almost all trade talk, but expect such talk to revive
in December as the NBA winter trading deadline nears involving Rasheed Wallace
and Damon Stoudamire. The Blazers do not want to lose Rasheed to nothing and
expect to have the ability to sign him in the offseason as he genuinely likes
Portland, but his value will never be higher than midseason and do not be
surprised to see the Toronto, New Jersey trade reinvigorated.
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