Starters a mystery
Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells and Dale Davis will start,
but the Blazers' other spots are up for grabs
10/04/03
JASON QUICK
TUALATIN -- So here are the questions facing coach
Maurice Cheeks as the Trail Blazers opened training
camp on Friday:
Does he start Zach Randolph at power forward, or keep
the emerging offensive force as a reserve? If he starts
Randolph, that pushes Rasheed Wallace to small forward.
And that, in turn, pushes Bonzi Wells to shooting guard.
That, in turn, pushes Derek Anderson to the bench . . .
Or . . . does that push Anderson to point guard, pushing
Damon Stoudamire or Jeff McInnis to the bench?
Or . . . does he experiment with Wallace at center? . . .
Or experiment with Qyntel Woods at point guard. . . . Or . . .
"We have a lot of options there," Cheeks said Friday.
"So I have to figure out who is going to be out there,
and figure who is going to be getting the minutes, and
see how they all play together."
That, more than anything, will be the primary objective
of training camp. Sure, the likes of Scott Padgett,
Robert Pack and Tracy Murray are competing for the final
two or three roster spots, but Cheeks admitted that his
goal before the Oct. 29 opener at Utah is to quickly
identify a starting lineup and begin to jell.
"The biggest thing is not trying to figure out the bottom
three, it's figuring out who is going to start, who is
going to play this amount of minutes, and who has improved
themselves over the summer," Cheeks said. "That's what this
training camp is about."
Cheeks said there are only three guarantees: Wallace, Wells
and Dale Davis will be starters.
The crux of Cheeks' predicament seems to be centered on
Randolph. Cheeks desperately wants to play Randolph more
than the 17 minutes he averaged last season, but if he
starts Randolph, it sets in motion a domino effect that
seemingly would push Anderson out of the lineup.
"Zach Randolph, for example, is a guy I have to get on the
floor, I have to get minutes for him," Cheeks said. "That
might mean he and Rasheed and Dale are on the floor at the
same time. I don't know. There are a lot of options I have
to explore."
One of the most curious options Cheeks said he will explore
is having second-year player Qyntel Woods play point guard.
Woods is 6-foot-8 and played all of his 53 games last season
as a small forward. But after an exciting summer league
performance in Salt Lake City, where Woods led all scorers
with a 28-point average, Cheeks said he wants to see if Woods
can be an up-and-coming Scottie Pippen, who at 6-8 was the
Blazers' primary point guard last season.
"I don't know right now if he can play point guard, I'm just
exploring that option," Cheeks said. "Some of the things
Qyntel brings -- his length, his height -- reminds me of
Scottie, who was a pretty good one. So I just want to see
it, and see if there is any merit to it."
Cheeks also said he will experiment with Anderson at point
guard, perhaps as a way to get him on the court if Wells
does indeed move from small forward to shooting guard. Two
seasons ago, Anderson accepted a reserve role when Wells
played guard, and Cheeks knows Anderson is the Blazers' best
soldier in terms of doing what's best for the team.
Anderson said he is not against trying to play point guard
at times, and that he again is ready to do what is best for
the team. But at the same time, he is adamant that he can
win the starting shooting guard spot.
"(Bonzi and I) found that we had a better season last year
playing together," Anderson said. "This year, who knows? We
just have to find a way to win games, and if that is me and
him competing against each other, or us playing together . . .
there is no sense going back and forth with you guys. If the
coach wants me to do something, he will tell me whatever
position to play. It's up to the top guy."
Whatever the final puzzle looks like, Cheeks is encouraged
that the Blazers can jell early because there are no new
faces to incorporate from trades or free agency.
"These guys have been together, they know how to play with
each other, and that's the key," Cheeks said. "We didn't
make any moves, so we have the same guys and they know the
system already so we should have the upper hand."
Notes:
Cheeks said he probably would fine Davis after the veteran
center skipped the team's media day Thursday and was about
two hours late for Friday's morning practice. Davis said he
arrived in Portland at 5 p.m. Thursday and needed a physical
exam Friday before he could work out. "Late for what?" Davis
asked. "I'm here." Davis missed Game 7 of last season's
first-round playoff series against Dallas because of a strained
groin muscle and a strained abdominal muscle suffered earlier
in the series. Davis said Friday that he rested the injury for
more than three months and started working out within the past
six weeks. "Those injuries take a while to heal," Davis said.
"I'm not in bad shape. I still can get up and down the court,
but I just didn't want to push it too much. I definitely have
to strengthen that thing so I'll be ready for the long haul."
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