Thread Tools

Display Modes

ThatBlazerGuy · 08-06-2006, 08:22 PM

Darius Miles is amazingly athletic. He might be clumsy and not have the best handles in traffic, but that doesnt have anything to do with his athletic skills. He is probably one of the most athletic players in the NBA.

PorterIn2004 · 08-06-2006, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blazed

What are you talking about? It's one of the best on here.

Agreed.

wastro · 08-06-2006, 08:56 PM

I have a bad feeling this storyline will be the successor to the "Chris Paul v. Martell Webster" threads and messages from last season.

**HOWIE** · 08-06-2006, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wastro

I have a bad feeling this storyline will be the successor to the "Chris Paul v. Martell Webster" threads and messages from last season.

True, I think it might take a bit longer for the jury to come up with an answer on it. While Morrison would be a lot of offense, I'm not sure how he is going to do on the defensive side of the ball. It's one thing to score, but if you can't defend at this level......well.....I'm sure the debt will continue throughout the season.

I'm pretty sure that Morrison is going to come out of the gate fast, but will it last at this level?

wastro · 08-06-2006, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOWIE

I'm pretty sure that Morrison is going to come out of the gate fast, but will it last at this level?

I'm not so sure Morrison will come out of the gate really fast. He only shot something like 40% in summer league, doing a lot of damage at the line. One, 40% from the field isn't anything to brag about in the NBA, and two, he won't get the same respect from referees, taking away free throws.

Then again, I could be wrong. He might average 20 ppg out of the gate and run away with Rookie of the Year honors by the All-Star break. It's a long season.

**HOWIE** · 08-06-2006, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wastro

I'm not so sure Morrison will come out of the gate really fast. He only shot something like 40% in summer league, doing a lot of damage at the line. One, 40% from the field isn't anything to brag about in the NBA, and two, he won't get the same respect from referees, taking away free throws.

Then again, I could be wrong. He might average 20 ppg out of the gate and run away with Rookie of the Year honors by the All-Star break. It's a long season.

Well I'm pretty sure that Roy is going to have something to say about that. People are going to compare playing time and points when comparing Morrison and Aldridge which is what I should have typed instead of coming out of the gate fast. Sure he is going to blow Aldridge away in those departments, but over the career.......well that could be another story.

dudleysghost · 08-06-2006, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOWIE

Well I'm pretty sure that Roy is going to have something to say about that. People are going to compare playing time and points when comparing Morrison and Aldridge which is what I should have typed instead of coming out of the gate fast. Sure he is going to blow Aldridge away in those departments, but over the career.......well that could be another story.

This is exactly my point as well, although tradetheo doesn't seem to agree. It doesn't much matter how Morrison or Aldridge plays this year. Yeah, we could use a SF right now, but so what? What's more important when drafting with a high pick is getting the player who has the best chance at greatness. Clearly, the Blazers management thought that Aldridge is that player. I'm sure die-hard Morrison fans will make note of every time he has a good game this year while Aldridge is sitting on the bench. Good for them, but I'm more interested in who will be the better player after 2 or 3 seasons and beyond. I think that is Aldridge, so I don't regret the draft choice a bit.

tradetheo · 08-06-2006, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dudleysghost

This is exactly my point as well, although tradetheo doesn't seem to agree. It doesn't much matter how Morrison or Aldridge plays this year. Yeah, we could use a SF right now, but so what? What's more important when drafting with a high pick is getting the player who has the best chance at greatness. Clearly, the Blazers management thought that Aldridge is that player. I'm sure die-hard Morrison fans will make note of every time he has a good game this year while Aldridge is sitting on the bench. Good for them, but I'm more interested in who will be the better player after 2 or 3 seasons and beyond. I think that is Aldridge, so I don't regret the draft choice a bit.

I didn't say I don't like the draftchoice or regret it, I just disagree that having a player be great in 2-3 years will benefit us when we are coming off of a 21 win season. we need help right now and that could have come in morrision in a shooter and guy who actually has something to prove and wants to prove it. what a better way then to bring in a hard nosed guy like morrison to push miles for the starting spot by just plain outplaying him and wanting it more. I think morriosn can get better on defense and has the drive to do it. Not taking anything from aldridge, he may be a great player, but at this point morrison is just plain better. we're not talking about morrison being a 30 year old nba veteran, he is a rookie as well. I just don't agree that being an older player in college is a bad thing. where do you think the great players came from? some of the best players ever played 3-4 years of college ball way before the new highschool rule. those also happened to be the best years of the nba, the 80's and 90's. the nba has turned to crap because of the young guys coming into the league with all this potential. Just because a player can jump hi and run fast, doesn't mean they have potential to play basketball.

dudleysghost · 08-06-2006, 11:48 PM

Nobody said that being an experienced college player is bad. If you really want to understand why other people would want Aldridge over Morrison, then you should try to understand what they actually think. You should notice that a lot of fans were very happy to see Brandon Roy on the team.

Look back on the 2004 draft, when Orlando had the choice of taking Dwight Howard out of high school or Emeka Okafor, who was fresh off an NCAA championship season. Both are big men, so they both filled the same need for the Magic. Okafor had the better rookie season, but from the look of it, Howard will easily have the better career going forward (even if Okafor didn't have injury problems).

Did the Magic make a mistake not taking the guy who would contribute more in his rookie year? Not at all. Teams don't draft seeking the best immediate contribution, they draft a player trying to get the best long term contribution. That's why it is more important how good a player will become rather than how well they fill a need in their rookie year. Maybe you don't think Aldridge will be the better player in the future, but the Blazers management and many fans (including myself) disagree. Morrison's upside is limited by his lack of size and athletecism, because whether or not we want to admit it, athletecism and wingspan actually are very important in basketball.

Anonymous Gambler · 08-07-2006, 01:21 AM

I don't regret not drafting Morrison for one second. I do, however, wish we could have gotten Rudy Gay...

When all is said and done I think Gay and Roy will both be all-stars.

**mgb** · 08-07-2006, 01:55 AM

I wish we had drafted Morrison, but us getting Magloire has nothing to do with it. Magloire might be gone next year for all we know.

I'm just hoping Aldridge will be another Duncan and not a Bowie!

Oil Can · 08-07-2006, 06:48 AM

I have high hopes for Lamarcus and hope that he does well. I know Morrison will be a stud pro. Roy was a good pick.

mediocre man · 08-07-2006, 07:01 AM

No. Magloire is a short term player here in Portland. Aldridge is 2 years away from being any kind of force in the league.

Thread Tools Display Modes

Thread Tools

Display Modes