[VenomXL]

He drained that baby! Don't fall in love with it though.

[VenomXL]

Originally Posted by Hap

I think the addition of Rudy to the team will be significant enough to make us not worry about the SF spot.

If Rudy can be a Ginobli type player for us, I could see Troutlaw starting at the SF since we wouldn't have to worry about the lack of scoring form the bench. I've checked out some stuff on Rudy, but I'm trying not to get too excited in case he doesn't come over. Hopefully his desire to play in the NBA will prove too strong.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by VenomXL

If Rudy can be a Ginobli type player for us, I could see Troutlaw starting at the SF since we wouldn't have to worry about the lack of scoring form the bench. I've checked out some stuff on Rudy, but I'm trying not to get too excited in case he doesn't come over. Hopefully his desire to play in the NBA will prove too strong.

I think he eventually could be a Manu type player (scoring wise, not necessarily Balki wise), but I think next year he'll be a 10-13 ppg scorer, who will struggle but will end the season much the way that Roy did last year.

Well, stat wise not on the bench wise.

[VenomXL]

I think if we finally end up shipping Jack off and Sergio is our full time backup, we would have a very fast and fluid bench unit that could come in and do some damage. The change of tempo would be very shocking to the opposition when compared to the slow it down and grind it out style that Roy loves to play.

[nikolokolus]

Originally Posted by VenomXL

He drained that baby! Don't fall in love with it though.

I'll only start worrying if begins throwing it up left handed.

[NateBishop3]

Martell can be one of those guys. He's proven it. He has the talent, he just needs to put the puzzle together.

[Boob-No-More]

I went to the game last night and witnessed the Blazers lose for the first time this season. They are now 11-1 in games I've attended this season. Rats, I was hoping for 13-0 (I have tickets to the Memphis game) to match the 13-game winning streak.

A few observations...

If LaMarcus Aldridge ever learns to go left, he will be unstoppable in the post. The Rockets scouting report obviously said, "overplay his right hand, will not go left". Aldridge was able to score well against Scola in the first half due to a significant advantage in height/length and athleticism. In spite of Scola overplaying him to the right, LaMarcus was able to force the issue and simply shoot over the physically overmatched Argentinian. Still, I noticed right away that if Aldridge would have used a drop step and spun left he could have had an easy left handed lay-up or dunk almost every time. Instead, Aldridge went right all but one time and usually ended up shooting a right handed jump hook over Scola. He had some success with this, but from the stands it was obvious that he could have done even better if he would have gone left more (the one time he did, he got an easy bucket).

In the second half, Scola got in quick foul trouble and Aldridge spent most of the second half being guarded by Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes. As in the first half, the Rockets didn't double team Aldridge. They guarded him with a single defender and strongly overplayed his right hand. Other than the late 3-pointer, Aldridge had only four other points in the second half. As with Scola, Aldridge had a significant height/length advantage over his defenders, especially the 6'6" Hayes. However, both Landry and especially Hayes, are stronger more physical players than Scola. They totally over played LaMarcus to the right and held their ground when he tried to force going right. Hayes basically shut Aldridge down in the 4th quarter. Several times, LaMarcus caught the ball on the left box, tried to go right, was stopped in his tracks by Hayes and forced to pass back out. With a 5" height advantage, superior quickness and athleticism, Aldridge should have had a field day with Hayes guarding him. Instead, he couldn't even get a shot off on most possessions. If he would learn to go left, just one out of every three or four times, he'd get a LOT of easy baskets and would force defenders to play him straight up - which would also make him more effective when he does go right. I couldn't believe how ineffective Aldridge was against Hayes trying to go right every single time and being turned back. LaMarcus, you have two hands, learn to use them both and you'll be more than twice as hard to guard. I hope the coaching staff goes over the game film with LaMarcus and shows him how easily he could have gone left and scored at will. With no double team and his man totally overplaying his right hand, his left was wide open all game long.

I'm not usually a Jarrett Jack basher, and if you just look at the box score, it looks like he had a pretty good game. However, watching the game in person, I can tell you first hand that he did not. Jack has picked up a very bad habit that Sergio also possesses. I'm referring to leaving his feet and not having a clue what he's going to do with the ball once he's in the air. Super athletic players with a lot of hang time can elevate, look around and find the open man. Jarrett Jack (and Sergio Rodriguez) cannot and shouldn't try. Several times Jack put his head down, drove the lane, left his feet, was met by a taller defender and then had absolutely no idea what to do with the ball. This resulted in one of three things - his shot being blocked, forcing up a bad shot that had zero chance of going in while looking for the refs to bale him out, or a bad pass (either a turn over or a pass to a teammate with one or two seconds left on the shot clock). I've noticed Sergio doing this in the past, but now Jack seems to do it every other time down the court. When you have a 4" vertical, leaving your feet with no one to pass to isn't a good habit to have.

BNM