[WebZen]

Here it is, Charley Rosen's critique of Portland. We are also on the front page of Fox Sports NBA.

 

[WebZen]

On a positive note from the article he says that Darius is well on his way to becoming an All-star and he had nothing negative to say about Martell at all.

 

[BBert]

I thought that was a great read. Thanks for posting it.

:clap:

 

[Ed O]

Good article. I wonder if he's putting stock into a single game, but overall I think he was pretty much spot-on in his analysis of tonight.

Ed O.

 

[Dan]

I think our biggest problems is the guys (all of them) still think they can just show up and play like they were able to when they were younger. If someone doesn't play hard, they shuold be taken out, regardless of who they are.

The guys don't seem to grasp that you have to play defense all the time, and it's biting them in the *** big time. It's not hard to play defense (see: memphis game). But the bad thing is, when Zach decides to mope (or whatever his "reason" is), it (in a sense) brings Telfair out of the game he's getting better at (directing traffic, and shooting 6-9 shots a game). While it's good that he's aggressive, it does get in the way of playing a complete game (which he is capable of playing).

Darius does have his lapses of "blah", but they aren't nearly as noticeable as Zach's. Mostly because Darius DOES do other things when he plays, and Zach doesn't. Both still are far too "me" centric, but I think Darius is less me-centric than Zach.

Sometimes, I think Zach is a lost cause. Like tonite, there is no excuse (barring having the flu, or knee's were in horrible shape) to play as crappy a game as he did. Shooting % isn't the bad part. it's the 5 turnovers, and 2 rebounds, and as usual, half assed defense.

I think telfair isn't a problem. He's still doing things that a college kid would be doing, and a lot of well known players do. He'll learn with time.

I'm not convinced that Zach will, and in a big way I hope they get rid of him. Shame that his contract is BYC.

 

[e_blazer1]

I agree with Rosen 100% in his opinion of Zach Randolph. I held out slim hopes that a strong coach would be able to get him to understand the importance of playing as a team over shooting for individual stats. Unfortunately, I see no indication that anything's changed. Zach is still a black hole on offense and lazy on defense.

 

[OntheRocks]

Darius does have his lapses of "blah", but they aren't nearly as noticeable as Zach's. Mostly because Darius DOES do other things when he plays, and Zach doesn't. Both still are far too "me" centric, but I think Darius is less me-centric than Zach.

I'm not convinced that Zach will, and in a big way I hope they get rid of him. Shame that his contract is BYC.

Unfortunately I'm starting to think this is also true. I was holding out for him to pull it together, and thus far he seems non-responsive from Nate's teaching and coaching. It is only the beginning of the year, let's hope something scares him into actually becoming the type of player he is capable of being!

hmmpf.

 

[Samuel]

Nice to see someone really nail it on the head. Thanks for posting this.

 

[mgb]

I think something the Blazers has done in the past and still do is in general get up for good teams but not for bad or so so teams. They couldn't afford to do that before and especially can't now.

 

[mgb]

Good article. I wonder if he's putting stock into a single game, but overall I think he was pretty much spot-on in his analysis of tonight.

Ed O.

From what I read he's putting a lot of stock in this single game especially how harsh he was with Zach! If this had been the Memphis game I think it would have been a lot different.

 

[dkap]

Two things I'm a bit unsure about:

1) "The Blazers are very much mistaken if they sincerely believe that the perpetually underachieving Randolph will ever lead them out of the wilderness."

Zach is a lot of things, many of them not desirable, but underachieving certainly isn't one of them. He's been called fat, a terrible leaper, slow, and not particularly savvy, yet he's carved out a niche as one of the tougher guys to handle in the low post.

2) "Przybilla's hands are too slow for him to play acceptable one-on-one defense."

Does he mean feet? I don't understand how hand speed has anything to do with playing good defense, unless you're Karl Malone.

Dan

 

[Oldmangrouch]

In fairness to Zach, K-Mart had comparable surgery and look at the results.

Zach has played in every game and is averaging 37 minutes. K-Mart has played in 8 games out of 14 and is averaging 26 minutes.

Odds are, Zach is not yet 100%. He may well have been tired and in pain. He is a human being, not a machine! Give the guy a break.

Not every loss requires a scapegoat.

 

[chula vista blazer]

One game does not make Zach a bust. His stats for the season are better than most people expected coming off of surgery- he's about 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists with a 44% field goal average. He, along with Darius, is the best part of our team. Quick and other critics seem overly eager to make him into another Rasheed (who was badly maligned as well).

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the Blazers, given the long term perspective. I think we're solid at the forward spots, have promise in the point guard position, and have adequate center play. We're just missing a little depth and some shooting guard play- something that shouldn't be that hard to develop over time and with another good draft pick next year.

I'd say 30 wins this year is easily attainable, with a run into the playoffs next year.

 

[dkap]

I have to admit being a bit surprised, even after a few lackluster games by Zach, his season stats are at near career best levels.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/zach_randolph/index.html

Dan

 

[mook]

Two things I'm a bit unsure about:

1) "The Blazers are very much mistaken if they sincerely believe that the perpetually underachieving Randolph will ever lead them out of the wilderness."

Zach is a lot of things, many of them not desirable, but underachieving certainly isn't one of them. He's been called fat, a terrible leaper, slow, and not particularly savvy, yet he's carved out a niche as one of the tougher guys to handle in the low post.

well said. say what you want about him, but when we drafted Randolph I was thinking "career backup," not 18/10. to declare him an underachiever requires you to invent entirely new terminology for guys like Olowakandi or Kwame Brown.

I'll go with "futiliotic anticipointment."

 

[Dan]

well said. say what you want about him, but when we drafted Randolph I was thinking "career backup," not 18/10. to declare him an underachiever requires you to invent entirely new terminology for guys like Olowakandi or Kwame Brown.

I'll go with "futiliotic anticipointment."

maybe Rosen thinks that Zach should be averaging 30 and 18.

In that case, I guess Zach is "under-achieving".

 

[e_blazer1]

I have to admit being a bit surprised, even after a few lackluster games by Zach, his season stats are at near career best levels.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/zach_randolph/index.html

Dan

If they kept stats to show missed opportunities to hit an open teammate, or kept track of shots forced against double and triple-teams, Zach would be really impressive in those categories.

I've got nothing against Zach, but I wish that he'd learn that his own stats and reputation will improve when he learns to play more of a team game. Basketball, when it's played right, should be about ball movement on offense. Too often with Zach, the only ball movement he's interested is play charts with arrows pointing to him. If I continue see him continually passing up opportunities to kick the ball out to Monia or Webster (who can actually hit a perimeter jump shot with regularity), I'm going to have to consider giving him a new nickname: Z-Bozo.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I wish we could win a game without calling a single play for Zach, just once, to show him what the hell is going on in the game.

Rosen's tough, but I'm glad it was that game -- nate will have some locker-room bulliten board material from a human, not one of the walking, talking meatballs from PDX.

 

[Ed O]

I wish we could win a game without calling a single play for Zach, just once, to show him what the hell is going on in the game.

What on earth would that prove?

Do you think that Zach is the only player that's motivated by scoring points? He's no different than almost everyone else on the team (Joel and Theo are the main exceptions, I think) in that respect. He's just different because he's our best player.

Blaming Zach for the current state of the team (and maybe you're not doing that, BC; I don't mean to ascribe things to you) is bizarre to me. Zach's one of the ONLY reasons we've been in games. He's certainly not the reason we're losing.

Ed O.

 

[e_blazer1]

What on earth would that prove?

Zach's one of the ONLY reasons we've been in games. He's certainly not the reason we're losing.

The mentality that Zach and others on this team have about making sure that their stats look good, is a major factor in their lack of success. Zach is like a hundred other players I can think of in the NBA who are predominantly offensive oriented. Every team needs scorers, but scorers who recognize the importance of moving the ball around and spreading the offense are a lot more valuable than ball hogs who suck the life out of the game. If Zach continues to play the way he does, he's just another Antoine Walker...a big scorer who doesn't make his team better.