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http://www.brandonrush.org/lesson.php

These days Rush is working out in Indianapolis while waiting for his rookie season with the Indiana Pacers to begin. That was the team that traded for Rush on draft night after he was picked 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Points addressed by Rush this summer include the NBA 3-point distance, the swift influence of the 24-second clock and, as always, ballhandling.

"I know I'll be coming off the bench for sure, but I know I'll be getting a lot of playing time," he said. "That's the reason why they drafted me for that position (swingman) is because they needed somebody to come in and play defense, and shoot the ball. I'm confident in what I can do."

Sounds good, although I dont like him content to agree he will start out on the bench

It would be pretty foolish to think he'll be ahead on Dunleavy in the pecking orderr straight off the bat.

Yes, but if he played well enough in trainging camp

I interpretted that statement as a positive. He knows what his role is going to be and he is willing to whatever the team needs him to do.

Its not impossible that he has been told he will start the season off the bench from the coaching staff.

I also dont think its a bad thing, if he said he doesnt know if he will be getting player time and was content with that then I would be a little concerned.

I think its a great sign of character that he doest mind coming off the bench as long as he gets minutes. Look at Jose Calderon or Manu Ginobili, they have said the same thing and are two of the most competitive players in the league.

HicksvsKnicks08 wrote:Yes, but if he played well enough in trainging camp

He'd need to do something amazing to beat out Dunleavy. Dunleavy and Granger were our only bright spots and TJ Ford is a master of finding the guys around the arc, Dunleavy could totally improve on last season just because of Ford alone, plus given the experience and another training camp, Dunleavy could be a real treat to watch this year.

I like Rush off the bench but to play solid minutes.

I was actually thinking of a line up ( albeit not against a big frot line) could be.........


Ford
Dunleavy
Rush
Granger
Rasho/Foster/Hibbert

If they gel it could work at times,

I'm really excited about Granger and Rush at the wings defensively long-term.

HicksvsKnicks08 wrote:Yes, but if he played well enough in trainging camp

Then he'd prove that at the least he should get some playing time.


At this point in his career, he's trying to just earn playing time. Maybe sometime during his rookie year he'll earn the starting job, but he'll have to earn it. That'll take time. The NBA game is just vastly different from the college game.

HicksvsKnicks08 wrote:I was actually thinking of a line up ( albeit not against a big frot line) could be.........


Ford
Dunleavy
Rush
Granger
Rasho/Foster/Hibbert

If they gel it could work at times,

The less time Granger plays at the 4 the happier i'll be. He's more productive at the SF spot in all aspects of the game. There would be no point in moving our best player from his best position just to accomodate a rookie. He simply doesn't have the physical presence of say a Ron Artest to man the 4 a times successfully. Plus he proved all last year to be a major pest to the opponents' SF.

HicksvsKnicks08 wrote:I was actually thinking of a line up ( albeit not against a big frot line) could be.........


Ford
Dunleavy
Rush
Granger
Rasho/Foster/Hibbert

If they gel it could work at times,

I generally feel that for every minute you play Granger at PF or C, that you're essentially shortening his career by one minute. I think forcing JO to play out of position at C basically has shortened his career, and I'd hate to see something similar happen to Granger.

I think forcing JO to play out of position at C basically has shortened his career

Interesting thought, and verypossible that contributed to his injuries. I personally think it was caused by JO being constantly told to "bulk up" and he put too much pressure on his knee joint and ligaments

I like Rush, I liked rush for years, had he not had knee problems he'd have gone higher a year earlier, maybe, the knock on Danny was knee problems too, I'm not concerned about that. Rush plays D, we need D, perfect fit. 105.4 ppg we gave up if I remember correctly? but we scored 104 and that is good so if we can get that 105 down under 100 while scoring 104 we can become scary good.

He are my coaching thoughts:
If Rush can start at the 2( is nba ready) do it, as soon as he or danny need a blow put in mike dunleavy and make him the focal point while our other wings are off the floor, let him do his 20 points per game outside damage vs backups, let him make a teams #2 wings look silly, rest our starters till they are good and ready... If Rush is as good or better at D then Danny let him guard Kobe, Lebron, Mello, and let danny guard a weaker offensive player and save himself for scoring more than 20ppg. Without moving these guys to PF(look for us to go small when we can, I personally think we can outrun most nba teams now) there are 96 minuttes in a game at the wing spots, that's 32 minuttes a peice every night, flex that by who is effective and we could have magic.

Don't worry guys, Legend and JOB know what they are doing.

I'm curious to see how Rush plays this year in the pros. Is he a defender first, then worry about scoring, or the other way aorund? If I remember correctly, he can slash right? His build reminds me of Pierce but I see a little Ron Mercer in him. Is anyone else getting that?

I'm stoked we have him but it's still ahrd to get over letting Bayless go. I know, I know, old wounds.

We're just going to have to give Rush about 30 games to figure out what his game is in the NBA. He's not going to earn a starting spot out of training camp, especially with Bird and O'Brien in charge. They're going to start it with their savvy veterans that they like, and hopefully the rookies and other new guys impress enough to earn their way into the rotation, let alone in the starting lineup.

He's not going to earn a starting spot out of training camp

I agree with that statement, however, shouldn't competing for a starting position be open to all? If Granger is the only exception, then it should be fair game for Rush to compete? I agree he would have to be outstanding , but he should be given the chance.

HicksvsKnicks08 wrote:

He's not going to earn a starting spot out of training camp

I agree with that statement, however, shouldn't competing for a starting position be open to all? If Granger is the only exception, then it should be fair game for Rush to compete? I agree he would have to be outstanding , but he should be given the chance.

Oh, I absolutely believe that he's going to have every chance to compete, but he's going to have to overcome a very solid player at the SG/SF positions in Dunleavy or Granger. I simply can't see O'Brien benching Dunleavy just to let Rush start if Dunleavy still shows he can continue what he has done in Indy. I think you don't mess with a good thing just hoping that the new lineup with Dunleavy off the bench would hopefully be comparable to Dunleavy starting.

Rush is coming in hoping to, first, earn any rotation minutes. He's gotta prove that first before he even gets a chance to prove that he should unseat a very solid player in Mike Dunleavy Jr.

I still believe he should start over Dunleavy with Dunleavy getting more minutes in a Ginobli type role.

I just don't think it would be resonable to bench Dunleavy until Rush proves his worth.

DGrangeRx33 wrote:I still believe he should start over Dunleavy with Dunleavy getting more minutes in a Ginobli type role.

Really?? Why would you want to play with Dunleavy like that?? He has finally found his confidence and you want to put him on the bench?!?! I just dont think that would be a very wise move on TPTB part... To me, Dunleavy is a lock to start, and should have little to no fear of losing that spot if he can play as he did last year... While Rush will bring better defense than Dun, Dun will bring the productivity and will not make the rookie mistakes that Rush will inevitably make...