How long till Sergio starts?

[dunlop212]

I don't think it's a coincidence that his improvement has come at the same time as Oden's return. SR has defensive issues and does not shoot well. Oden covers the back door on defense and SR is getting more open looks when Oden gets doubled. I think maybe Oden and SR should move into the starting lineup at the same time.

[quackquack]

Only way I can see that happening is if we somehow move Blake + Bayless for a new "pg of the future" who is not quite ready yet... someone like Mike Conley or DJ Augustin (probably not available). This of course assumes that KP doesn't think Bayless can handle the PG spot.

[tisbee]

Answer...never in Portland except if Blake is injured.
Bayless was drafted to be future rotation PG,Blake has the coach's trust and you have Koponen(?) fine-tuning his game and he'll prob come over next yr.(No way KP drafts-ok,trades for-Bayless to use as trade bait or as SG. He was drafted to be a PG,otherwise KP should have drafted Robin Lopez to give your frontline incredible depth.)
Rodriguez,Diogu to Knicks for Lee and Robinson(and then buy-out Robinson) makes alot of sense for both teams.

[52therim]

We have often heard the mantra "it doesn't matter who starts, it matters who finishes". I'm not sure the Bulls agree with that statement today. I don't think Sergio starts anytime soon. He has put a handful of solid games together and Nate is showing some confidence in him. That's great, but I want Blake in the game at the end of games. Late in the 4th the ball is going to be in Roy's hands and Blake plays much better off the ball, punishes teams for double teaming and is money from the charity stripe. Let's see Sergio show some consistency over a couple of months, not just a couple of games, before we annoint him the starter or the finisher.

[nikolokolus]

In all seriousness, last night sergio was not worried about padding statistics. He was out having fun, pushing his limits. There is a reason that Nate didnt pull him after 4 TO's (or 2 for that matter). Nate would rather see Sergio have fun in games where the score is out of reach. It gives him good practice at game speed of learning when to slow down and when to go for the sweet play. I am happy that sergio is more interested in having fun and putting on a show than he is about winning. In addition, he has played very responsibly down the stretch, making the right plays. That should be a players priorities: Winning, having fun, statistics. Even if having fun hurts his PER or his A/TO ratio.

You are absolutely right about Blake though, he has not regressed. He is what he is, and it is not bad or anything special. It is just Blake.

That part I bolded is pretty troubling. This isn't YMCA youth basketball, winning isn't just an important thing it's the ONLY thing that matters in professional sports. And I guarantee you that Nate wants to see winning basketball before he's worried about guys having "fun" ... not to say that it shouldn't be fun, but the fun should come from the thrill of victory.

[Chaomino]

The key word is CONFIDENCE. Thats what Sergio needs.

He doesnt need to start, he needs to know that if he has a good game he is going to play, but in the past it didn´t matter he know that he will only play 10 mins.

It´s tough to a player, plays without coach´s confidence. You know that if u make a mistake, he is going to bench you.

[a_sensei]

Sergio will start if and when he gets traded to a team with some big troubles at PG or Blake gets hurt. Sergio has been playing better with Roy, but it doesn't make any sense to start them in the back court together.
It makes me laugh when fans of other teams start threads like this (there was a Bayless one recently) saying things like "come on Portland... obviously this is the right thing to do. The right starting PG for Portland is the player that best compliments the other starters and that is Steve Blake. We've seen Sergio play more and Blake less and as long as Sergio continues to play well they will split PG duties at a more even PT level but it is pretty clear that Sergio thrives with Rudy and Outlaw out there and Blake's time is well spent hanging out on the perimeter with Roy handling the ball.

[Wizenheimer]

Sergio will start if and when he gets traded to a team with some big troubles at PG or Blake gets hurt. Sergio has been playing better with Roy, but it doesn't make any sense to start them in the back court together.
It makes me laugh when fans of other teams start threads like this (there was a Bayless one recently) saying things like "come on Portland... obviously this is the right thing to do. The right starting PG for Portland is the player that best compliments the other starters and that is Steve Blake. We've seen Sergio play more and Blake less and as long as Sergio continues to play well they will split PG duties at a more even PT level but it is pretty clear that Sergio thrives with Rudy and Outlaw out there and Blake's time is well spent hanging out on the perimeter with Roy handling the ball.

that's a good analysis

as someone who has been less then enthusiastic about Sergio, I'll add this: he has been playing quite a bit better lately. He's been much better at maintaining his control, minimizing his mistakes, and directing the offense. Granted, those 6 turnovers in the Bulls' game were bad, but a couple were made trying to enter the ball into Oden and Aldridge in the deep post, and few blazers can do that except for maybe Rudy and surprisingly travis.

Furthermore, Sergio has been able to maintain his focus on the defensive end. He's still fairly weak at man defense, but he has made significant gains. More impressive has been his help defense. I've had to 'rewind' my DVR a couple of times because I couldn't believe it was sergio that made the play.

So finally, Sergio has been earning his playing time. He's even hit a few of his deep shots. Kudos to him for actually backing up his claim of deserving more burn.