Easy buckets = balanced offense

[Butter]

During the Bob Whitsitt/John Nash eras, the Blazers were built to score on the interior. While they hit perimeter shots, they were really built more for penetration. I never understood that because Shaq and Duncan were right there waiting in the paint. During that time frame, I was always screaming that the Blazers needed more perimeter shooting.

Now, the pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction. The Blazers rarely seem to get easy lay-ups or dunks. They have been so successful at hitting jumpers, they just settle for them. Specifically, Aldridge gets a lot of blame for this, but the entire team (minus Roy and Jack) need to attack the rim more.

I know that Oden will help with the easy baskets, but this seems to be a basic offensive philosophy problem. I know that Nate has been preaching to these players to attack the rim more, and I don't want to see them quite shooting jumpers, I'd just like to see a more balanced approach.


Do you all think this is an issue, or should we just be patient with the young team?

[Klinky]

I think it's partly due to the youth of the team and the strength of the players. None of our guys look like powerhouses('cept Oden). Outlaw looks almost like he's made out of popsicle sticks. I think once Aldridge, Martell & Outlaw bulk up a bit more, they will be more comfortable backing down defenders or trying to work their way inside. Also experience/confidence counts, which this team certainly is lacking at times.

The only person who really routinely will take it to the rim is Roy & Jack. Roy does this well, Jack does this poorly. I also think a lot of it might have to do with coaching style as well. Perhaps Nate is focusing too much on perimeter shooting. I am not sure. Hopefully after this season we will see further growth within our players games so that they work better on the inside.

[PDXKnight]

I see Rudy and Oden really helping the points in the paint category and definitely see LA improving on his interior game. This team is missing some of it's key players for the future of this franchise and I honestly think the Blazers need to see how things go with Rudy and Oden in the mix before they can fully judge what is needed for the Blazers.

[Butter]

The thing about this offense that drives me crazy is a lack of moving towards the basket without the ball. I'd like to see more hard cuts, more back door cuts, etc.

Maybe Nate will start to incorporate that more into his game plan when this young team develops more down the road.

In the meantime, I'd love to see Martell and Outlaw taking it to the rim more often.

[SalemStoner]

The thing about this offense that drives me crazy is a lack of moving towards the basket without the ball. I'd like to see more hard cuts, more back door cuts, etc.

Maybe Nate will start to incorporate that more into his game plan when this young team develops more down the road.

In the meantime, I'd love to see Martell and Outlaw taking it to the rim more often.

Yeah, I believe for Martell be the SF of the future for this team he needs to spend this summer really working on his ball handling to make it so he feels comfortable doing 2 key tasks - bringing the ball up the court occasionally and mostly to improve his ability to drive to the bucket... with his shot if he can learn to drive effectively he'll turn into the other scorer we need very quickly imo.

[Yadadimean]

I think Webster is already working on improving his ball handling. Every now and again you can see flashes of things that he's obviously learning from Roy. His crossover move is starting to look exactly like Roy's. Webster should really be a starting caliber 2-3 by next year.

Outlaw and Aldridge really just need to get a hell of a lot stronger, and that will come in time. But I have to say it is frustrating watching a talent like Aldridge settle for perimeter jumpers when he could be so much more of a force on the low block (now for another Sheed comparison, that was my biggest complaint about Sheed).