Steve Blake Discussion: Out Indefinitely (p. 102)

puffyusaf#2 wrote:Blakes great hater back at it. shocker.

I didn't see the game but saw he took only one shot, had 1 T/O, 1 Ast and 1 rebound wit 3-points. That isn't a very good game. Reading some of the non "hate" post I can see the Heat's speed and traps really effecting him. we need more from Blake for sure. Hopefully Tuesday we will get what he has gave given us in the past games.

That's the thing; the Heat's "College-like" speed traps shouldn't work in the NBA, but it seems to work for them almost every time they run it against us.

It leaves a ton of holes on the wings and thus in the paint if our shooters make their shots. But somehow it took everyone out of their comfort zones (Nash, Blake, Metta, Dwight, etc). Constantly. No answer.

I don't understand why players aren't getting open when Nash or Blake get doubled at half court, or lobbing the ball to Dwight over a defender. That should be a recipe for disaster for the Heat but we just never adjust.

dj vitus wrote:

puffyusaf#2 wrote:Blakes great hater back at it. shocker.

I didn't see the game but saw he took only one shot, had 1 T/O, 1 Ast and 1 rebound wit 3-points. That isn't a very good game. Reading some of the non "hate" post I can see the Heat's speed and traps really effecting him. we need more from Blake for sure. Hopefully Tuesday we will get what he has gave given us in the past games.

That's the thing; the Heat's "College-like" speed traps shouldn't work in the NBA, but it seems to work for them almost every time they run it against us.

It leaves a ton of holes on the wings and thus in the paint if our shooters make their shots. But somehow it took everyone out of their comfort zones (Nash, Blake, Metta, Dwight, etc). Constantly. No answer.

I don't understand why players aren't getting open when Nash or Blake get doubled at half court, or lobbing the ball to Dwight over a defender. That should be a recipe for disaster for the Heat but we just never adjust.

that is because, like I said after our first game with the Heat, we do not move without the ball. Setting back picks for the traps. THe Lakers problems all year have been centered around lack of moving. The Heat trap quickly and rotate fast but they are not faster than the ball. We make stationary passes and don't move to the ball or to give the passer a better lane. The trap is only effective if the team fails to react. That is why Nash was yelling at Howard because he was stationary instead of moving to a more effective spot to give Nash a passing lane.

Blake's line last night:

5 pts 3 asts 1 to
in 16 minutes. He went 2-2 from the field, 1-1 from deep.

Nothing flashy, just solid play. This is the kind of game we need from him more consistently. I'd also like if he took a couple more shots a game. When he's more aggressive, the 2nd unit follows suit.

Good luck dealing with Bledsoe tomorrow LOL

^the point of your post was?

Just saying hes had loads of trouble with athletic PGs like Bledsoe/Norris Cole on both ends. Not banking on a good game from him thats all

i'm sorry, but blakes stat llne does not justify his play.

he makes a few good plays, but with him in, the offense doesn't run that well and his defense is suspect. on the ball he's fine, but he gets lost on pick and rolls and rotations so easily. offensively, he needs to stop going laterally and start trying to penetrate. for the picks he's getting, he's going sideways and gets doubled and forces things, the offense goes dead. if he can learn to turn the pick quick enough to create a mismatch, things would open up offensively.

I don't know what Blake you've been watching lakerfan2, but it's an outdated model. Blake since his injury has played generally pretty solidly. He's been better than before and he's been a really hard worker.

And PROPS to him for jumping into the stands like that. That was nice.

i don't question blake's effort at all. he brings it no doubt. i do like his man defense, and he fights.

yes, he does the things he should, but i'm still expecting more play making from him.

his play is stable, but not consistent. he has nice spurts, but doesn't carry it through both halves.

i prefer Duhon's ability to penetrate, but I hate that he likes to shoot 30 ft 3-pointers. i would say duhon's defense is not as good as blake, as blake is bigger and more aggressive.

again, i just would like to see blake be able to use the pick and roll more effectively. i think he would be much more effective if he can turn the screen and penetrate.

^ He did it a lot on the road trip. He's taking pages from Nash's book about it. Drive, keep the dribble alive and pull up for that little 8 foot fade away over the Center when you come across.

He's done it before, he just doesn't do it too often.

My main gripe is that he picks up his dribble too often.

lakerfan2 wrote:i'm sorry, but blakes stat llne does not justify his play.

he makes a few good plays, but with him in, the offense doesn't run that well and his defense is suspect. on the ball he's fine, but he gets lost on pick and rolls and rotations so easily. offensively, he needs to stop going laterally and start trying to penetrate. for the picks he's getting, he's going sideways and gets doubled and forces things, the offense goes dead. if he can learn to turn the pick quick enough to create a mismatch, things would open up offensively.

Boy you really don't watch Blake play do you? The only time he has problems running the offense is when guys don't move like they are supposed to do. He gets to the rim and he makes the right plays most of the time. Yes, he can get traped from time to time but again that is mainly do to poor rotation. That guy Nash has the same issue with our guys not moving. So does that guy Kobe. I don't know why fans can't see its the same basic issue every time. We have to move without the ball. Everyone wants to blame Coach D, blame Blake or Kobe passing to much but the truth is our offense stagnates when we stop moving. Blake is one of the few players who looks to get the ball inside to the bigs. Since coming back he has been more aggressive and it is putting pressure on the other team. On defense he is still a great man defender. If people watched that goes on without the ball they would see that he is one of the few that makes his man work. His problem is he gets picked and our guys show "softly" on the screens. The Lakers bigs have done that for ever. Gary Payton complained about it when he was here. Soft shows on the picks leaves the gaurds in trail mode. Quick gaurds are going to exploit that. Fans are going to blame the player but that is a team play. I guess I just watch a different game.

I guess you do.

I dont know bout that Blake getting to the rim stuff, he rarely does that and when he actually does do it he usually dribbles it right back out and usually just kills alot of clock.

khmrP wrote:I dont know bout that Blake getting to the rim stuff, he rarely does that and when he actually does do it he usually dribbles it right back out and usually just kills alot of clock.

He doesn't do it a great deal but he does it. When the paint is open he will go into the rim (still looking for the pass more than I'd like). He doesn't over dribble or kill the shot clock in my opinion. The issues, as i stated, is when the team stands around.

The team stands around because Blake is supposed to direct the team and call out the plays.

That's what a PG does right? I'm watching Blake go around a screen, and then go laterally. If he does get into the paint, he gets stuck.

I'll agree that he's played better than what we've seen before, but it's still not consistent.

lakerfan2 wrote:The team stands around because Blake is supposed to direct the team and call out the plays.

That's what a PG does right? I'm watching Blake go around a screen, and then go laterally. If he does get into the paint, he gets stuck.

I'll agree that he's played better than what we've seen before, but it's still not consistent.

So then we need to blame Nash and Kobe for not directing when the team stands around when they control the game too? These guys don't need to be directed they need to show the energy to move without the ball and not settle for the 3. We get now ball or player movement when we sit out and just shoot. Yes, fans will blame Mike D's offense but that is not true either. Ball and player movement is what makes our offense work so well. When Kobe is on the block he is able to make the passes because guys are moving (most times) to the proper spots. Nash has a million TO's because guys don't move when he penetrates. A PG penetrates to force the switch which makes a mismatch in our favor. However, if the bigs don't move or rotate on penetration then the gaurds are stuck and forced to shoot wild shots. See: Kobe, Nash and Blake bailout shots for examples.

Again, I am not saying Blake is playing at a level that deserves the OMG he is awesome but he sure as hell doesn't deserve the hate he is getting.

Good effort today but he gets lost too on d.

Trade value sky high at the moment

Our offense runs better under Blake than Nash right now. What a wake up call...

one of the best games of the season...to bad all our players cant get on the same page...
one players steps up,two goes down...and they are just randonly changing from night to night in those roles...

Great game by Blake. Horrible game by many others.

SpencerHarrison wrote:Our offense runs better under Blake than Nash right now. What a wake up call...

Why?