Nate and Sergio air it out
Posted by Jason Quick November 19, 2007 15:39PM
Categories: Team News
One of the most tense subjects this season has been the relationship between Sergio Rodriguez and coach Nate McMillan and the way the demanding coach has utilized the talented, but mistake-prone point guard.

And on Monday, the story took another twist.

McMillan said he has elevated Rodriguez back into the rotation for tonight's game against Charlotte , sending rookie Taurean Green back to the bench after an unsuccessful outing Saturday night in Washington.

The decision came after a Sunday sitdown between McMillan and Rodriguez where the two aired out their feelings and made an attempt to get on the same page.

"The thing is, we talked,'' McMillan said. "We are trying to figure out what we want from each other.''

McMillan admitted that his move Saturday to bench Rodriguez against the Wizards was an attempt to light a fire under Rodriguez.

"You know, Sergio ... I wanted to send him a message,'' McMillan said. "And we talked yesterday. We need him. He does some good things, and part of it is me having to be patient. I think I need to be a little more patient with him, so right now my plan is to go back to him. We are where we are ... you try and pull plugs and slide guys in.''

I was unable to talk to Sergio before the game as he spent much of the availability out on the court working on his game. However, during a brief break, Rodridguez was seen talking at halfcourt with Charlotte forward Walter Herrmann in what was an animated discussion that was dominated by Sergio. He appeared frustrated, moving his arms and talking as forcefully as I have ever seen him.

I'm wondering if there was indeed a spark ignited under him.

Still, I think much of the decision was based on Green's unimpressive performance against the Wizards. In his first four minutes of action in the second quarter, Green missed a three-pointer, had a turnover while falling down during his dribble and fouled Caron Butler with 2.0 seconds left in the first quarter while attempting a three-pointer. Butler made all three free throws.

In all, Green played 11:36 and went 0-for-3 with one turnover and two assists.
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Now a Portland fan below commenting on Sergio Rodriguez, I tell we need this guy on the KNICKS ASAP

Posted by Wxman on 11/19/07 at 4:12PM
In an uptempo style, the players need to play loose and aggressive. It is inherent that there will be more turnovers, but there is also an intangible element of the players opening up and letting it flow. Sergio brings that to this team. Nate needs to let him go and watch what he creates; good things will happen. As it is now, the players act as if they're looking over their shoulders and playing tight, fearful of being yanked at the first mistake. Let 'em play Nate, let 'em play...

More Portland fans telling me sergio is not being used correctly in Portland


Posted by bobgross on 11/19/07 at 5:12PM
You mean it took McMillian 10 games into the season to "talk" to Sergio!? I don't blame Sergio for being frustrated, it's impossible to under what Sergio's role on the team. The public reason for Sergio's lack of playing time has always been defensive lapses; he is lacking on defense, for sure, but has Nate been watching Jack?

It's time to look through the assumption that Nate is such a great coach. Yes, it seemed like a coup to hire him away from Seattle, but what has he done here? He's making this team look silly. They publicly emphasize how they want to be a running team - they haven't been running since the preseason. In Philly and DC, they had next to nothing in fastbreak points. Now Nate wants to scrap the "uptempo offense"? What a charade.

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a commentPosted by rcofield on 11/19/07 at 8:18PM
i keep hearing barrett and rice talk about nate slowing down the blazers.hell if they get any slower they'll be walking the ball up. steve nash is ranked second in turnovers, you think di'antoni should bench him. would nate bench him? if jack don't stop straight arming opponents its going to cause him some problems. why don't the refs call that? they need to be punished for letting him get away it.
when they do start calling the push-off he is going to get benched again becaused he won't be able to play without doing it. and how many turnovers do roy get? my god this boy should not be at the point with sergio on the sideline. all its doing is burning roy out.

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a commentPosted by ronjustis on 11/19/07 at 8:37PM
I totally agree with wxman. There will be more turnoveers in an uptempo game. But, there will be more scintolating plays, plays that really grab the fans - and most importantly - grab the players. McMillian needs to let the players go. They are big boys now so let them play the style that suites them best: running!

As far as Taurean goes it does not surprise me about what happened with the Wizards. He is simply undersized and inexperienced: not a good combination. I like Taurean and I think he can be of some help with some "smaller" teams.

However, I think (you may not agree but does that matter?) that Sergio has the most upside of all the Blazer pg's. So, give him a chance and I think even Nate may be surprised.




[Edited by - playa2 on 20-11-2007 10:01]

Sergio Rodriguez for Lee is an interesting call. That kid is flashy and very talented. I like Calderon too...

I personally think a Francisco Garcia/Justin Williams for David Lee deal with Sacramento is a real good bang-for-your-buck deal as I stated the other day.

If this ever went down we get a 6'7" wing in Garcia who's versatile enough to play 3 positions, a guy who can shoot it well, take care of the ball and defend a little. He's only really starting to come into his own now that he's getting some PT. And Justin Williams is the shotblocker we need. Ask youselves, with about 20-25 minutes a night is there anything this kid can't give us that Lee does?

Anyway, I explain this trade a little better over on the ESPN Knick board if anyone cares: http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb?sport=nba&id=nyk&tid=1882924&lid=4

You make this deal and tank the rest of the season (which they very well could be doing right under our noses) and you draft yourself a top-flight PG.

Posted by VDesai:

Hasn't Justin Williams been accused of sexual assault? You really want another one of those over here. And yes, there's a lot Justin Williams can't give us that Lee does. He's a skinny kid with a lot of filling out to do coming from a low level of comp with no offensive game to speak of. He can block shots, but he's a long range project and really a throw in any trade like a Randolph Morris.

Lee is a built in double-double player in limited minutes with a high bball IQ, good passing, can run the floor etc.

Garcia is a nice player but he's not worth Lee.

Calderon is a guy that's interesting cause he's basically had a season and half now of exceptional performance off the bench and his strengths are our some of our biggest weaknesses at PG right now. High assist rate, low turnovers, efficient shooting and good decision making.

Even as good as Calderon has been you have to wonder wheter we can extract a little more in a Lee for Calderon deal b/c we're giving up the big for small here.

I agree that we could get more for Lee - maybe a pick. I like the idea because both teams are trading from strength. Calderon could be our starting pg for many years to come.

You shouldn't overpay on projections.