Damjan Rudez

[60WinTim]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure we will find a stream for Sunday's game... :-(

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure we will find a stream for Sunday's game... :-(

I got the last game on LP Broadband with my single team subscription, but then again, I live out of state so perhaps I can see games others that live in the metro area can't using this application?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I have Bazz way ahead of Rudez on the SF depth chart, because I can't imagine Rudez guarding any SF's. Maybe I need to watch him a little more in the Sunday game because I could be missing something about his defense, but at least at the scrimmage I attended, he was the worst defender on the court...very slow feet and lateral quickness.

I also have him behind Payne on the PF depth chart. We know that Payne will outrebound the heck out of Rudez, and I think is a far superior defender too, but Rudez has the advantage in shooting. Payne annoys me sometimes, especially with his propensity to force shots on offense and create off the ball offensive fouls, but his energy, athleticism and rebounding puts him far ahead of Rudez. If Adreain dials back the enthusiasm a bit and lets the offense come to him, I think he can be an effective 3rd PF for us behind KG and Belly.

The Payne/Rudez comparison is an interesting one. At least in preseason, the "less is more" player has proved far more valuable than the "energizer bunny" approach. To your point, if Payne could cut down on the boneheaded plays, all of his energy and hustle would probably yield better results. The functional version of this in my opinion is best embodied by Kenneth Faried. He's not a particularly skilled or smart player, but he's got just enough b-ball IQ to not hamper all the other things he does well.

[60WinTim]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure we will find a stream for Sunday's game... :-(

I got the last game on LP Broadband with my single team subscription, but then again, I live out of state so perhaps I can see games others that live in the metro area can't using this application?

Yeah, we won't know until Sunday if the game is available on LPBB. But looking at the Wolves and Grizz websites, neither team is broadcasting the game on TV or radio, so my fear is no stream will be available.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I have Bazz way ahead of Rudez on the SF depth chart, because I can't imagine Rudez guarding any SF's. Maybe I need to watch him a little more in the Sunday game because I could be missing something about his defense, but at least at the scrimmage I attended, he was the worst defender on the court...very slow feet and lateral quickness.

I also have him behind Payne on the PF depth chart. We know that Payne will outrebound the heck out of Rudez, and I think is a far superior defender too, but Rudez has the advantage in shooting. Payne annoys me sometimes, especially with his propensity to force shots on offense and create off the ball offensive fouls, but his energy, athleticism and rebounding puts him far ahead of Rudez. If Adreain dials back the enthusiasm a bit and lets the offense come to him, I think he can be an effective 3rd PF for us behind KG and Belly.

The Payne/Rudez comparison is an interesting one. At least in preseason, the "less is more" player has proved far more valuable than the "energizer bunny" approach. To your point, if Payne could cut down on the boneheaded plays, all of his energy and hustle would probably yield better results. The functional version of this in my opinion is best embodied by Kenneth Faried. He's not a particularly skilled or smart player, but he's got just enough b-ball IQ to not hamper all the other things he does well.

Yeah, I see Faried as a ceiling for Payne, although he's not close yet. In Summer League Payne looked a lot more like Faried, but that's just SL. His performance in pre-season, other than strong rebounding, has been disappointing. He's actually a better shooter than Faried, so if he could channel his exuberance like Kenneth generally does, his ceiling might be higher. Payne still has a lot to prove and a long way to go. At least, KG's apparent good health and Belly's emergence doesn't make Payne as essential to our success.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Thanks for the reminder about no TV on Sunday...no TV until the Tuesday game. I'm done with streaming online as I picked up an annoying virus trying to watch one of the Toronto games. Be wary of those sites!

[Monster]

LST FYI Rudez played most of his minutes for Indiana last year at SF. He started a game against Rudy Gay and from all accounts did a a plenty respectable job.

Payne hasn't even reached Dante Cunningham level of impact. Honestly Farid is a pipe dream scenario especially considering Fariid was an absolute rebounding monster in college. Payne has some offensive skill but he hasn't been able to harness it. That time in the first Toronto game he took Benett off the dribble and proceeded to miss the funk is a perfect example of Paybe on that end) He could take a page out of what Bennett has been doing the last few months. I would be curious what they were saying when they were toe to toe face to face in the last game. At this point I would even be happy for Payne to be a Ryan Hollins type. He isn't quite the physical specimen that Hollins is but he also is more skilled on the offensive end. I know people don't think that's a high ceiling and it's not but Hollins is a useful end of bench guy at least. He is a guy that can play a role on a good team. Hopefully Payne can surpass that level he will get opportunities to show himself one way or another but probably some of both. Lol

[60WinTim]

Barring an unforeseen glitch I would think the starting lineup on Sunday would be the starting lineup Sam expects to start the regular season.

It sure seems Towns has put a stranglehold on the starting C spot - something I was not so sure about going into preseason. But he has played markedly better than he did in summer league. Kudos to Towns!

A question is whether Zach has managed to erase his name from the starting lineup! I suspect the answer is "not yet", especially since he has not had a chance to play alongside Rubio.

The bench is a bit murkier. Sam did suggest a 10-man rotation a couple weeks ago. Martin, Belly and Dieng are sure bets. There is a competition for backup PG between Tyus and Miller, leaving one more spot for a SF/PF guy. Prince, Bazz and Rudez are all in the mix for that one.

I know Sam says we are in development mode, but personally, I give the inside track to Prince.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Tim, I think it was really premature of Sam to declare Zach the starting SG so early. He could have certainly had that direction in his head and let things play out longer. Now he might find himself in a position where he messes with his confidence by bumping him in favor of Martin. That's far worse than simply having him backup Martin and then calibrating his minutes according to his play on the court (as one of only two "pure" SGs, he would get regular minutes no matter what).

At this point, it's too early for Sam to change his decision. He will need to stick with it and hope Zach can get his act together. I'd wait at least 10-20 games into the regular season before making any sort of change. And hopefully that change won't be necessary. We'll see.

[Monster]

Tim, I think it was really premature of Sam to declare Zach the starting SG so early. He could have certainly had that direction in his head and let things play out longer. Now he might find himself in a position where he messes with his confidence by bumping him in favor of Martin. That's far worse than simply having him backup Martin and then calibrating his minutes according to his play on the court (as one of only two "pure" SGs, he would get regular minutes no matter what).

At this point, it's too early for Sam to change his decision. He will need to stick with it and hope Zach can get his act together. I'd wait at least 10-20 games into the regular season before making any sort of change. And hopefully that change won't be necessary. We'll see.

Based on Sam's post game thoughts from the last game it seems clear he believes very strongly in Zach's talent and will give him more time like you said. All the reports have been positive about Zach from practices and scrimmages and his defense looks to be much better so he MIGHT actually end up having something on Martin for some of the minutes he plays. Sam has a lot of options with young guys and vets it will be interesting to see how he works thing out.