Shavlik Leads the Way
posted: 10/10/2008 at 9:01 PM
He was impressive at times during training camp, and he has NBA experience. He's got a very high basketball IQ, and when given the opportunity in a game, passed the test with flying colors. So, what does this do to the battle for the 15th and final roster spot? You've got to think, following Friday's preseason game in Kansas City, that Shavlik Randolph is currently the leader in the clubhouse.
Randolph was 9 for 9 shooting, scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots, as the Blazers easily defeated the Atlanta Hawks 102-80, in front of 12,457 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. I don't care if this is the exhibition season, that's a pretty impressive line. And, he did it while playing less than 20 minutes.
If you don't know much about Randolph, let me give you a little background. He went to Duke, and this will technically be his fourth NBA season. He consistently got minutes in his first two seasons with Philadelphia, and even started 7 games for them. Very early last season, in November, after he had started six-straight games for the Sixers, he suffered a broken and dislocated ankle during a practice. It was a gruesome break, the kind where 911 is called instead of just the team trainer.
To Randolph's credit, he has battled back and impressed the Trail Blazers enough during the summer that they invited him to camp. I know that the coaches have loved having him around during camp and the preseason mostly because he's a pro, and is always in the right spot on the court. He's a great worker, and has some offensive skills (obviously, following this game).
True, it takes more than just one good game in the preseason to earn a spot on a roster, but it's really been more than that for him in this case. I've mentioned him several times before now, and if nothing else, he's very efficient and reliable- just what you need from a 15th guy on your roster.
Randolph is also a better athlete than you probably know. Here's a little
highlight clip I found of him from a couple of years ago. Take it for what it's worth, but it gives you a little glimpse of where he was before the injury.
So, he should be now on your radar. It'll be interesting to watch and see what he does the rest of the way.
It was also a good night for Jerryd Bayless, who hadn't been terribly happy with his play in these games so far. He had 15 points, on 6 of 10 shooting, dished out 7 assists, and got the start at the point. Sergio Rodriguez, who came off the bench, was also solid, with 8 points, 7 assists, and just two turnovers.
Greg Oden saw his minutes go up slightly in this game, as he played 23 minutes. He had 11 points and 5 rebounds, and continues to show progress. No one is worried about Greg at this point.
After sitting out Wednesday's game against Golden State, Brandon Roy played 24 minutes and scored 14 points. LaMarcus Aldridge also had 14 points, and also pulled down 7 rebounds. It was another struggle for Travis Outlaw, again in the starting lineup, as he shot just 2 for 9 (both of them three pointers).
The Trail Blazers continue their preseason play on Sunday with a game against the Utah Jazz at the Rose Garden at 3pm.
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Mike:
Thank you for the stats. I listened to the game with Atlanta announcers. We are spoiled.
How does Randolph handle and dribble the ball. At 6'10" he is tall enough to play 3. Can he defend? I haven't found too much on him. Just another thought on bulking up our 3 and since he is a vet maybe that will help the others and satisfy some of the bloggers that Wants veterans.
I will find stats on him.
Thanks again Mike
hg
If you knew (before the game) that Portland's center would have 19 points on 9 for 9 shooting, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, you would have thought, man, I'm glad we took Oden. The play of Randolph simply blew me away. Where did this come from?
6-3 Jerryd Bayless = 7 rebounds.
6-11 LaMarcus Aldridge = 7 rebounds. just found that very interesting. Bayless seems to put up very similar numbers to Roy. points, assist, rebounds not as high as Roy but very even across the board.
MB,
I also agree that we are spoiled with our announcers. I live in Spokane and 95.5 is blocked over the internet. Why is this? I have to hunt to listen to the other city.
Any chance of having the games available via podcast the next day. I would love to listen to the preseason opener and here Wheeler's call of the game.
mike k,
They have to stop the internet feed of stations during games, per league policy. For a few bucks you can subscribe through nba.com to get the radio feed of any team and any game.
Now that the Blazers have had their market expanded into Seattle and the rest of Washington, perhaps a network affiliate in Spokane will take the games. That way you'd get Courtside, games, pre-game and post-game shows.
I'll check on the status of this.
Thanks for the comment,
MB
Thanks for your recap, Mike. I hope that Randolph makes the squad. He is versatile and his stats last night show what a healthy Randolph can do. High bb IQ and a talent for knowing where to be on the floor.
Mostly, I like his HUSTLE and his ability to put up impressive numbers with limited pt. I think that SR would be a decent fit for the team and he seems to play with a lot of heart.
KP is once again a genius. You're great at your craft, too. Go Blazers!
Oden is looking more and more comfortable with each passing game. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be ready for the Fakers on the 28th! Any idea on who will be sitting out for tomorrows game?
Jon - Section 306
It doesn't make sense to sign Randolph as we already have a bunch of forwards on our team.
I feel sorry for him and Jackson. Here they are trying to make the team when the decision has already been made from the beginning.
We need Hill to be the punching bag for Oden in practice.
We were at the game last night in Kansas City Mo dressed in all blazer clothing. We were walking around before the game and we were approached by Larry Miller and we shared some Blazers stories with him and told him we had recently moved to Topeka,Kansas. We told him we were excited to see the Blazers come to where we had moved to.He then told us if we could get down to the court after the game he would get us some passes and we could meet the team. We made it down there and he open up his suit and handed us 2 passes to go back by the locker room. We stood by jason quick as he interviewed coach Nate. We then talked to Nate McMillan and told him this was a dream come true. We met the whole team Nate gave us a marker to get autographs. We talked to Greg Oden,Kevin Pritchard,Sergio,Luke Jackson,Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge,Bayless,Hill,Randolph,and others. The Blazers were extremely nice we shared our story with them about us moving to Kansas in May and that we were not going to make any games in the Rose Garden this year since we moved so far away and that we were excited to see them again.I also tried to convince Travis into getting in the slam dunk contest this year. We walked with Travis and L.A. to the bus. What a night and we just wanted to share our story with the Blazers fans. Thank you, Larry Miller Blazers President for going out of your way and making 2 die hard Blazers fans dreams come true. Shannon Caudill and Megan Gregory
Given a choice, KP always signs the best player. Right now that guy might be Randolph. IMO you cannot have too many good rebounders who can score.
If we sign Shavlik Randolph, we should give him the jersey number 50. Then we can finally start selling those Randolph #50 jerseys that have been collecting dust in the basement again.
I agree we need to keep Hill, and not just as a practice player. Joel Pryzbilla (the best backup center in the league) is injury prone and Greg Oden may need 1/2 a season to get into top playing shape and/or may have foul trouble until he learns what he can and can't do out there. There's a decent chance Hill will see some minutes this year and he could become an important piece.
Is there anywhere a recap of the game can be seen? I tried NBA.com but the blazers/hawks game isn't up
Does anyone know where to watch a recap of the game? I tried NBA.com, but the blazers/hawks game isn't up
Does anyone know where to watch a recap of this game? I tried NBA.com but the blazers/hawks game isn't up.
Hi Mike,
I am a die hard blazer fan, unfortunately i live up in the land of the artist formerly known as the sonics. What are the chances of getting the blazer games telecast up here since we are nba-less and the blazers are now the closest nba team to this market? Have you heard anything because i know there are alot of blazer fans up here, especially because of brandon and martell going to school up here.
Thanks, Russell379
haven't seen hill play a minute. . .
Are we buying a punching bag for oden or a 'player'?
oden will be oden in games and there is no reason i see as a fan for oden to be going 'all out' in practice.
keep Randolph.
For those of you who think we need another center: what about Frye and Aldridge? Would Hill fill the position better than them? As much I love seeing them play PF, the small lineup worked pretty well last year, and could continue to work well. Whereas, we could get another person who is experienced and has superb court smarts. Not to mention has the capabilities to get us monstrous stats within 20 minutes (though I doubt we'll ever see THAT again). And it seems to me he could play multiple positions.
I'm not saying either choice is the right one, but there are lots of factors to weigh in.
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