Last season, four rookies saw substantial playing time for the Blazers: Greg Oden, Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum. With sophomore slumps being somewhat common occurrence in the NBA, one of them is bound to stumble out of the gates this season.
I agree with some of the points made in the piece. However, the Blazers are in deep trouble if Oden and Bayless fall into “slumps” considering their output in the 08-09 season was less than stellar.
Rudy has been playing professionally for 8 years and so calling this his “sophomore season” doesn’t quite feel right. Sure, the NBA season is nearly twice as long and tough as the FIBA season, but with all of the Spanish national team seasons added on, 82 games isn’t something that’s going to be a real issue for Rudy. I don’t anticipate much of a drop off next season, assuming he still get his minutes.
Batum is the only one in the group I have any concern for, and my concern isn’t all that strong. He got 18 minutes per last season (mostly coming in the first and third quarters) and I think he’ll be able to handle that kind of responsibility going forward. Hopefully he’ll take a small step on the defensive end and see more PT down the stretch.
