So if we trade for a superstar who drops 35 a night, we'll still have GARM threads complaining? Oh great!
Yes. I like Popovich's approach, keeping his starters' minutes down no matter what, even if it means losing the game that night. It helps that his teams are in no danger of missing the playoffs. Still, I think it pays dividends on the longer term (in rested players and more experienced and independent reserves) such that your record by season's end would probably be better than if you did everything you could to win each night's game.
I know what you LIKE. And thank you for admitting that it's all subjective. Using the records for comparison without any context is pretty meaningless. And are you sure the schedule has been "much more difficult" than last year? We are riding a 4-game winning streak with opponents whose combined record is 16-38, and 3 of the 4 games were at home.
At the same time last year, our only wins came from MIN, IND, NYK, and GSW. Our losses included to GSW, WAS, TOR, PHX, CHA. Don't get me wrong, our schedule in the beginning of the year last season was no cake walk either, but this year we have had THE toughest schedule in the entire league through 10 games, and still top 3 toughest now. We were also dealing with a different set of issues at the beginning of last year as well, but IMHO transitioning to a completely new coaching staff without the benefit of even a training camp is the tougher hill to climb. When we were transitioning to Adelman's first season here WITH a training camp, WITH two superstars Tmac and Yao, we were sitting at 15-18 after 2 months in.
As I said in the OP, it's no great suprise that a team is worse without its best player. However, it's a whole different thing for a team to play so badly that they are blowing comfortable 4th qtr double-digit leads against bad teams on a regular basis that the best player has to be rushed back onto the court in order to protect the win. Prior to yesterday, the Rockets were in the latter, more serious situation.
I agree, but I'm sure McHale is still learning about the capabilities of this group to determine how he can manage the roster while Lowry is sitting. Early days.
