wow, that was a realy bad sprain. Does McHale still want to play him? What's the word on Harden's recent struggles? Tired? Injured? Slumping?
Thanks, cyberx! That must have been a heck of an ankle injury. It was his ankle, wasn't it? He's been out so long that it's hard to remember.
It was bad... I hope he does play, he is a great player and I think him and Brew out there is a nice defensive team.
Papa can be a good defender at the 4 position if we need to go small-ball and he tracks the ball well so he can get those rebounds. (sorry, DMo ...)
If we get Kostas back (and Dwight?), it's easy to see this team taking a big step forward on defense. Heck, on offense as well. I agree that it should be a treat watching Brew and The Greek play together, not only on defense, but also on the other end of the court.
cyberx, aren't the DM and the staff worried with our frontcourt gettin' eaten alive by bigger and longer players? we know DH is coming back but are they satisfied with Dorsey and DMo at the Center position?
Cyberx - Why does MChale keep putting Bev out there if he's bricking shots? Whats the logical reasoning for that? Also, whats the word behind getting out-boarded? Does the coaching staff address that or are we just hoping DH is going to fix all that?
Cyberx, thanks as always for the info. And the Kpap info too! It is more clear than ever that this is not a Harden+Howard team. This is a Harden team in which Howard is one of many key components. Cyberx, if you were to guess, do you think Dwight opts out of his contract after next season?
I also hope KPap can get some playing time but McHale it seems does this routine every season he a has been coach, where the team can not finish the season strong and he cuts the Rotation to 8 players during the regular season instead of waiting till the playoffs.
Hope this info is true. Papa was not playing well, making a lot of mistakes but I don't really fault him cause he works hard and is the only player along with Brewer who makes a lot of good cuts and move without the basketball, not just jog along.
I know this wasn't for me but let me try to answer while we wait for cyberx's. You don't bench a slumping shooter. He has to shoot through it. If we benched guys for not making shots we might as well trade or waive them. Slumping shooters need to keep shooting and we need Bev's 3 to improve; he has to play through his slump. But that's not just so we can have a better Beverley; it's because who else are we going to play? Pablo doesn't shoot at all. And starting the third string PG from NYK isn't the answer to our very short PG rotation. It will only make Bev worse. The word behind getting out-boarded is that we're playing against bigger teams. That's not complicated. Of course Howard is the answer to that. When you invest 22 million in a center he darn well better be the difference on the boards.
Thanks Batman. I'm not one to crazy cause we lost two in a row, but it is obvious that PB HAS to hit those open shots. You can hear Bill in the game telecast get frustrated also. I have to admit, its a bit deflating. About the rebounding, I hope DH12 is the answer. I just think it is going to take more than just him. Batman - Do you think McHale is the best coach for this team?
If this is true it could be huge. As long as "using more brains" doesn't mean "more fancy post-up attempts". But the part about him having to fit into the offense that's already running seems to address that. We'll just have to wait and see.
I agree about Beverley. I feel the same way about Ariza. It's hard to watch these guys slumping when you live and die by the three. I don't think Howard is the total answer on rebounding. I think the team will rebound better with him securing the middle. As for McHale, I haven't been a fan of him as our coach until this season. This season he has been blowing my mind. What he's accomplished through all the injuries is nothing to sniff at. He's turned my head around completely this year and I'm happy about the extension. I never thought I'd say that as recently as last year but this year he has been incredibly impressive. And I think he's a great fit with Harden, Howard, Jones, D-Mo, and Smith. "Best" for our team? I don't know that. I'm a huge JVG fan but I'm a huge Rudy T fan as well. McHale is obviously more of a Rudy T type. We won our last championships with a guy like that.
My main concern for the team right now is getting Harden some rest. And I honestly don't know how we do it. But dude is flagging badly. We need him rested and ready for the playoffs. Hopefully when we're working Howard back in we can afford to give Harden a little break.
Rudy T had the immense fortune of coaching the greatest center of all time, one of the top SG's of all time, Junkyard Dog, Mad Max, Otis Thorpe, Cassell the alien, Big Shot Bob, and a pure shooter in Kenny Smith. Ariza is no Mad Max or Elie. I would give up Bev for Smith in a heart beat. Dwight is about as good as Thorpe nowadays. None of our STARTING PG's are even as good as Cassell was as a backup. We are still looking for our Horry.
