I'm not happy SF is gone, but I am happy we got TMAC. I do think having TMAC is much better than having SF. We are much better off now. But I'm not glad he's gone, becaue I was never one of those "fans" that just hated the guy. Orlando did one of the most stupid things ever. Horrible trade. Dumbest dumbest move. Wiesbrod or whatever his name is should be the guy in the hot seat.
This is from a freelance writer in this morning's Orlando Sentinel ... but is anyone else thinking that Orlando is just one seriously sensitive, psychologically screwed-up NBA town? http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...coll=orl-opinion-headlines&ctrack=3&cset=true A Letter To Steve Francis By Julie Manenti | New Voices Posted February 12, 2005 Dear Steve Francis, Welcome to Orlando. I know it's a little late coming, and you probably wondered if you were going to get a welcome at all -- the whole town seems to be yawning at you, don't they? I read what you said to ESPN, and I heard your comments after the Cuttino Mobley trade, and I know you probably wish you were back in Houston right now. You don't like our nightlife. You don't like our traffic. I suspect, actually, that you might just not like our fans. You were expecting more from them, weren't you? We want to like you, we really do. We're just recovering from all the times we've been kicked in the teeth. We loved Shaq, right up until he took off for L.A. and started insulting this town. Then came the hideous Penny Hardaway Era, which ended in a trade demand, after much abuse for our alleged negativity and lack of respect. We were already hypersensitive by the time Tracy McGrady got here, and it was hard to believe that the guy cared much about the team when Doc Rivers had to sew a little "C" on his jersey to remind him that he was the captain. Some people were upset when he got traded. I haven't met any of them yet. Now there's John Weisbrod, and a new era, and you. Can you understand why the fans are a little gun-shy? It's been a rough decade. We've been looking for a superstar to love since 1995, and we're tired. Besides, there are bigger things at stake now. I bet you're wondering what kind of people would complain about building a new arena when their place is so obviously too small and outdated. This is the worst part of the whole sad story, and maybe you can help us out with this: Some people have begun to resent the Magic so much that they don't want any part of making a new home for the team. Do we need one? Oh, yeah. It was too tiny from the first minute it opened, and it was hard to collect revenue even in our glory years. But I guess people figure that the Magic have broken their hearts so often that they just don't care anymore. This is a very bad thing. The DeVos family would have no problem moving this franchise anyplace that will build a place for them, and if you think the nightlife is slow in Orlando, try finding something to do on a Wednesday night in Kansas City. Houston needed you to lead a franchise. That's easy stuff. Orlando needs you to save one. This is a fan base that has so rarely been able to use the words "All-Star" and "class act" in the same sentence. It has been so long since we could say "winner." Nothing would make us happier than to get back to those days. In Texas, they called you Stevie Franchise, and you played so hard that all the fans wanted to buy your jersey. But can you play so great that a whole town wants to build an arena for you? I can't answer that. Maybe it's already too late. For everyone's sake, I hope not.
Ah, you were right, Clutch. I just had to wait a couple more games for my stats to be right. Now, they are 9-7 for 56.3%. Right back in line with my original post.
Wasn't really meant for a compliment. I like Cuttino and admire is professionalism and work ethic. He's a good player. Still, for whatever reason (and I know there are many more factors that merely Cuttino's presence), his teams have good, not great records. After years with Houston and not much improvement, I figured a change in scenery would do him good. In Orlando, I figured 3 starters from a good Western Conference team would do well in the East. But for Sacramento to nose-dive from over 70% down to mid-50's? I know, I know - injuries, schedule, yada yada yada. Personally, I think Cuttino should be coming off the bench for instant offense. With Bibby, Webber and Peja on the floor, there aren't enough balls to go around. And face it, he's taking shots away from 3 guys who shoot much better than him. He takes 8 more shots a game than Christie did while providing fewer assists, steals and more fouls. He's also taking the ball of out their playmakers' hands. Do I think Sacramento will continue to struggle the way they have been? No, I don't. The chemistry will improve. But if it doesn't, I wouldn't be surprised to see some changes.
I think that the Sac trade showed Weisbrod's true colors ... what kind of GM screws up a good thing that was just recently fixed?
something interesting I saw on the espn playoff matchups if the playoff started today the magic in the 6th seed would face the 3rd seed boston from the atlantic division. the magic are 0-3 against the celtics this year too and none of the games have been close, magic lost by 12,16 and 18 to the celtics. i dont know what it is maybe orl doesnt match up well but i am sure Weisbrod will be pissed if they lose the first round by winning only 1 or less games.
I thought I'd update the numbers here at the break. Mobley took a consistent 67% team down to 52%, which is more in line with all the teams for which Mobley has started. Sure, in 5 of the losses at least 1 starter was out. On the other hand, Mobley was not there for 2 of the wins or for the first 2 wins since the trade was made. There's a saying about men with numerous failed relationships, and I think the analogy applies: "they can't all be b****es." In other words, it can't always be the coach, the chemistry, the injuries, the system, the teammates. At some point you have to say maybe there is a common denominator. Mobley's a good player with decent stats and nothing in the box score will point to him being the reason. Nevertheless, I find the numbers interesting.
Hey, Mobley's rookie year the Rockets won 62% of their games. I guess he was a much better player then. I think Sac's recent fall has a lot more to do with the fact they no longer go 8-9 deep and the fact have to start Matt Barnes.
To be fair, the officials screwed the Kings out of 3 of the games, so they should be 13-6 since he got there, which at 68% goes right along with where they were at before. Keep in mind that that is with multiple injuries.
The Kings were screwed, but they weren't guarenteed to win them anyway. In the Suns game, who knows if that was a goaltend? If it was, they'd go to overtime and who knows the Kings would have won it? If you ask me to take a team to win in overtime, my money is definitely on the Suns. In the Mavs game, they should have called goaltending for blocking Cat's shot which was on its way down. However, Josh Howard made a And1 basket the very next possession. So who's to say the Kings were gonna win the game had the refs counted Cat's shot? People make it sounds like the refs changed Kings from the "W" to a "L" in those games. It simply wasn't true. The Kings were screwed, but there were guarenteed to win those games either.
The Dallas game they would almost cetainly have won. You are much less likely to give up a 3 point play with a 3 point lead and the shot clock off than with a 1 point lead. The Phoenix game they would have gone to overtime where they would at least have a chance to win, let's count that as a 1/2 win. The Chicago game, too much happened after the screw job to say it would have been an automatic win, so I will call that a 1/2 win as well. That means they should have a 12-7 record with Mobley, a .637 winning percentage. Taking into account the fact that Peja, Miller, and Webber all missed games in that time, it hardly seems as though Cat is pulling the team down.
man, just say they have some injuries. the above rationalizations are a little much. not only are you taking losses off the board and making them wins as if that is the official record, but the wins are questionable at best. dallas seemed like a pretty sure win, but the other 2? whether or not amare even goaltended is quite debateable. it would seem it was closer to not being goaltending than the other way around. then you give them an equal chance to beat a superior team. then the chicago game. i pointed out that they got screwed in the game thread, but even if that call is made correctly, it still just reduces the deficit in the final minute. it's not like they had a possible lead taken away or chicago got free points. chicago and phoenix might combined for half a win if we're nice. 11-8 (around .580 is about as far as the refs can take them). the point is the kings haven't played awesome since mobley arrived. that can't be masked. however, injuries would probably be a better excuse than the above. however, of concern is that mobley does have a -0.6 plus minus. and he was negative in orlando. and he was dead even at 0 with us last year. as much as i like him, throughout his career his team just doesn't perform that differently whether he's on the court or not.
Well you know Bob Sura and Q Rich were big losers until this year. Same deal with Mobley. If Sac gets healthy he will be the starting 2 on a top 8 team. Guys like these are good solid players in the right fit but nowhere near being able to carry bad teams.
As long as we're making excuses (ie, Sacramento's injuries), Mobley's rookie year was a short season, he only started 37 games, and only took 8 shots a game. How many starting 2's only take 8 shots a game? Maybe that's the answer limit his role and win 60% of your games.
