how about boki?

aries323 · Jan 2, 2003

I don't see us trading Rice. Although that would be nice. Who would want a aging veteran who's defense is a liability and shooting decreasing everyday? Lets not forget he's getting paid a lot too.

studogg · Jan 2, 2003

I just thought he looked kinda good. Sorry if I started a ruckus

Kiki · Jan 2, 2003

Originally posted by MysticRyder
Have you noticed that everything you say has if in it? Rice at this moment is the 3rd worse shooter on the team. He has lost his touch and he doesn't play defense. I find it hard to believe that Nachbar couldn't do better than Rice.

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MR, I agree completely. I can't even watch the game when Rice is in there. He's about as fast and agile as I am (not very). He can't play D, he can't rebound, he can't pass, and worst of all, he can't even shoot anymore! To put it in Fantasy points perspective, he averages 8 fantasy points/game in 28 min. In comparison, Cato averages 11 fpts/game in 18 min. (takes into account pts,reb,blk,ast,to,fg,ft) There's just no way someone with that little production should be on the court 28 minutes a game....

DavidS · Jan 2, 2003

Originally posted by Easy
Maybe the death of Cato's grandma was also in Rudy's plan.

Seriously, let me summarize the arguments of the two camps so there's no misunderstanding.

rocketfat and those agree with him:
We see that none of the SFs are playing well. There is no reason not to play Boki more, unless he is injured. But if he is injured, why is he still on the active roster?

Raven Lunatic and those agree with him:
By virtue of being a coach and with his players all the time, Rudy knows far more about Boki than any of us here. Criticizing the coach for something we have no full knowledge of is simply unfair.

Now, both sides seem quite reasonable to me. There must be some conclusion we can make from considering both sides' argument. First, let's separate facts from speculations. Let me list all the known facts to us.

1. Rudy wanted to draft Boki all the way. He scouted him and loved his game. Hence, unless Boki did something to piss Rudy off after his arrival, it must be false that Rudy doesn't like Boki and just put him in the doghouse.

2. Rudy knows quite well what Boki can do both in practice and in Euro game situations but not much in NBA game situations. We all know that Euro games are less intensive than the NBA.

3. Rudy's first priority is to win games.

4. Rudy is not stupid (at least not THAT stupid) as to deliberately not play a player who he knows can help the team win.

5. Rice is not playing consistently. Posey is new. Morris is not a good offensive player. In other words, none of them deserves to play major minutes. But they are three people (i.e. there's a logjam there at the SF position. Not enough minutes to go around.)

OK, now let's list out what we don't really know but just speculate.

1. Rudy is stubborn in not playing rookies.

2. Boki doesn't play well enough in practice to deserve significant PT.

3. Rice is being showcased for a trade (a la KT).

4. Boki is physically not ready. He is either still hurt or is not well conditioned due to the lost time to injury.

My conclusion (you don't have to agree):

1. Rudy is not stupid. He knows what he is doing. That is not to say that his decision to keep Boki on the bench must be right.

2. From what we have seen the other SFs playing so far, Boki should be playing more than he is now.

3. Therefore, Boki must be physically not ready to play. (i.e. Boki's lack of PT is not so much due to issues of his performance as to issues of his physical condition.)

4. Yet he is still on the active roster because Rudy wants to keep Boki working and get his feet wet whenever there is garbage time opportunities.

5. When Boki is physically ready and Rice is still stinking, Boki will get more minutes. When will that be? Nobody knows. But to borrow DoD's idea, it's a safe bet that Rudy knows about Boki's physical condition much better than any of us here.
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Well said...

CY02 · Jan 2, 2003

I still think Rice is there to provide leadership and experience in our young team more than shooting. It helps when he can shoot. But young team always win nothing. Veteran leadership is important. Rice's role will be more important in the playoffs or when we are struggling. At least that's what I believe. And remember Peja was also buried in the Kings bench for 1 year before becoming a contributing member. I think Boki can be the same.

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