We either cry in our beer, make panic trades, (yeah, when does that ever work out) or behave like real fans and back our guys. We have a lot more talent last year than the last two years. The shots have to be distributed and see who earns the money shots. Wells and Head are scorers. Time for Howard, Battier, Alston and Spanoulis to step up, especially Battier. Van Gundy is, inspite of everything, first and foremost a basketball coach and is probably looking at this situation as a real challenge. I certainly would be surprised to hear him complain or make excuses so why should we? Time to see what the team is made of.
If we can be .500 or better when Yao gets back JVG should be a coach of the year candidate. I think it can be done.
I'm not in any kind of panic mode or anything like that, but you have to admit that injuries have plagued us the last two years. We have 2 of the most fragile superstars in the league. But at least we're not the only team that has to suffer throw these hard times. This should be a good time for JVG to figure out who will be a valuable asset to the team, and who will be able to produce on the floor. This is a time for JVG to figure out who will be in his rotation once Yao and TMAC return. This could actually be a good thing for the team in the long run.
The Clyde trade was awesom. i loved Otis Thorpe, but comon, we got a HOF for a very solid meat and potatos guy.
Very nice thread. The fact is unlike last year, this team still has legit NBA players. It will be interesting to see how they react to this challenge over the next several weeks. They will be underdogs, and I hope they fight. I will be rooting for them!
Talents cannot be made up, and there are more than 2/3 of the seasons left. If it were just one game that we would have to beat somebobody to be in the playoff, then what you said applies. However, without Yao we are a bottom team talent wise. This is not to diss Tmac, or Bonzi, or Battier. Even if these three play unblievable basketbasll, which is a big question mark, we are still not that good with that big hold Yao leaves behind. How are we to play teams that are determined to eat us inside. They are going to do what we did to them with Yao. The phoenix still has Stoudmire, Diaw, Thomas, and nobody on this team can compare to Nash. Without Nash, balbosa, that Phoenix samll ball wont probably work either. So I just dont see small ball will work for us. Now, if, a big if a man lands on Mars kind of if, we could somehow sustain to be in the playoff race and Yao with speedy recovery comes back fresh and ready, then this will be the year for us to make a run at the ring.
No time like the present to fire Mr. Van Gundy. He isn't going to get a renewal, and a lame-duck coach trying to get one can only hurt Yao Ming's long-term recovery prospects.
Well said. This team has more talent and depth than last year's roster and we have some young players with great potential. I think this will be a good chance to see what we've got. December's nearly over, which was our toughest month, and January has an easier schedule. We're still in the thick of the playoff hunt and when Yao comes back we should be ready to compete in the playoffs.
Very very good post there. And I agree. We do have the talent to be playing at least .500 ball, even in the west. We just need everybody to step up and JVG to bring these guys together as a unit. No more Tmac-Yao isos now. What we need now is to work as a 5-man unit. Don't forget, Tmac brought a team of scrubs playing .500 basketball to the playoffs not too many years back. And even though he mightn't be the player that he was, he can still contribute in many ways, and this team is definitely better than any he had in Orlando.
