Re: My take on a couple things

[bird <birdw@aloha.net>]

>From: "Jim Meninno" <Jim_Meninno@hotmail.com>
>
>The problem is, though, that it was _not_ "just one game".  It was the
>Philly game, too, and that Vancouver game.  That's three games out of 21.
>That's not good.  Most of the games I've watched, I've been pretty happy
>with, even the losses.  But one game in seven where the team is simply flat
>and lifeless is far too much for a team of this talent level.  It's far more
>than we've been seeing for the last three years.

Hey Jim, I think I see your point, which is (correct me if I'm wrong) 
that the Chicago game is indicative of the team coming out flat.  I 
think that's true, too, but the C's sometimes come out for a game or 
two flat -- one in seven is about 14% of the time.  I'm not sure of 
actual numbers, but it seems that about 10-15% of the time over the 
last few years, the team _has_ come out uninspired, lackluster, and 
flat.  I could be wrong, because doing a study like this would only 
depress me.  Still, if it's happening more frequently early this 
year, I'd agree it doesn't look good.

But it _hasn't_ looked good for many a moon.  Not that long ago, the 
C's had the worst record in the league (and, n.b. to some it wasn't 
under Rick Pitino).  Since then, we've been mediocre.  Really 
mediocre.  I mean we wallowed in "mediocrisisitude".  I've come to 
expect a few things from the Pitino-era C's: sometimes they force 
turnovers and run, sometimes they don't pass or play D and lose, 
sometimes they don't show up, et al.  The Bulls game was one of the 
last ones -- as were Vancouver and Philly.  That's part and parcel of 
what being mediocre in the NBA means: mediocre teams do that.

I agree that coming out flat about 15% of the time for a team like 
this is far too much -- and that fact is also unnerving.  Sometimes, 
this team just kills you with how they (don't) play.  But I don't 
think it's too much different than in previous years.

That's not that good, either.  I just can't get that suprised at it. 
If they came out defensively aggressive and executing, they could 
counteract these offensively flat games better.  I've been hoping for 
that for a number of seasons now.  Right now, hope is looking like a 
pretty slim thing to base anything on, but it can get better -- what 
if they beat Sac-town?

Regards,

Bill