predictable wall

[gene kirkpatrick <gk_tyler@yahoo.com>]

We have hit not only the proverbial wall, but a predictable wall.  If we rely too much on 8 veterans and don't develop the rookies, we wear out by February.  Hind sight is great.  The rookies have not blossomed as hoped, although they are as talented as we thought.  So, we play three or four main guys too many minutes and, against a resurgent league, we fade.  I don't know if it's the rooks or the coaches (no rook played a second Friday), but we should be getting some quality minutes by now--at least, I think so.

Also, our good vets are often the enemy of the best.  Or, Williams, Strickland, Kenny, Battie (I would add Walker) are playing very well and we're much better, even resembling a real team defensively, but if we're to compete with Philly and the Kings, Mavs, Wolves, and a few others, we need to go for a few better players.  Several of the rooks could qualify there.  But plug Gary Trent into our lineup the other night and we would have won.  Allow someone else to handle the ball in the wild crazy times of the fourth quarter (rather than Walker) and we would have had three or four more possessions.  We're good and we're limited by being good.

Not to mention that we can't run a fast break better than a junior high team.  Much of that is Walker, but Strickland messes up, too.  Well, I think our boys have learned well, played hard, and become a team.  The coaches have excelled.  But we could well drop below .500 by months end.  I'd hate to see the hard work not pay off this year.

Plus, as I ramble on, it could be that we've achieved more than Wallace and O'Brien expected.  Thus, the lack of another big man is even more glaring.  We were looking down the road for this success and hadn't planned to plug in another big man yet.  Maybe.

Cheers.  I'm not totally down on our prospects.  We may win the next two.  But as others have pointed out, we need rebounding more than anything else from our PF, not ballhandling.  We won't beat the big boys with him out front.  

Gene
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