Re: better ingredients equals better pizza

[Kim Malo <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 08:33 AM 12/18/2003, gene kirkpatrick wrote:
> Well, it did when I was eating pizza regularly.  And better players equals 
> a better team, at least usually.  I'm excited about the combinations we 
> can put on the floor now.

Which is key. Combinations, options, flexibility - whatever you want to 
call it, it's what I believe is the essence of a lot of Danny's dealing in 
the face of our cap situation. The cap situation made signing a big name FA 
unlikely for a while, so he's targeted upgrading overall team talent in as 
many positions as possible as the best road to improvement over trying a 
greater incremental upgrade at any one position. The result is greater 
overall flexibility and options, which is something people who evaluate the 
deals on strict player vs player comparisons tend to miss. The resultant 
whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. In many ways it's 
parallel with Belichick's current Patriots, who have few if any best at 
their position type "name" players, but a lot of very good ones able to 
contribute when needed in a number of different ways.

Setting aside issues about particular style or who was a ballhog, a big 
part of the Cs problems the past few years -particularly on offense- were 
that we were just too damned predictable. Made us too easy to defend, 
especially because when it wasn't working, the main option was to continue 
to force more of the same. You can blame coaching (and while I often defend 
Obie, I do disagree about that offense giving us the best chance to win), 
but you also have to factor in that too much of the bench was made up of 
people you used primarily because were forced to, not because you actively 
wanted to. Place fillers, not difference makers.

I still think chemistry has to be considered, not just talent, leaving the 
full effect of things like losing EWill and taking on a Ricky Davis TBD. 
But the fact that we're in most games and they're usually much more 
entertaining on offense than last season, paired with our rising point 
totals and shooting % indicate that it's working so far. I also think that 
vision of flexibility and options was at the core of why Walker had to go, 
because he just wasn't going to change while he was still here and he was 
going to interfere with attempts to make significant changes around him. I 
wish him well in Dallas and hope he gets the championship I genuinely 
believe he cares about more than the money. But the Cs that beat him last 
night couldn't have happened with him there, even if they'd gotten all the 
same new players and put them around him.

Kim