Re: In the hunt

[JB <jimmetz@xxxxxxx>]

On Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 12:27  PM, Eggcentric@AOL.com wrote:
>
> < With injuries to three of our five starters, it's no longer
> acceptable
> to think that other teams injuries are what has kept us in the race. >
> - JB
>
> <To every thing there is a season, turn, turn, turn.  Oops, sorry,
> Bird.
> Now JB, what has changed your thinking on this injury thing? Our three
> injured starters have neither been out for prolonged periods nor all
> at the
> same time.  Battie has played 16, 26, and 28 minutes in our three games
> sans Walker while the underrated yet surprisingly not missed Delk has
> played 22, 6, and 0 minutes in those same three games.
>
> <Our short-term injuries are a far cry from NY losing McDyess and Miami
> losing Mourning for the entire season, Orlando losing Hill for most of
> the
> season, Carter missing 33 of Toronto's first 44 games, and New Orleans
> about to suffer the further loss of Baron Davis who is scheduled to
> miss
> 3-6 additional weeks with a recent knee injury on top of his recurring
> back spasms.>-Egg

> 	Battie and Delk have not contributed since their injuries. They may
> have played some minutes, but they haven't been at the level they
> were, before they got hurt.  Without Bremer, Brown and  yes, Walter,
> stepping up, the long stretch of bad basketball, would be continuing
> and we would not be inching back up, toward NJ, instead of worrying
> about the Wizards behind our backs.

> JB


> <And once again the schedule has played into our hands.  We struggled
> to beat 10 -34 Denver sans their only decent player, Juwan Howard
> (.435 FG%, 8 RPG, 3 APG, 17 PPG).  We then struggled to beat Orlando
> sans Hill and McGrady (.463 FG%,  6.3 RPG, 5 APG, 30.2 PPG).
>
> Thank you McGrady mistress, for delivering Tracy Jr. (he has your eyes)
> just in time for our game with Daddybs team.>-Egg
>
	A  few weeks ago, we couldn't beat anyone. Something turned this team
around, just as the injuries appeared. No, it's something else and I
suspect it began in that locker room and like the column by "Jackie
Mac," it may be a while before it hits the light of day.
JB


> < I think it's time to consider that the move for Long, the continued
> development of Brown, Baker and Bremer and the success of Walter
> McCarty have given us a depth that few thought we had. > - JB
>
> <And few still think we have?>-Egg

	They are playing and we are winning. Again, a few weeks ago, there was
no hope from our bench, but with the necessity born of injuries, all of
those players have pulled some weight, as opposed to letting the bench
carry theirs.
JB

>
>  < It pains me to see a twelve million dollar, "rotation guy," at back
> up
> center, but that's what we've got and for now, it's working. > - JB
>
> <Yes, we have a 26-18 record DESPITE Baker.  But please donbt get off
> on some sort of weird mid-season inner voice (after two consecutive
> victories) who whispers bEven if he isnbt doing diddly, I fully
> believe
> the Baker trade is working in its own small way.b  Like what is that
> all about?
> Baker has added future cap /luxury tax grief to our team.
> And it ainbt gonna change and thatbs all I gotta repeat on this
> otherwise
> sunny day.>-Egg
>
> 	My point, never to forgive Wallace for the signing, is that, as a
> back up center, Baker is doing fine. If they were earning the same
> dollars, I'd take him over Potapenko, primarily for his defense and
> his passing.
	 If we had a point guard, he might even be scoring. Think about how
many points, "Pot" would get, if Anderson didn't go out of his way to
find him open.
	This  team has a lot of heart and since that win in New Orleans at the
start of the road trip from hell, on the heels of the worst stretch of
ball we'd seen since O'Brien took over, they have returned to their
level, as the third or fourth best team in the East.
	Most of us and the local and national press had assumed that the
honeymoon was over for O'Brien.
	Let  Paul keep passing out of the pressure, as he did against the
Magic and we might even find a higher level. That was a great
performance and might even inspire Antoine to follow suit and back off
on his penchant for over shooting.
	Under 40% shooting from two players who want 25 shots a game each is
not going to do it, but the threat of triple doubles, any night, from
both of our "captains," would raise this team to the elite level.

		JB

	Unchain My Heart !