TA and the officiating

[Ryan W]

--- Kim Malo <kmalo17 at verizon.net> wrote:
> I don't wholly disagree with you on this, but I
> think the reason he 
> doesn't do this has more to do with ripple effect
> and things other 
> than shooting. No one's going to call Ray a
> defensive force but he 
> still plays better D than Cassell, actually much
> better than I 
> thought he could, while the ball just moves better
> with him in there. 
> It's not just that Sam's shooting too much, it's
> that most of the 
> other time all he does is just stand outside and
> dribble as the clock 
> runs down. No flow whatsoever and you can see the
> sand getting into 
> the gears the moment he comes on the court. Ray at
> least moves around 
> and attempts to penetrate and test the defense
> (giving them something 
> other than KG to worry about), especially if the
> outside shot isn't 
> falling,  and gets the ball out of his own hands
> more. While I think 
> with Pierce out in foul trouble so much last night,
> that was the real 
> either / or - Doc felt he had to play Ray because he
> couldn't play 
> Pierce. And I'm not averse to playing Tony for a 5
> minute stretch so 
> long as it doesn't look like leading to 5 turnovers
> and 4 open shots 
> the other way, and agree that I probably would have
> played him more 
> last night (although JJ didn't really beat us - one
> clutch basket, 
> yes, but Posey guarded him well and his whole game
> stats weren't the 
> difference maker as they have been in the other
> losses) but he's even 
> less help and more harm on offense than Cassell
> these days, based on 
> the end of the season. And I've got to assume that
> hasn't changed 
> much in practice or he'd be playing.

I think you have a good read on what's happening in
Doc's head.  But I think he's not trying hard enough
with the hand he's been dealt.  We're talking about an
extra 5 mins of rest in the first half for Ray.  It's
not that hard to find it but it is especially
important that we find it on the road.

You're right, Cassell has been bad for the team when
he's not making shots, and that's a bad bad thing
(even when he's making shots, it's kinda bad in terms
of what it does to the offensive flow--though I
thought he was much better at keeping that flow in
game 5).  The same truism applies to House, but House
adds more of the little things, like some defense and
speed to bring the ball up.  And it only took 4 good
games from Cassell to bury House on this team.  That's
crazy and unfair.  The only reason I say we might want
to think about using Cassell to give Ray some rest is
that we'd play him with Rondo and hopefully maximize
the one thing Sam has going for him--his shot. 
Regardless of how it's done, we need to actualize it
in the next series---if we make it there.  Even if we
brought in House with Rondo to give Ray a few minutes,
it would be beneficial.  Our deep bench advantage has
been minimized and while part of it is the fact that
we're not performing, some of it is that Doc has
limited his options due to overthinking.

As for Tony, you know, he's not that bad and we could
maximize what he brings to the table--if we wanted.  I
disagree with the fact that he's not doing it in
practice for the simple fact that I don't think we've
practiced much lately.  You've talked about Tony being
inconsistently bad, which in your opinion makes it
hard to minimize his faults, but I also think what he
does well consistently--draw contact, hustle, play
good defense, (even if you think he's not at his
normal defensive level right now, he's still better
than the alternative--Cassell, or Ray playing 40+
minutes) are things we need out there, if only for
five minutes.  Five minutes, Doc!  And you know what,
there's always the possibility that good Tony comes to
play.  But you'll never know unless you play him.  And
that's the thing--there are positives to playing him
that extend beyond what he actually might or might not
do on the court and that's the failure involved when
he doesn't get on the court for 6 games.  

Bottom line: giving 5 minutes to House or Tony in the
first half is a low risk/high reward gamble given our
other options.  Since they haven't played, they might
catch Atlanta by surprise and give us a boost.  Even
if they don't, the rest Ray gets should pay dividends
in the 4th.

> 
> I just still can't believe Ray took that last shot
> last night. It 
> wasn't the fact that he missed it so much as that he
> took it with 10 
> + seconds left on the clock even if he made it, and
> Ray's always been 
> a smart player.

You know what?  I liked that shot.  We were getting
nothing from the officials and I'll take my chances
ending the game right there.  Ray thought he was open,
and he shot it.  There's no guarantee Garnett gets a
good shot, or doesn't throw it away, or get called for
traveling, or gets fouled, misses, and the refs
swallow their whistles.  I'll take an open Ray shot
all day.  Would I have drawn up that specific play? 
Probably not, but I'll take the shot any day.  But if
I was coaching, Ray probably would have had fresher
legs at that point anyway.

> 
> >Taking it to the hoop is one thing, but you can't
> MAKE
> >them blow the whistle.
> 
> The man speaks wisdom.  We also have to make a
> better % of the ones 
> we do get. It's not just the Hawks getting more, but
> all series long 
> it's been them making more of what they get. Our
> losses have been 
> close enough that that alone could have gotten us a
> win or two - making FT.
> 
> Kim 

Yep, they're getting there more often, and shooting
better when they do get there.  Gotta give them credit
for hitting their free throws.

Ryan


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ