Post by DERRENMATTS on Feb 7, 2006 1:16:16 GMT -5
Many fans are ready to throw in the towel, not only for this season, but also at Doc, Ainge (who happens to be used to having towels thrown his way), and the players that we have.
But I say that its way too early to give up and you'll be wise to be patient. No, this current team that we have won't compete for a title. But the majority of players that we have right now, and the players that we've acquired (excluding Kandi and including Dwayne Jones), are good enough to be a solid playoff team in the near future, and I don't mean 5 years from now. We are just a couple of key players away from having a contending team (specifically, a Center who is better than Perkins offensively and defensively, and possibly a PG who is a notch above Delonte).
Despite losing 6 of 7 games, and standing 13 games under .500, I see good things coming from this bunch of players. We haven't been meshing with each other yet (due to lack of practice), and the players aren't being used properly. Even against the Heat tonight, you could see glimpses of potential this team has. Against the Heat, and against the Magic a couple of nights ago, this team made huge offensive runs to cut double digit deficits down to less than 5 in a heartbeat. When this team is in a good rhythm and the ball is moving around and finding the right players, its hard to stop our momentum. This team is constructed to perform effectively when the ball is being moved around. Everyone from Raef, to Wally, to Delonte, to Perkins, to Scalabrine (and of course Pierce) gets into the mix of things when the ball is being rotated to the open man.
This is the type of smart basketball and good shooting Ainge wants from this team. And during certain parts of the game, it clicks and we go on big scoring runs and we force the opposition to call timeouts to regroup.
But right now, these types of good basketball spurts are generally few and far between. Mostly because the players still haven't adjusted to one another and because Doc has revampted the playbook by ditching half the old plays and inserting a lot of new ones to adjust to Wally.
Wally isn't being used the right way yet, but I can certainly see him being a big fan favorite and for sure will make Ainge look good for bringing him in. I wasn't on his bandwagon initiallly, but I'm beginning to see what he can do, and I'm liking it. He's not just a shooter--he can also do some penetrating and dishing. He's got a strong body, which helps him when facing smaller/weaker players, and it also helps defensively when he battles the likes of Ron Artest, James Posey, etc. But more iimportantly, he can score without going one on one. He finds ways of being near the play and when the ball finds him, he can score around the basket.
Right now, we do a lot of isolations, and this hurts our good team basketball I mentioned above. Pierce goes iso, Wally goes iso, and when this happens, nothing gets accomplished. But for now, since we are acting like chickens with its head cut off, we may have to resort to asking Pierce and Wally to create some offense for us. But as we start becoming a cohesive unit and once the players start getting a feel for one another, I expect hardly any isolations (aside from getting Jefferson the ball in the post).
Next year, as Perk and Delonte improve even more, and as Tony Allen recovers his strength in his knee and is poised to have a breakout year (he has it in him to be a mini Dwayne Wade), and as Jefferson and Ryan Gomes take steps forward in their progress, and as Brian Scalabrine solidifies his role, this team will look much, much, much better than the sub .500 team we are seeing now. Wally and Pierce will not have to carry the team once these players settle into their roles.
All is not lost. We still have a bright future. All we need is time to develop our chemistry and time to develop our young players.
But I say that its way too early to give up and you'll be wise to be patient. No, this current team that we have won't compete for a title. But the majority of players that we have right now, and the players that we've acquired (excluding Kandi and including Dwayne Jones), are good enough to be a solid playoff team in the near future, and I don't mean 5 years from now. We are just a couple of key players away from having a contending team (specifically, a Center who is better than Perkins offensively and defensively, and possibly a PG who is a notch above Delonte).
Despite losing 6 of 7 games, and standing 13 games under .500, I see good things coming from this bunch of players. We haven't been meshing with each other yet (due to lack of practice), and the players aren't being used properly. Even against the Heat tonight, you could see glimpses of potential this team has. Against the Heat, and against the Magic a couple of nights ago, this team made huge offensive runs to cut double digit deficits down to less than 5 in a heartbeat. When this team is in a good rhythm and the ball is moving around and finding the right players, its hard to stop our momentum. This team is constructed to perform effectively when the ball is being moved around. Everyone from Raef, to Wally, to Delonte, to Perkins, to Scalabrine (and of course Pierce) gets into the mix of things when the ball is being rotated to the open man.
This is the type of smart basketball and good shooting Ainge wants from this team. And during certain parts of the game, it clicks and we go on big scoring runs and we force the opposition to call timeouts to regroup.
But right now, these types of good basketball spurts are generally few and far between. Mostly because the players still haven't adjusted to one another and because Doc has revampted the playbook by ditching half the old plays and inserting a lot of new ones to adjust to Wally.
Wally isn't being used the right way yet, but I can certainly see him being a big fan favorite and for sure will make Ainge look good for bringing him in. I wasn't on his bandwagon initiallly, but I'm beginning to see what he can do, and I'm liking it. He's not just a shooter--he can also do some penetrating and dishing. He's got a strong body, which helps him when facing smaller/weaker players, and it also helps defensively when he battles the likes of Ron Artest, James Posey, etc. But more iimportantly, he can score without going one on one. He finds ways of being near the play and when the ball finds him, he can score around the basket.
Right now, we do a lot of isolations, and this hurts our good team basketball I mentioned above. Pierce goes iso, Wally goes iso, and when this happens, nothing gets accomplished. But for now, since we are acting like chickens with its head cut off, we may have to resort to asking Pierce and Wally to create some offense for us. But as we start becoming a cohesive unit and once the players start getting a feel for one another, I expect hardly any isolations (aside from getting Jefferson the ball in the post).
Next year, as Perk and Delonte improve even more, and as Tony Allen recovers his strength in his knee and is poised to have a breakout year (he has it in him to be a mini Dwayne Wade), and as Jefferson and Ryan Gomes take steps forward in their progress, and as Brian Scalabrine solidifies his role, this team will look much, much, much better than the sub .500 team we are seeing now. Wally and Pierce will not have to carry the team once these players settle into their roles.
All is not lost. We still have a bright future. All we need is time to develop our chemistry and time to develop our young players.