Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:Kanyewest wrote:While I believe that Butler and Jamison's minutes should be cut to perhaps 35 mpg here are some factors to consider:
On playing Jamison and Butler close 40 minutes, It certainly makes it easier to trade Butler and Jamison. For instance, if Jamison started cutting down on his minutes dramatically, other GMs would believe that Jamison is declining and can't be a full time starter anymore. With their inflated aggregate stats, there could be a GM who would overvalue them.
And from Caron Butler's perspective, he wants to increase his value for his contract year. There are going to be losers in LeBron James sweepstakes, so there are going to be a few teams that will still have cap room in 2010-11 that need a small forward and one may overpay for his services. Playing at a high level from this point on and proving that he can stay healthy will increase his value.
And as much as I would like to believe this team is tanking on purpose, they are just playing that badly. But their pride is on the line. They don't want to finish with the worst record in the league. They believe that playing their guns close 40 minutes per game will save them from being the worst team. The organization also doesn't want to create a culture of losing.
Maybe guys like Butler and Jamison aren't good enough to turn it off and on like great players such as Shaquille O'Neal. The best way for them to maintain their productivity is to put forth their maximum effort every night.
And it's not unusual for good, veteran players on bad teams to log major minutes.
- Vince Carter logged 38.9 mpg in the 2007-08 season
- Ray Allen logged 40.3 mpg in the 2006-07 on a bad Seattle Supersonics team
- KG logged 39 mpg per game in his final season with the T-Wolves
- Paul Pierce played 37 mpg coming off an injury in the 06-07 season
- Shawn Marion played over 40 mpg before Steve Nash's arrival
Good post, KW.
What I think is EG and Tanks are doing what NBA teams do: Play the guys based on the name of the player and much the pay them. They're giving the contracts, the offense the guys supply, and veteran status preference. Most teams will play their main offensie guy 37 or so minutes. EJ/Tank--EG's guys tend to bump that up to 40 minutes a game.
KW, as for their pride on the line I say they're reall stupid if they don't figure out they'd win more games playing Jamison and Butler both 25-30 minutes, but just having them on the court at the end of tight games IF they need go to scoring.
Best bet to win games would be with healthy Blatche, McGuire, McGee, and Nick Young all balling; but with Jamison's steady rebounding and Caron's edgy play featured in unselfish roles.
A good coach would turn this Wizard team into something near .500 over the last half of the season by simply lettling McGee, Young, McGuire, and Blatche go but closing with them and whatever vet is hot. Intentionally limit Butler's minutes to make him fiery and tell him to pass, drive, and play defense--that would be all it takes.
I'm thinking the tanking's a good thing for now, though.
Hooey, CCJ! Those guys are nowhere near god enough (yet) to be a .500 team. McGee makes spectacular plays, has pride/guts/courage and shows a glimpse into future greatness. but he blows a defense assignment every two or three possessions, and takes an ill-advised shot for every good one. McGuire, whose game has grown by leaps and bounds is still basically a self-check. Young is a 1-on-1 scorer and that's it, and if his first few shots don't go in, you can forget about him for the night. Blatche is getting better, but slowly, very slowly.
Those adidas commercials were true, you know. It actually does take five. That the Wizards stink, even with Jamison and Butler on the court isn't a discredit to them, much as it is a credit to Arenas and Haywood. It confirms what many of the great Wiz fans on this board have thought for osme time about our team. I think it's lame because we're so shorthanded that it has become fashionable in these parts to take daily dumps on Caron and Antawn, when for the most part, they're doing what they've always done. They also happen to be human beings and not robots, and so -- just the way any of us would be -- they're affected by the frustrations of the current situation.