Faith in Finch

[shrink]

I want to see him play with some "smaller" lineups while Towns is out. I don't think Garza should enter the rotation. Minott hopefully has a better chance, because he brings some qualities the rotation is sorely lacking

I was thinking if Minott and Garza could inject energy into practice, maybe it would rub off on some of our starters?

Or challenge them to beat these guys in drills? With the starters combination of experience and athleticism, if either of these guys beat you (each severely lacking in one area or the other), they pay him $100, or some other motivator to get the competitive juices?

[shangrila]

Can’t give competitive juices. They’ve either got it or they don’t.

[Calinks]

I actually think going the traditional one big route will benefit us in this stretch. The team is insanely lost playing with two bigs. That said, I don't know how we integrate when KAT comes back. Finch has a lot of work cut out or him but maybe he can find some magic here.

[PharmD]

I don't even think 2 bigs has been the problem. The team is better when KAT + Rudy is on the floor than when one or both of them is off the floor. DLo has been **** poison and Ant has been frustratingly inconsistent.

Edit: Fact-checking myself

Towns only: +2.33
Towns + Gobert: -1.14
Gobert only: -4.31

[Klomp]

I actually think going the traditional one big route will benefit us in this stretch. The team is insanely lost playing with two bigs. That said, I don't know how we integrate when KAT comes back. Finch has a lot of work cut out or him but maybe he can find some magic here.

I really think about 95% of the issues with this team boil down to KAT. It's so weird to say because he is such a great fit for the modern game.

1. Spacing. Part of the reason I was so excited about this group was I thought it would allow Towns to go back to 2019-20 form, averaging around 8 3s a game. Now, his shooting's not up to par, but I think he tries to be a "big" far too often. His two best offensive traits are his shooting and passing. Instead of focusing on those, it's like he tries to be Embiid.
2. Leadership. There's a major leadership void within this roster. Towns should be a leader. Towns "tries" to be a leader. But he's not one. Not in the slightest.
3. Defense. We all knew this would be a work in progress. But it hasn't looked good.
4. Watchability. The whininess, complaining to refs, style of play, getting back on defense, predetermined shots. These all point to Towns.

Can this improve? Absolutely. I think we saw a change in Towns after reintegrating with the group last January. But it's on him to do these things. His future here may depend on it.

[Calinks]

I don't even think 2 bigs has been the problem. The team is better when KAT + Rudy is on the floor than when one or both of them is off the floor. DLo has been **** poison and Ant has been frustratingly inconsistent.

Edit: Fact-checking myself

Towns only: +2.33
Towns + Gobert: -1.14
Gobert only: -4.31

I don't think they are the biggest problem but I think they help exacerbate our problems. Our guards have to be so much better because of the situation. With one big and some system tweaks I think it takes some pressure off of Dlo and Ant. Simplifies the game a bit or them and I can see a lot of the lapses being shored up. I can also see Rudy getting more comfortable as he will be a bigger focal point.

I wont be shocked to see the team look a lot better after 2-3 games, we absolutely have enough talent to be above .500 even without KAT but we have to find a style of play that works.

[younggunsmn]

Rivers and Forbes are so bad, our guards depth is killing us. Minott is so raw, but if we can turn him into an imitation of what Vanderbilt was for us last year it would really help. Going into last year we didn't know that McDaniels and Vanderbilt would turn into the players they were at the end of the year. Who could make that leap this year?

I think we are going to see a steady diet of Gobert pick and rolls with KAT out, and need to get Prince healthy, because without KAT healthy his spacing is going to be critical.

[younggunsmn]

I actually think going the traditional one big route will benefit us in this stretch. The team is insanely lost playing with two bigs. That said, I don't know how we integrate when KAT comes back. Finch has a lot of work cut out or him but maybe he can find some magic here.

I really think about 95% of the issues with this team boil down to KAT. It's so weird to say because he is such a great fit for the modern game.

1. Spacing. Part of the reason I was so excited about this group was I thought it would allow Towns to go back to 2019-20 form, averaging around 8 3s a game. Now, his shooting's not up to par, but I think he tries to be a "big" far too often. His two best offensive traits are his shooting and passing. Instead of focusing on those, it's like he tries to be Embiid.
2. Leadership. There's a major leadership void within this roster. Towns should be a leader. Towns "tries" to be a leader. But he's not one. Not in the slightest.
3. Defense. We all knew this would be a work in progress. But it hasn't looked good.
4. Watchability. The whininess, complaining to refs, style of play, getting back on defense, predetermined shots. These all point to Towns.

Can this improve? Absolutely. I think we saw a change in Towns after reintegrating with the group last January. But it's on him to do these things. His future here may depend on it.

He looked pretty good for a stretch, but he was AWFUL with a capital A the last 2 games.
I caught the bit last game where the announcers caught Slomo trying to correct KAT defensively during a free throw and KAT was just talking back at him.
The thing about being a leader, which most people forget, is that you have to actually be GOOD at the thing you are leading others on.
This is true in any walk of life. KAT trying to be a leader defensively is just the blind leading the blind.
When you still don't know where to be after this many years in the league, its just sad.