Calinks wrote:I actually see us improving this season. Not sure when but I see the team getting it together to a degree and going on a run. This right now is pretty close to rock bottom, can't say it is rock bottom as there is always another level but it's close. The team will find a way to start winning games again.
That said, it will wind up screwing us by pushing back our draft position. Still I think things will click and we will have a nice run at some point. We are still only halfway through the season, a lot of time left. It wont mean we make the playoffs or anything, the team will just look better.
That's pretty much most seasons. After their chances to do anything or reach the playoffs are gone, they start winning games, Late February/March. Right? Ruins draft position, but for whatever reason that's when it happens. Usually by that point playoff teams are already locked into the playoffs and only have seeding they desire left to play for.
I'm not going to be able to shorten this.
Here's the thing. Kyrie recently called the NBA a staged drama form of entertainment more or less. I'm not a Kyrie fan at all, but there seems to be some truth to this. We know the refs of the NBA are so bad they border on corrupt most nights. The allowance of which to continue by the League Office more than borders on corrupt. But let's say they aren't corrupt and wilfully causing wins and losses, yet they may be driving up the drama of games that otherwise would be snoozers and that wouldn't draw any attention, couldn't hold audiences. For instance, games that are out of hand early, "laughers", as Dave Benz was describing this one coming up to half time.
What if there is significant involvement by refs to help a team back into the game of a "laugher" situation. This would keep fanbases of the team suffering in a laugher around to watch longer. They don't shut the game off because their team is fighting to get back into it. Or so it seems anyway. Without which, maybe the Timberwolves continue building that lead from 27 to 47 before the fourth quarter. What Kings fan would have been still watching? Is it Zero? As far as TV viewers, possibly. And that's a very big, very costly problem.
There has been a few alarming Wolves finishes this year such as this one. Maybe not quite as extreme, but close. There was even a win where Wiggins supposedly scored 11pts in two minutes ftw. But did the win really come from just his shooting, or did the refs also help with every little foul call as well? Every little out of bounds call, every little thing? How about the Bulls comeback win this season erasing an insurmountable deficit in mere seconds. It was comic book fiction that game. Are these examples that just went too far and the drama directors actually helped the losers win because the team on the wrong side of each of the refs little decisions meant to sustain a game just broke down and collapsed from it all?
If we really looked at the second half of this game, play by play, would we find that the refs were helping to turn to tide or helping to massage the ebs and flows? A massive lead was not only erased, but a team was demoralized throughout most of it. Demorlizing the players can lead to less effort, more complaining, more feeling unjust weight against them. And if you are missing the very important role of Team Leaders, the kind of players that stand taller in such situations, such a thing could easily break your team. This could be all that's needed to become a 1 in 8,000 example. The refs didn't necessarily force you to lose, or no more than they usually do while keeping games interesting. The fact the team isn't being Led by anyone simply allows that extra weight to destroy them. Where other better teams are simply led by leaders to refocus and finish games.
All his career so far, KAT has been wise enough during interviews to not say the wrong things. It's really quite amazing really how composed and measured he seems as a speaker in public when you compare it to the very uncomposed, sloppy, immature and emotional actions we see play out during his games. There doesn't appear to be a game leader when he's around. Wiggins, if he was a more consistent performer, seems like he could. But of course, Wiggins does not bring his best to each game often and there in lies the failure there to be a game leader. Wiggins play in last nights game was very good. But if you look at the little things, he is doing so quietly. He finishes so softly at the net, he avoids punishing the opponents these days, and of course there are moments in games were he vanishes entirely. Both he and Kat do. They are so quiet at times a single Okogie finish at the rim, or KBD slam seems like something we haven't seen all year and riles up the whole team. Can we agree these moments are far to thin and rare? See one slam from Kat every two games. None from Wiggs. Who is going to joice this team? Just bench fodders that only play around 20 mintues?
The record and events during games without KAT should be reviewed, as I think we've seen other players step up a little to be better game leaders in those moments. Either someone else steps up soon to organically lead this team even with Kat around, or they bring someone in for that role (like Butler once was) and they tell Kat to live with it. Or, just make a change by changing the kitty litter out for a new brand.
