Over The Top: The James Borrego Thread

[Hornet Mania]

Very happy with JB after the first game. He did basically everything most of us have been hoping for experimenting with positions and lineups. We got MKG at 4/5, Batum at 4/5, Monk at SG, all things that Cliff would have never ever attempted in even the most dire circumstances. We got to see Monk/Kemba/TP in an ultra-small lineup with Batum and MKG, and we even did it with a traditional big on the floor for our opponent so it was not just dictated by the other side we actually took the initiative ourselves to find a way to win on our own terms. The team was acting not just reacting, and it was very fun to watch.

Most importantly this experimentation was key to the 4th quarter comeback, it paid dividends on the floor and that's was the best thing about the night imo. My one nitpick is our guys looked lost on D a few times (I remember one particularly brutal mistake where Kemba and Lamb both abandoned the paint to close out on the shooter only to leave Giannis alone for a dunk) but things tightened up as it went along. The defensive problems seemed to stem from confusion between how Cliff would ask them to play D vs how JB wants it now, Kemba alluded to it in his post-game interview also. That will be ironed out with experience. I'm very optimistic we found a coach for the way the game is played today, and someone who will actually utilize our talent and craft a game plan to maximize it instead of pounding square pegs into round holes.

[LofJ]

I love Borrego's demeanor, it's blatantly obvious that he learned under Popovich. He has the same calm, cool, and collected demeanor that Pop has. And on the rare occasions when they do lose their cool you know immediately that you screwed up.

[Diop]

Please Mr Borrego, don't get to stuck in your rotations. If the centre's aren't giving you much offensively and seem soft defensively, give Biz a go. His manic energy might ignite something, he's done it in the past and he won't allow easy baskets at the rim.

[Eoghan]

Yeah Biz can be, no, will be a train wreck at times but he's never timid and he's gonna go hard on defense and the boards every night.

[DY_nasty]

Yeah Biz can be, no, will be a train wreck at times but he's never timid and he's gonna go hard on defense and the boards every night.

If Zeller and WHG are gonna rack up dumb fouls and turn the ball over anyways then may as well let Biz do the same thing while also rebounding and playing defense

[yosemiteben]

Please Mr Borrego, don't get to stuck in your rotations.

Apparently he's resisting an urge to do the opposite:

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[Hornet Mania]

Borrego knows Miles is the future, I'm sure he'll be getting more minutes before too long. I think he's trying to ease him in, which is reasonable, but the rook definitely needs to get regular rotation minutes from now on.

Ideally I'd like to see him cut Marv's minutes in half and give that chunk to Miles. By mid-season start Miles and make Marv a "if he's hot from deep he plays, if he misses his first two he goes back on the shelf"-type role player.

[Eoghan]

Maybe Marv will get his sea legs under him in a few more games. It takes us old guys a while to get them back, or not at all.

[Hornet Mania]

Wasn't sure which thread this was most appropriate, but I'll throw it in here since it's something that is no doubt JB's decision to make:

Frank needs to be our inactive player every game unless/until an injury occurs.

I can see circumstances where Bacon or Graham might be needed if certain combinations of guys go down in the same night, but Frank is just playing out the string at this point. It was kinda sad to watch him at the end of the game last night, he didn't look into it at all and I think his confidence is completely shot at this point. The crowd tried to pump him up and everything by ooh-ing and ah-ing when he got close to scoring but his body language still looked glum.

I can't see any reason he should be immune from spending some time on the inactive list, he is our 4th-best C at this point and I wouldn't want him at PF at all. The main reason I bring this up is because it entered my mind when Stephanie Ready mentioned Parker headed to the locker room to get his back checked out. We had Graham inactive and would have probably had to play Monk at point when Kemba wasn't out there if he had not been able to return. No reason to even put ourselves in that spot, making Frank inactive just makes the most sense.

[Braggins]

Not putting Frank on the inactive list might simply be damage control for whats left of his trade value.

[catch20two]

I love JB’s rotations. It’s as if he reads the board and make the changes that we clamor for. However I don’t even think he reads the board. Just unlike Clifford he sees the obvious.

[MasterIchiro]

Not putting Frank on the inactive list might simply be damage control for whats left of his trade value.

His career is on life support. Any chance he resuscitates it? And Willy Hernangomez must be doing some serious thinking as well.

[CatgutStitches]

We have to be a real b*itch to gameplan against...JB just seems to throw random guys out there and see what happens, which I think is awesome. Maybe there will be 2 1/2 PGs on the court....Maybe the C will be MKG, maybe Biz...who knows? Probably not even the players till they are called to the table

[fatlever]

We have to be a real b*itch to gameplan against...JB just seems to throw random guys out there and see what happens, which I think is awesome. Maybe there will be 2 1/2 PGs on the court....Maybe the C will be MKG, maybe Biz...who knows? Probably not even the players till they are called to the table

on defense -> blitz kemba, trap on screens w/ kemba involved, keep game close, make kemba go hero mode or make others make shots

on offense-> spread floor, attack rim, drive & kick or drive at open paint, crash o-boards if hornets go small, if all else fails, go at monk or lamb or lob to rim.

[JDR720]

At the very least its nice to have a coach that will actually try new things. now he just needs to find some that work.

[fatlever]

Yeah, I'm not blaming the coach. It's just the reality of the roster. We got one guy on the team averaging over 11 points a game. Has anyone on the team scored 20 points in a game this year other than KW? We just don't have enough guys right now that can play at an above average level on both ends of the floor.

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[fatlever]

JB will score major bonus points simply by turning one of Monk or miles into a valuable asset.

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[catch20two]

JB will score major bonus points simply by turning one of Monk or miles into a valuable asset.

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He’s turning MKG into a valuable asset.

[HornetJail]

JB will score major bonus points simply by turning one of Monk or miles into a valuable asset.

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He’s turning MKG into a valuable asset.

it amazes me that a so-called defensive coach spent five **** years with MKG and couldn't figure out how to best use him.

[Eoghan]

JB will score major bonus points simply by turning one of Monk or miles into a valuable asset.

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He’s turning MKG into a valuable asset.

it amazes me that a so-called defensive coach spent five **** years with MKG and couldn't figure out how to best use him.

Also couldn't figure out how to use Biz, gave up corner threes like he gave up sleeping, and would play someone like Bellineli when he's getting lit up. Yeah, Clifford was not a defensive mastermind AT ALL.