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Probably another loss as we stumble into the playoffs

What are the implications of this game? Any chance of affecting our PO matchup or are we pretty much set with Atlanta?

Go for well-played game to set a tone after yesterday's suckage or rest the weary, hobbled players like Batum, Lin and Al? If it looks ugly by 3Q, bring out the 3rd stringers and rest the main guys IMO.

bws94 wrote:Go for well-played game to set a tone after yesterday's suckage or rest the weary, hobbled players like Batum, Lin and Al? If it looks ugly by 3Q, bring out the 3rd stringers and rest the main guys IMO.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, Coach Clifford is going to ride Kemba Walker like a blind donkey right into the playoffs. That goes for Nicolas Batum, as well. Sure, he may give them a bit of rest with two games to go, but the damage has already been done. After all, we would not want them to get "out of rhythm," now, would we?

It's too bad for tonight's game because it might have been a good one, an interesting matchup of styles. Meanwhile, it's nice to see the Pacers make to the playoffs. They are another team that tried to change their style of play going into this season.

So if Kemba and Nic show no signs of fatigue in the playoffs, does that mean you are wrong about Cliff or no?

yosemiteben wrote:So if Kemba and Nic show no signs of fatigue in the playoffs, does that mean you are wrong about Cliff or no?

Batum looks like he's playing injured, not Kemba. Not the same for the two although Kemba's logged in a lot of minutes. I don't think it is fatigue with Batum, it's effectiveness based on how his body feels. Kemba looks like he's ready to go IMO but rest wouldn't hurt him or take him out of rhythm.

How many Hornets are hurt going into the playoffs? Neither the team nor the players let you know for sure. Batum looks like his knee is still a problem, as bws94 points out. Lin has a bad elbow. Hawes has come back from a back injury, but you would not want to see him on a back-to-back. Jefferson lumbers up and down the court. Walker looks fatigued, but I'll be happy to be wrong about that. Marvin Williams is also looking a bit fatigued.

So that is four of the nine rotation players that are not in optimal condition, and two more that are starting to look tired. One good way to tell about fatigue is to watch their jump shots. If they are not getting good elevation and the ball starts to clang on the front of the rim, that is a good sign that the legs are giving out.

Didn't really answer the question. If they get good elevation in the playoffs, does that mean you are wrong? Or is this one of those narratives where you are by default right and evidence to the contrary doesn't count?

Didn't really answer the question. If they get good elevation in the playoffs, does that mean you are wrong? Or is this one of those narratives where you are by default right and evidence to the contrary doesn't count?

let's just assume coaches and players know what they are doing... you and I really have no business judging who should play, who should not and how many minute they play...

TinmanZBoy wrote:let's just assume coaches and players know what they are doing... you and I really have no business judging who should play, who should not and how many minute they play...

There's evidence they don't. Thibs ran his players to the ground. I think Cliff shows tendencies of overplaying players. When MKG came back early he wasn't eased into his minutes. He played major minutes right away. He hit a wall pretty soon around the 4th game. When Batum has come back from injuries, big minutes. Same with Lin. I think some coaches just ask the players who are the worse to ask as some would play with an IV in their arm if they were allowed.

[Tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/719647797042089985[/Tweet]

good... hopefully, Spencer, lamb etc. show up off the bench and tell people albatross does not belong to us...lol

Cody is out, let's all brace ourselves for the full fledged Jefferson experience.

Imagine, al shuffling his feet trying to hedge IT coming off a screen. Celts will have the most lax easy offensive game of the season, essentially playing 5v4 when AL involved in pnr.

Cody has a "sternum contusion"

scenario 1 - Al Jefferson has a good game, we beat Celtics, Clifford gains more faith in Jefferson heading into playoffs.

scenario 2 - Al Jefferson sucks tonight, we lose, Clifford loses faith in Jefferson heading into playoffs.

scenario 3 - Al Jefferson sucks tonight, we win regardless, Clifford sends Jefferson to end of bench for playoffs.

fatlever wrote:scenario 1 - Al Jefferson has a good game, we beat Celtics, Clifford gains more faith in Jefferson heading into playoffs.

scenario 2 - Al Jefferson sucks tonight, we lose, Clifford loses faith in Jefferson heading into playoffs.

scenario 3 - Al Jefferson sucks tonight, we win regardless, Clifford sends Jefferson to end of bench for playoffs.

I'm gonna go with another scenario, Al has a great box score because he is gonna shoot alot ( how many times is "25" run in the first quarter tonight? 7?) and hang around the paint for rbs, but hornets lose badly. Clifford loses no faith in him, feeds him 25+ mpg in the playoffs as well as endless touches. I love clifford for a lot of things, but he has his downfalls. same guy who saw nothing in biyombo, who is probably the best back up big in the league.

Get ready for some Alfense.

Let hope Batum is over what ever it was that he was suffering from yesterday.

Main thing I'd like to see today is a big improvement from our defense.

Was supposed to be a very important game, but since the last loss this isn't as important?

If no hope for HCA, then sixth might actually be better than fifth.

Also need to see Kemba deal with the tough pressure he'll face tonight from their guards. He's really struggled in the first two meeting this year.