Duffman100 wrote:MiamiSPX wrote:I'm no fan of Darko but let's get real here, nobody is doing better with that roster last night. I am willing to bet nobody, other than Nwora, even knew who Malik Williams was. Even Darko I bet had never heard of him.
Here is who played last night:
IQ - Only legit starter, but is new to the role and has only been with the team 3 months.
Dick - Up and down year, 20 year old rookie.
Temple - Great bench vet, but old and a terrible player.
McDaniels - Only got the start because of facing his brother, which shows how seriously we are taking these games lol. Even the most ardent Masai defender will admit this guy is absolutely awful and should not be in the NBA.
Gueye - Not in the NBA next season
Malik - Not in the NBA 9 days from now.
Simmons - Not in the NBA 2 days from now.
JFL - Tops out as our 14th-15th guy next season.
Nwora - He's not good. He'll be n the NBA next season but most likely as a 3rd stringer.
The only 2 guys that have been with the team all season are McD and Temple, who never play, rightfully. Even Pop or Spoelstra aren't doing anything with that roster.
Darko has also had to deal with:
Brown - Clearly doesn't want to be on the team.
OG - Wanted out for a while, and mailed it in for his last 3 weeks once he knew trade talks were in the works.
Siakam - Wanted t stay but team didn't want to pay him and told him that, which had to have made things weird at best.
GTJ - Seemingly wants to stay but they are obviously at odds over money.
Flynn - Was obviously mandated to play him, likely out of the NBA next season.
I'm no FO fanboy (I couldn't care less if Masai, Bobby and Darko all walked out the door tomorrow) but Darko gets a pass for me this season. That doesn't mean I haven't seen some things I don't like from him. I have....but come one, you have to have some serious blinders on to not admit he was dealt a very bad hand.
100%
If the start of next season our defensive rotations are bad, our effort level is low, we're giving up offensive rebounds, we're still sloppy turning the ball over...
Then you pull the plug.
I’d give him more rope than that.
It’s obvious Masai has chucked the 5 x 6’9 defensive menace/teach-them-to-shoot project
Now it’s obvious he’s trying to bring the European style of play to the NBA.
Problem is,for the most part, Darko doesn’t have the shooting talent and basketball IQ on the roster to make it work. This is a roster and team in transition that just started 3 months ago.
As long as guys keep developing, you’re seeing the style of play continue to evolve, and their are good coach-player relations, I’d let him keep going regardless of the record.
Two examples…
1) player development: before OA went down, he was starting to actually play decent, his shot was still off but he was under control. RJ has played great as a Raptor. Dick of course.
2) style of play evolution: just watch Dick play. He’s the only guy playing with elite IQ and shooting. He’s constantly in motion, constantly cutting, constantly moving to get an open shot. This is what they are working towards having 3 Dicks* + C or 4 Dicks* circling Scottie.
(*Dicks doesn’t mean white guys. It’s guys who can shoot and move off the ball).
I think Darko has done well this year considering how he was hired to coach did not match the roster to start the season and, while the roster is starting to resemble what he needs, the overall talent is awful.