Ask Walt wrote:Walt, Do you think that the 8 man line-up causes 4th quarter fatigue for the Bobcats?
Tough question, easy answer is "yes", but it's pretty dependent on the matchup. Further, there have been 7 games where Dudley hasn't played at all.
Early in the season we did really well in 3rd quarters but seemed to run our of gas in the 4th, but I think this isn't the case anymore. In fact, the thread about what justifiable reasons SV has for starting McInnis has kind of convinced me that it keeps important players like Carroll and Felton fresh for the 4th. Anyway, this feels obvious to type, but I'd say this is the breakdown:
uptempo games where we don't play Nazr and Emeka together= pretty fresh team for the 4th.
uptempo games where Nazr and Emeka have had to play together because of opposition forward play=bigs gassed by the 4th but not necessarily the guards and wingmen.
half court set/lower pace games=everyone more rested and more productive in the 4th and it doesn't seem to matter if Emeka/Nazr had to play together or not.
Anyway, I may come back and edit this or add to it during the game b/c I didn't get to look at any game longs, this is merely speculation. Additional side note: I think more posters would check out the game threads if the "Ask ____" section changed for each one. Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered, but it definitely has me looking forward to the next gt b/c I KNOW I'll have something to discuss, so I was just thinking that maybe it could be something that keeps people checking these when they might not otherwise, motivational type of thing.
