MGrand15 wrote:PetroNet wrote:Everyone needs to stop it with the whole "we have bad rotations" or "we need a better offensive set" or "we just didnt have it tonite" or "trap game"
enough with the excuses. bottom line is that this is an average team. we have a ton of talent, but no heart, no one willing to play defense, and no leadership. this team will only get better by adding an elite coach and an elite leader.
we got blown out by washington, who had it in cruise control from the very tipoff. we struggled with the pistons. we get embarassed by teams like houston, after getting embarassed the night before. we get embarassed after our team is shut out from the all-star game. we get embarassed after someone calls out teammates.
this team clearly isnt motivated by merely the competition aspect of basketball, nor are they embarassed of their poor play. we need a coach with enough of a track record and respect to bench deron and jj for an entire game just ot send a message. a coach with enough respect to publically call lopez a soft player. even that might not get it done.
we have a mentally weak team of overpaid fat cats who really have no motiviation or incentive to ever play hard.
Look, I know you think the Nets come in and mail it in since you bring up effort EVERY SINGLE GAME but basketball is more than that. Every single possession is a grind on this team - that's not the sign of a team not trying. Deron's been banged up all year and has barely missed games. Joe Johnson is playing more minutes than he has since 09. You can see how frustrated Brook gets out there. Crash and Reggie are killing us but I don't think you can question their effort. Outside of a team that's built perfectly, every NBA team needs direction and the right pieces on the floor to succeed.
It's not about calling players out. Calling Lopez soft isn't going to change the fact that he gets doubled with no concern for 2 other players on the court. Benching JJ or Deron isn't going to change the fact that they're the only shooters in the starting lineup. It's not going to change the fact that they're both too big to guard speedy backcourts. I don't care how hard you play, when teams can free lance off of TWO players in your most used lineup - they're going to shut every single option down except for isolations.
That Bulls game showed me all I needed to see about consistently playing Reggie Evans and Crash together. They shut down our pick and rolls - denied our post ups - denied Joe coming off of screens - completely blew all of our plays up until PJ finally put Crash in at PF.
It's about execution, not effort. We're playing slow. We're playing bad offensive lineups. Not putting our players in a position to succeed is a much bigger problem than effort.
I totally agree.
Blaming anything before blaming the horrible rotations and the offensively-challenged lineups is just missing the point, imo.
You have to give players the opportunity to succeed. If they have the opportunities and they aren't using them, then you can blame the effort or the leadership. But right now, I really can't blame JJ or Deron for being ineffective the last few games, because what else can they do when they're being double and triple teamed the way they are? Pass it to Evans so he can do one of: nothing, brick a layup, get called for a 3 second violation, brick FTs, or turn it over? Pass it to Wallace so he can do one of: nothing, brick a 3, brick a layup, turn it over, or get himself injured?
And it's not like they're doing anything for us defensively either. Evans and Wallace have been trash on defense for quite a while now.
You just can't play both of these guys together, and preferably, don't play them at all. I'd much rather go with a starting lineup that has Bogans and Teletovic at the forward spots.
