jerseyjac wrote:PetroNet wrote:i put nuetral.
on one hand we are gonna get close to 50 wins, make the playoffs with HCA and stayed realtively healthy. dwill is playing well and lopez hasnt shown any recurring foot problems. all good stuff
on the other hand, we lay down way too often, dont play with passion or intensity, gave away a ton of games, and for the most part got beat down anytime we played anyone good.
id be lying if i said i wouldnt prefer to have won 42-44 games, but show the attitude of a hard working blue collar team that plays with a ton of heart, passion, and energy.
enetric wrote:This team was almost entirely built from scratch for this year. Even the returning players had barely played with each other due to various previous injuries.
My preseason prediction for this team based on TALENT was that we should be a 4 seed. IN fact, I went further saying that the Nets and Nix would be the 4/5 seeds in some order...so 5 was the lowest I felt we could achieve and feel that year 1 objectives were met. Now...I expected Boston to be a top 3 seed...along with Miami and I am almost sure I said Indy.
So we are exactly where I expected be. Why did I vote neutral instead of satisfied? Because after watching this team all year...they simply dont leave it all out on the floor. Its more than chemistry. Its a hard team to root for at times. You watch these guys and you think how can a group of players be this talented and not have a clue how to seize control of a game? How can they lack all sense of swagger? I feel like I am watching your typical 35 win just miss the playoffs type of team more often than not.
So the best I can give them is neutral.
So you wanted a team that overachieved
I agree to a certain extent...there is definitely a character to this team where they lose focus and play disinterested basketball...w/ that said and those games being the most frustrating to watch, I believe it comes with the territory of a new team who went through a coaching change and a bunch of injuries specifically the lows of Deron Williams...
However, I am satisfied because I frankly did not believe this team could do any better considering the ups and downs, the perseverance it would take to come close to 50 wins top 4 seed....ultimately, 47-50 game season would be enough of a challenge for this team...
Watching us play ball the last couple of weeks even coming off several disappointing wins vs the Nuggets, Jazz and Bulls (or even further back vs Philly, Clippers and Hawks)...there has been some up and downs even in wins, but we closed the door on every single one of those wins by either doing enough to hold onto a win or closing out strong...
Maybe we could be on a 10 game win streak now...but if you go even further back, our team was still figuring things out as we went from Feb. to March...I truly believe dealing with match up problems and finding a way to play to our strengths and not letting the opposition dictate the game will ultimately decide if we can advance to the second round...
Has this season been frustrating, without a doubt...but we are gel-ing at the right time, we have the chemistry to make some noise in the playoffs and it all comes down to everyone doing their job, executing our offense and not taking off one possession on the defensive side...Our big guns have to step up and put up big numbers and our role players need to show up support and sustain periods of the game when our starters are out...If our bench fails we fail...to be honest, I'm more concerned w/ a potential choke and the lack of confidence that can carry over into next season...right now, this team is displaying a back bone whether leads are lost or not or whether we are playing mistake free basketball or not....the back bone, the desire and fire is there enough to see a playoff team ready to compete...can we sustain that throughout 48 minutes of every playoff game is the question...
That is all I can ask for...considering, like E said, this team was basically just thrown together we are exactly where I expected maybe even a little further than expected in my mind...
All I can ask for now, once in the playoffs...stick together, play tenacious basketball and leave it all out on the floor....AND D-UP!!!...