denial wrote:RunDogGun wrote:denial wrote:Two of the three past games you have said that we are not starting our best unit. But in two of them we have had big first quarter leads. I might be missing your point though. It does not seem that starting strong is our problem. Finishing is.
I turned off the game after the first quarter. I know better than to expect anything other than to squander a good lead.
I said the same thing when Monty didn't start Bridges instead of Saric, but finished the second and fourth quarters with that line up. It took too long to switch to the right line up. And now we have wasted four more games, with four more losses. This was crunch time for us to make the playoffs. We should have learned from the past, but instead we went right back to the slower unit, that was slower switching.
First quarters aren't always the problem, start of the third quarter can cause just as big of a problem and last night we had an 18 point third quarter. Its not so much about if Saric has a good game or not. Its starting the game and third quarter with your/our best unit. Why wait to finish the quarter with our best unit? Start strong, and then build from that. It is the tone that is being set. Plus our defense is better when we have quicker guys to switch, and also get out on the perimeter shooters.
This already happened, where we didn't start our strongest unit but finished quarters with that unit. Then we finally went to that unit to start games, and it worked better. Moreover, if Monty isn't going to use many bigs off the bench, it is better to start with Saric coming off the bench. He could come in for Ayton or play the PF spot, and we can shuffle guys from there.
Your statement makes complete sense when you focus on the third quarter. It’s not really the starting lineup you seem to have an issue with. It’s the rotation in general and the timing of when Monty plays the starters/bench that you seem to be highlighting here, which I totally agree with.
the starting lineups have been hot in the first quarter lately. We had a stretch where we had several great third quarters in a row.
It might be a simple case of, we are not deep enough talent wise. We can always muster two good quarters. Whether it’s the 1st and 2nd or 1st and 3rd or 2nd and 3rd.
We rarely play good in the fourth. Might simply be a matter of depth and fatigue and not so much the starters.
I don’t disagree with you per se. I’m just throwing out another potential explanation of your same analysis.
Fair enough. My point was it seems like (previously with the Bridges?Saric who starts) Monty would finish the second and fourth quarters with with a lineup he thought would win. That line up was very good at switching on defense, which meant we didn't lose much after a screen, and guys got out to perimeter shooters. The group played well together and they were stronger as a group than they were as individuals. This seemed to cut down on hero ball, and therefore we had better ball movement. For this reason I thought it was best to start that unit, so it set a tone for the whole game, and for a bit, it worked just like that. Guys played well together, and subs seemed to fit in the gaps well.
It isn't that Saric is a bad player or anything, I do like his effort. Maybe Guys like Booker and Oubre didn't trust Saric enough, so they would tend to try and take over a game by themselves? I just don't know.
So when Oubre went down, it seemed more logical that Cam would fill that spot. He had been playing much better on both sides of the floor, almost like he started to figure out how to play on an NBA level. Clearly he has been doing his homework, maybe even watching a ton of film while he was injured? But there was a change after his injury. He was even making better passes. His 3 point shot jumped to 50% after the Allstar game. And once again, Monty went to the group he seemed most confident in to win the game, which included Cam in place of Oubre. At this point, it didn't make sense to me that if Monty followed the same pattern of using what he thought was his best closing unit, why he wouldn't learn from the past, and start that unit to set a tone for the rest of the game. I feel he wasted 4 games from not learning from his own history.
Now, with Ayton possibly out, and our chances for the playoffs most likely gone, its all a bit moot. Guys will either start to check out, or just play hero ball. Either way, the season will be lost and I am concerned we will start to talk about trading everyone, firing our coach, or firing our gm.
Domino effect is getting ready to start.
If Saric starts instead of Ayton, I hope Monty also starts Cam. That will at least be close to what he seems to feel is the line up he trusts to finish each half.
