lipoli390 wrote:I've discussed how impressive the Pacers, Sixers and Jazz have been this season. I should add the Spurs to that list, considering how they've secured themselves a likely 6th seed or higher playing the entire season without their best player, Kawhi Leonard.
Another team worthy of praise recently is Milwaukee. The Bucks have struggled, gone through a head coaching change and arguably underachieve much of the season. But they are 7-3 over the last 10 games and have really been playing well. Especially impressive is that 3 of their 7 wins in this stretch have come without Giannis on the court. That's a team showing some mental toughness and taking charge of their own destiny. Tonight's win over the Magic included 22 points and 8 rebounds from Bazz in only 24 minutes. It's his second 20+ point game in this 10-game stretch -- both games won by the Bucks. There have been a number of games where Bazz has hardly gotten any minutes, reminiscent of his time with the Wolves this season. Yet, apparently he's not such a locker room cancer the Bucks' front office can't find a place for him on their roster. And he's not such a lost cause that he can't give his team a big lift and help them win games both as a scorer and wing rebounder.
Now, before anyone gets their undees in a bundle, note that letting Bazz go is WAY down on my list of concerns about the Wolves. But often it's the little things that can make a difference in one or two games and decide a team's fate at the end of a season. This season, the Wolves fate will literally come down to one game -- you pick the game during the season. Would Bazz have come though for the Wolves helped us beat the Nuggets last week or the Grizzlies two weeks ago? Who knows. Honestly, Bazz may have lost a game or two for the Wolves earlier this season.
Looking back on the season, there are plenty of games the Wolves should not have lost. Of all of them, the home loss to the Suns stands out for me. I should watch the replay of that one after the season to do a thorough post-mortum. Seeing that the Thunder trounced the Heat in Miami tonight, I also think back to the Heat throttling us on our home court earlier this year. Then there's the earlier loss to Memphis and the road looses to Orlando, Atlanta and New Jersey among others. Of course, there were the home losses to the Sixers without Covington and to the Wizards without Wall. I know I'm repeating myself. But embedded in those losses are a litany of "little things" that reflect on the players, coaches and front office staff. Regarding the Wolves front office, not having a true two-way wing or at least a bona fide 3-point ace as part of our bench could have been a decisive factor in some of those bad losses. Bazz was never the answer to either of those issues; I get that. But my problem is that we have a PBO who never addressed them. And that's going to come back and bite us now no matter what happens in Wednesday night's game against the Nuggets. And it might affect us in the Nuggets game.
Would I rather have Bazz than a vacant roster spot down the stretch? Yes, because I like the thought of someone on the bench who can put up 20+ points and 8 boards in 24 minutes on any given night and help his team win as he's done twice now for the Bucks down the stretch. But more fundamentally, we shouldn't have a vacant roster spot and letting Bazz go shouldn't matter.
I think that's the money line, Lip. Relying on Jamal Crawford to pretty much lead that second unit has been an unmitigated disaster. He has helped win us a couple games, but he has contributed to us losing countless others. Thibs' total lack of creativity and diligence to go find or unearth a bench wing that could hit 3's and play even average defense would have made a big difference.
