An important... very revealing... stretch of games. Do or Die?

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I can't believe the board is missing the huge positive out of last night................WE BROKE THE PATTERN!!!!!!!!!

All seriousness aside (as Steve Allen used to say before most of you were born), there have been 5-6 terrible losses this season, but last night told me everything I need to know about this team. We are destined to go 1-3 in this "easy" stretch of games (squeaking out our first close win of the year in the Utah home game) whether Love is out or not.

This team is maddening. Earlier in the year when the starters were playing as well as any in the league, the bench was worse than any in the league. And now that Turiaf and Shved have led the bench back to respectability (as I expected, Budinger's Rubioesque shooting is showing he's not going to be ready to make much of a contribution this year)...they won their battle last night 36-24, the starters have fallen off a cliff. Only Love and Pekovic are playing at a level worthy of an NBA starter.

What to do now? I don't think it's time to "blow it up". Instead, I think it's time to find out what we really have on this roster, and shake things up a little. If a home loss to the Sacrificial Things doesn't send that message loud and clear, I don't know what will. We have players on our roster that I like in many ways (Turiaf, Cunningham and Barea), but they are not the future of this franchise, and it is time to give others a shot at the expense of their minutes. In addition, Budinger doesn't provide much value if he isn't making his shot, and NBA jump shooters never come back crisp after serious knee issues, and I don't see the point of giving him significant minutes until he is ready to contribute. Let him find his groove in practice...he'll be fine by next year. Finally, as much as I love Brewer's heart, he is currently playing at a level lower than his first two years here with us...both offensively and defensively. He seems to be so enamored of the steal that he too often leaves his man wide open...witness his horrible job trying to cover Rudy Gay last night. Brewer should not be starting, and perhaps doesn't even deserve back-up minutes until he starts playing closer to his Denver level.

So, that leaves us with this starting line-up: Pek, Love, Martin (just no other options), Rubio (because we need to find out if this 23-year-old is ever going to figure it out), and..............Muhammad. Yes, Muhammad. Let's face it. We're not going anywhere this year. Other teams are giving their first rounders starters' minutes even though they are not ready (look at Oladipo's horrible assist to turnover ratio, for example), and Shabazz has been a prolific scorer at every level he has played at...including the NBA D-League. Do I think he is going to be an immediate star? Of course not. But like Utah, Orlando, Philly, etc. we need to find out what he is. And after a home loss to the hapless Kings, what the hell is the downside?

We also have to find a way to get Dieng some minutes. I'm a big Turiaf supporter, but he is not our future, and we need to see what Dieng can do and what he needs to work on. He needs 15 minutes a night backing up Pek.

JJ provides a spark at times off the bench, but he is maddening to watch, doesn't seem to be able to get anyone involved in the offense other than Cunningham, and just isn't good enough to be a disruptive element in the locker room. Flip needs to trade him for anything he can get. That opens up the backup PG minutes for Shved, and he should be getting 15-20 per night strictly in this role. Many of us still remember the PG skills he exhibited with the Russian team, and he deserves the chance to see if those skills translate to the NBA.

Back-up power forward and shooting guard is not as clear to me. There really isn't any option other than Cunningham backing up Love, so our options are to use him or go small. I guess I really don't care, but if any of our 3's can contribute at the 4, I would give them some burn. As for backing up Martin at the 2, I would see what Hummel can do. Yes, I recognize that he has struggled defensively and not shot well in his minutes this year, but he is our best 3-point shooter in practice and at some point has to shoot in games like he does in practice.

So a lot of changes, but I'd like to see us try this for awhile:

C : Pek, Dieng
PF: Love, Cunningham (unless we go small)
SF: Muhammad, Committee (Brewer, Hummel, Bud)
SG: Martin, Hummel
PG Rubio, Shved

Do I think this lineup will end our woes and lead us to the playoffs? No. But we aren't going anywhere this year anyway, and it's time to see what our future might look like. Let me ask it this way. Do you think the rotation above could have done any worse against the Kings last night?

[Papalrep]

Time to prepare for our next do or die stretch of games