BizarroJerry wrote:Tough loss, was only following on game cast. You can see these young guys are not gonna be ok with "just improving". They want wins and now. I like the attitude Sammich is bringing.
Mitchell and Skiles seem sort of similar. Hard nosed, old school dudes. The question is IF we get good - I mean really good, not 7th or 8th seed good - is Mitchell the right guy for a veteran playoff team that by then is sound in the fundamentals and team defensive culture?
Depends what Towns and Wiggins think about Mitchell. Seriously.
I've been happy with the level of play from the players the last three games, if healthy this is a borderline playoff team. I'll save my Sam hate for the upcoming DET game where he will likely be exposed by a better coach.
I woke up thinking. It would have been interesting to trust Wiggins guarding Fournier at the end of the game instead of Prince.I wonder if he would have made it harder for him to get the ball and shot off.
bleedspeed177 wrote:I woke up thinking. It would have been interesting to trust Wiggins guarding Fournier at the end of the game instead of Prince.I wonder if he would have made it harder for him to get the ball and shot off.
Wig is certainly an option, but Sam is going to go with Prince every time, and I have to agree. Tay gave him too much room unfortunately...I think he really thought Evan was going to put the ball on the floor again...but he was on him like white on rice the rest of the game. Also there's more chance of Wig biting on a fake and fouling. Shabazz was the guy who got lit up most by Fournier in the game, but Wig also struggled with him for a few minutes. Prince was the best option. Fournier is having a breakout year that many expected from him, and in this case, I think you just have to tip your hat to him...he beat us.
khans2k5 wrote:Keep in mind that KAT only lost once last year and I'm guessing he didn't lose much in high school. He's definitely not used to losing which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. You can't win them all so you just have to forget about losses and move on to the next game.
You're exactly right, khans...KAT has probably been on the winning team 98% of the time, and just isn't used to that losing feeling. I saw it in Vegas. KAT didn't play very well, but you couldn't miss noticing his competitive fire...and he was dejected about the losses in Summer League! I liked KAT's demeanor after the game last night. We fans liked how the team played last night, and took some solace in the fact that it was the second half of a road BTB. KAT didn't seem to share those feelings at all...he was just pissed.
bleedspeed177 wrote:I woke up thinking. It would have been interesting to trust Wiggins guarding Fournier at the end of the game instead of Prince.I wonder if he would have made it harder for him to get the ball and shot off.
I'm almost certain there was a switch that put Prince on Fournier...
And remember, the Wolves were playing small at the time. Wiggins was guarding the bigger Tobias Harris. Harris has a bit of a history of game-winning shots in Orlando. So it makes sense for Wiggins to be on him in that situation.
I awarded the game ball to Sam Mitchell in the Miami win, and there was a request from monster that I also award a Hanging Albatross in losses. I thought we were going to win in OT last night, and it would have been a difficult game ball decision between Towns and Wig... I think KAT would have won by an eyelash. But this was a loss, so the HA has to be awarded. And the Hanging Albatross goes to...
Shabazz Muhammad. I love Bazz, but last night was not his night. He forced things on offense, and didn't contribute much in other areas either. But the real issue last night was his defense. Scott Skiles is a very smart coach, and just like Jason Kidd targeted Kevin Love last week, Skiles directed his offense at whoever Bazz was guarding. Evan Fournier had a field day against him, but frankly Bazz couldn't have stopped me last night. I hate to award the first HA to one of my favorite guys and a guy who brings effort every night, but Bazzy is the guy last night.
BizarroJerry wrote:Tough loss, was only following on game cast. You can see these young guys are not gonna be ok with "just improving". They want wins and now. I like the attitude Sammich is bringing.
Mitchell and Skiles seem sort of similar. Hard nosed, old school dudes. The question is IF we get good - I mean really good, not 7th or 8th seed good - is Mitchell the right guy for a veteran playoff team that by then is sound in the fundamentals and team defensive culture?
Depends what Towns and Wiggins think about Mitchell. Seriously.
It's a player's league.
Totally agree with that. And what they think about him now versus two or three years from now could change significantly.
Remember Bill Fitch (you must!)? Of course he was the Celtics coach during Larry's formative years and they won a title together. Two years later he was gone, yet the Celtic core largely stayed the same and they proceeded to win two more titles under K.C. Jones. I bet Larry felt differently about Fitch as a veteran versus as a rookie.
I'm a believer that players and talent trump coaches and ultimately you need a coach that a) aligns with the front office vision, but just as importantly b) fits with where the team is at in its life cycle. There are very few coaches who are capable of molding a bunch of kiddies into a group of disciplined, hardened vets and then is able to adjust his style to get the most out of the vets that he helped "raise". It just seems like you need two totally different approaches and that's just a huge stretch for a head coach to make.
BizarroJerry wrote:Tough loss, was only following on game cast. You can see these young guys are not gonna be ok with "just improving". They want wins and now. I like the attitude Sammich is bringing.
Mitchell and Skiles seem sort of similar. Hard nosed, old school dudes. The question is IF we get good - I mean really good, not 7th or 8th seed good - is Mitchell the right guy for a veteran playoff team that by then is sound in the fundamentals and team defensive culture?
Depends what Towns and Wiggins think about Mitchell. Seriously.
It's a player's league.
Totally agree with that. And what they think about him now versus two or three years from now could change significantly.
Remember Bill Fitch (you must!)? Of course he was the Celtics coach during Larry's formative years and they won a title together. Two years later he was gone, yet the Celtic core largely stayed the same and they proceeded to win two more titles under K.C. Jones. I bet Larry felt differently about Fitch as a veteran versus as a rookie.
I'm a believer that players and talent trump coaches and ultimately you need a coach that a) aligns with the front office vision, but just as importantly b) fits with where the team is at in its life cycle. There are very few coaches who are capable of molding a bunch of kiddies into a group of disciplined, hardened vets and then is able to adjust his style to get the most out of the vets that he helped "raise". It just seems like you need two totally different approaches and that's just a huge stretch for a head coach to make.
Belly has to be a damn close second 6 fouls and damn near nothing but bad out of him all night. Sucks cause I really like the guy, his confidence seems a little down but he should snap out of it.
