The "we have no take-over player" quandry

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Saw this being discussed in another thread and thought I would start a thread on it here, because we've lost a lot of close games lately, and CP3 isn't walking through the door anytime soon.

Do the Wolves have a take-over player? No, they don't. Like KG, Kevin Love is never going to be that player. He can hit a big shot or even get hot at times, but you can't throw him the ball and expect him to do it on his own.

In my opinion, this is the key:

Ricky and our style of playing at the end of games has to evolve. I'm not a huge fan of handing the ball to Martin in a big possession and asking him to go one on one, or even having K-Mart and Love play the two man game out at the 3 point line. What needs to happen is this:

Put the ball in Ricky's hands, spread the floor, or play a pick n roll and let him make a decision. I think Ricky can be much more aggressive on offense than what he has shown so far. His elite dribbling ability lets him get anywhere on the court. He can beat anybody off the dribble. And when he penetrates he'll find the open man. If players stay home he needs to learn how to finish, absorb contact, or pull up mid-range. The only way this is going to start happening is if he is given the ball in these situations and told to GO TO WORK. Even last season I thought he executed a lot of clutch pick n rolls in late game situations.

But this season Love and Martin took off hot offensively out of the gate, which was great, but at the same time it forced Ricky into a passive role that has become even more passive as his confidence has waned.

Bottom line is give Ricky the ball, surround him with K-Love, K-Mart, Pek, and probably Bud when he returns, and let him create. Believe me, when RR's confidence returns and he starts embracing the creator role in crunch time, the team will finally arrive. Until then we will continue to be mediocre to slightly above mediocre, which obviously isn't going to cut it in the brutal western conference.

This is on coaching more than anything. They need to give Ricky the ball. If he fails give it to him again. Let him find his way by giving him the chance. Find out if he can be the guy at the end making it happen. If not, then blow the team up (meaning trade K-Love) and find the guy who can do it.

[Bayou Wolf [enjin:6635650]]

If we could hold the huge leads we build, our need for a takeover player is lessened.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I don't know if I can take another rebuilding period. Trading Love signifies failure pretty much.