One negative observation last night
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 4:16 pm
I was feeling a little euphoric last night after two great games at Staples, that I neglected to report one downer.
First, I was able to garner a great seat last night...right across from the Wolves bench so I could watch team interaction. On the positive side, Turiaf and AJ Price look like fabulous guys. Price rapping along with the timeout music and trying to get Hummel to rap with him was (ahem) price-less...there's an outside chance Robbie didn't know the lyrics! Plus it was interesting to observe Love, Rubio and Berea's leadership and intensity.
But a big negative was Shabazz. I know I reported surprising interaction by Muhammad on Sunday night, but Monday was a completely different story. During the pre-game shootaround, he was disinterested and spent his time clanking lazy three pointers. But during the game, his behavior really got bizarre. He watched almost none of the game, and spent most of it with his hand on his forehead looking down at the floor. He looked depressed. I wondered whether he was sick or had just received some really bad news. But I think it's more likely that he knew he wasn't going to get any playing time for a "home" game in front of friends and family, and he was showing his displeasure. Whatever it was, it was really odd. He might have been the only person in the arena not enjoying that game!
Part of me respects the side of Muhammad that won't accept being relegated to the bench. He has always been a star and has a burning desire to compete. But I worry that he has the potential to become a team cancer. I don't know, maybe it was just a bad night...but I'd be interested in hearing from Lip how Shabazz looks Wednesday night.
One other probably meaningless point: During the pre-game layup drill, the Wolves were having fun with a dunk fest...even Muhammad loosened up to show a couple flashy dunks. It was especially fun to see Rubio dunk, because I have never seen him do that before. Surprising hops! But the one guy (other than JJ) who didn't dunk was Pek, who instead just did a traditional layup every time. It occurred to me that I have never seen Pek dunk in a game, which can be especially frustrating when he misses a close in shot where a dunk was available to him. Is it possible that Pek can't dunk, or is it just that he doesn't? And if so, why not? Has anyone ever seen Pek dunk before?
First, I was able to garner a great seat last night...right across from the Wolves bench so I could watch team interaction. On the positive side, Turiaf and AJ Price look like fabulous guys. Price rapping along with the timeout music and trying to get Hummel to rap with him was (ahem) price-less...there's an outside chance Robbie didn't know the lyrics! Plus it was interesting to observe Love, Rubio and Berea's leadership and intensity.
But a big negative was Shabazz. I know I reported surprising interaction by Muhammad on Sunday night, but Monday was a completely different story. During the pre-game shootaround, he was disinterested and spent his time clanking lazy three pointers. But during the game, his behavior really got bizarre. He watched almost none of the game, and spent most of it with his hand on his forehead looking down at the floor. He looked depressed. I wondered whether he was sick or had just received some really bad news. But I think it's more likely that he knew he wasn't going to get any playing time for a "home" game in front of friends and family, and he was showing his displeasure. Whatever it was, it was really odd. He might have been the only person in the arena not enjoying that game!
Part of me respects the side of Muhammad that won't accept being relegated to the bench. He has always been a star and has a burning desire to compete. But I worry that he has the potential to become a team cancer. I don't know, maybe it was just a bad night...but I'd be interested in hearing from Lip how Shabazz looks Wednesday night.
One other probably meaningless point: During the pre-game layup drill, the Wolves were having fun with a dunk fest...even Muhammad loosened up to show a couple flashy dunks. It was especially fun to see Rubio dunk, because I have never seen him do that before. Surprising hops! But the one guy (other than JJ) who didn't dunk was Pek, who instead just did a traditional layup every time. It occurred to me that I have never seen Pek dunk in a game, which can be especially frustrating when he misses a close in shot where a dunk was available to him. Is it possible that Pek can't dunk, or is it just that he doesn't? And if so, why not? Has anyone ever seen Pek dunk before?