Win Five--Stay Alive
Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:56 pm
Next 5 games: we have to go 5-0. Have to go into Dallas riding the longest winning streak of the year--then lets see what happens. If we think we are still a playoff team right now then you gotta play like one, and that means beating teams like Toronto at home and Charlotte on the road, not to mention the other 3 games which fall into the New York Knicks "inexcusable loss" category.
If I could control Adelman's deteriorating brain I would instruct it to make two major adjustments from here on out:
1) If the game is close at the end of the 3rd, either give Rubio a quick rest at the end of the quarter (maybe a minute or two of game time) or don't rest him at all. Yeah it may mean he is gassed at some point in the 4th, and yes he may fail, but the alternative is JJordan Barea, and that simply hasn't worked. You gotta go for broke at this point--there is no margin for error. Ricky is young and healthy--roll the dice and play him 23 minutes in the 2nd half if you have to.
2) If K-Mart is having an off shooting night, he needs to be benched in favor of Shabazz. Shabazz may or may not score buckets, but he is consistently bringing an energy and intensity that seems to rub off on other players. So at least he's giving us something. But also I think he needs to play with Ricky and Love, who give him the ball in the right spots.
The margin for error in this easier stretch of the schedule just went down the drain with the Knicks game. Now it's "win five-stay alive." I think whoever feels the luckiest on this board should start the next game thread, and if we win continue to start the game threads. Someone needs to step up and run the table! Who is ready to embrace the challenge?! (it's not me--I think I started 2 game threads this year and lost them both...and it can't be whoever started the Knicks game thread)
If I could control Adelman's deteriorating brain I would instruct it to make two major adjustments from here on out:
1) If the game is close at the end of the 3rd, either give Rubio a quick rest at the end of the quarter (maybe a minute or two of game time) or don't rest him at all. Yeah it may mean he is gassed at some point in the 4th, and yes he may fail, but the alternative is JJordan Barea, and that simply hasn't worked. You gotta go for broke at this point--there is no margin for error. Ricky is young and healthy--roll the dice and play him 23 minutes in the 2nd half if you have to.
2) If K-Mart is having an off shooting night, he needs to be benched in favor of Shabazz. Shabazz may or may not score buckets, but he is consistently bringing an energy and intensity that seems to rub off on other players. So at least he's giving us something. But also I think he needs to play with Ricky and Love, who give him the ball in the right spots.
The margin for error in this easier stretch of the schedule just went down the drain with the Knicks game. Now it's "win five-stay alive." I think whoever feels the luckiest on this board should start the next game thread, and if we win continue to start the game threads. Someone needs to step up and run the table! Who is ready to embrace the challenge?! (it's not me--I think I started 2 game threads this year and lost them both...and it can't be whoever started the Knicks game thread)