Worth Remembering That There Is Gold in Them Thar Hills, Even When We Are Talking About Damaged Goods.
Statistically, the numbers that the Larry Johnson of 1998-1999 posted, do not leap out at you, and his back was a wet mess, but he still played through pain to the tune of 30+Plus minutes a night, led us to the NBA Finals, and was an inspiration to our fans and his team mates.
Yes, we lost 4-1, but from Game 3 on, we competed way over our heads, and in a conclusive game five, we clawed and scratched before falling to the better team, 78-77.
We all know, Thibs and Rose and company all know, that Kemba Walker ain't the Kemba of his salad days, any more than Derrick Rose was when he re-arrived in New York.
Re-purposed as a den mother to the second unit, Rose raised his game to heroic proportions, and played way over his head and beyond his endurance in the playoffs. Even as a ghost of Xmas Passed, Rose was an extension of THIBS on the floor, and proved such superior skill set and leadership, that he led us to the fourth seed in the playoffs, and our first winning season since Jason Kidd led a geriatric squad to the playoffs under Coach Woodson. Good enough to warrant a generous 2+1 [$13,445,120, $14,520,730, $15,596,339] and the opportunity to give us the most competitive PG platoon we've fielded since Charlie Ward & Chris Childs.
Kemba Walker will NOT BE TASKED with being a savior. No, seriously. Walker and Rose WILL BE TASKED with providing a competitive veteran presence so as to allow our young vets and our protean puppies to raise their games and ascend to the next level. The Next Level Of Winning.
Kemba and Derrick are functioning coaches every bit as much as Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne. We are looking to solidify and advance our culture, be it for the eventual arrival of the ONE TRUE SUPERSTAR [if I were to make a prediction out of the usual suspects, it would probably be ZION] or simply to ripen and solidify the low hanging fruit we currently have on board.
Me? I would have been inclined to make a run at Lonzo Ball.
But the Knicks, and most likely Coach Thibs, were more comfortable with and inclined to bring on a veteran presence to go with Rose, and thus help nurture the likes of IQ and Deuce [and somewhere down the line, presumably, Jokubaitis].
Again, BUILDING A CULTURE, playing the right way, in this case, THIBS' way.
A roll of the dice, but one I am comfortable with, as clearly, Thibs and Rose are.
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