We appear to be in a chicken or the egg conundrum.
For instance, Elephant's observation about Obi, and the sense that Thibs is mis-using him or refusing to use him.
Okay.
Parking Obi out by the three-point line seems like a fool's errand.
He has proven to be effective on back cuts along the baseline, pick and rolls. Which were effective when Rose had his hand on the tiller.
Thibs useage of Obi baffles me. The other night when both Taj and Mitchell fouled out, and, of course, Nerlens was a DNP.
Going with four wings and Julius, seemed a slap in the face. Not to mention a bizarre strategy, but then Thibs faith or misplaced faith in some players and some schemes is...concerning.
Such as IQ. I love the kid, but I have often observed at games end, whence a blow out one way or another, he tends to be a ball hog, looking for his shot, when Grimes and McBride would certainly benefit from some touches. I find that disturbing.
And last night, when we appeared to me making, if not a run, establishing some sort of rhythm, and IQ came up court and pulled up from thirty feet, without even waiting for his team mates to get in position for a rebound or a pass, and launched that rushed off balance heat check three, I was just enraged. It was not only a tone deaf, stupid play, it was A VERY SELFISH PLAY, a wasted possession, which led to a long rebound and a basket on the other end. I like IQ, but the immature thought process on that play was deeply troubling.
Back to Obi for a second. The beatification of Toppin, while understandable--and I share the Garden's love for Obi--is dubious.
YES, he should get more minutes, with and without Julius.
But are we going to see a significant uptick in his game with no tenable PGs, and with the ISO heavy offense we are running.
I mean, OBI HAS NO FUCKING SHOT, and has not shown a predilection for creating his own offense. Where is his 12-15 footer, his stop and pop off the dribble. And his three? Come on.
We all love his hops and energy and boundless enthusiasm, but is it that his game is limited or that the manner in which Thibs deploys him, LIMITING???
THIBS APPEARS TO BE DELIVERING MIXED MESSAGES TO ALL HIS PLAYERS.
And the players are playing TIGHT. Thibs is not doing Julius any favors by tasking him to be both unselfish on one hand, and dominating on the other, as if he could just turn it on and off. CLEARLY JULIUS IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY VERY FRAGILE AT THIS POINT, and doesn't know whether to shit or go blind.
Early in the game, while Julius had two TOs, he also had five assists, including some beauties.
But how many shots did he turn down in order to make a kick out to a three point shooter. And he's not alone. That appears to be a STRATEGY, and I mean, what the fuck? There are times to be unselfish, and there are times to take what the defense gives you.
Again, the fool's gold of the three.
An old school wing like DeMar DeRozan, while he has evolved his game to reflect the modern analytics, is money in the bank on those bread and butter 12-15 footers, with which our own Bernard King used to put his defenders in the blender.
FUCK THE ANALYTICS. Turning down a high percentage open look for a trey makes no sense to me. One of the more encouraging signs in RJ's evolution of late has been his burgeoning mastery of the floater, and greater confidence in a 12-15 foot DeRozan stop and pop.
EASY BASKETS? Are a beautiful thing.
JULIUS? His struggles baffle me. As is his wont, HE IS OVERTHINKING THINGS with this whole point forward concept Thibs encourages. Not that he doesn't have a feel for it, but your can see him THINKING rather than REACTING, being TENTATIVE rather than being DECISIVE.
Doesn't help that never mind his three point shooting, all of those pull ups in the paint abd baseline jumpers that were money in the bank last season, are not falling. AND IT IS FUCKING WITH HIS MIND.
The notion as advanced by some of our more sophisticated fans, that Julius got his money and is now fucking off, IS NUTS.
But clearly, when you see him over dribble and pound the ball, either in search of someone to pass to, or to create his own shot, HE IS NOT ACTING BUT REACTING, and it doesn't help that he is being tasked with running an offense on a team with no tenable point guard. It leads to turnovers and frustration.
No, Carlos, I don't think Thibs should be fired. Nor does the notion of Mike Miller suggest a tenable changing of the guard.
BUT COACH TT HAS TO SHOULDER THE RESPONSIBILITY for the tentative mindset of his troops.
Nor does it help to have sixth men offensive role players such as Burks and Quickey tasked with running an offense. They are very adept at creating their own shot, but....well, nothing left to say.
Finally, while Miles McBride has struggled with his shot all season, and is clearly still a tadpole, every time he is sent down to the G League to log some minutes, he responds like a champ.
He had 16 assists the other night, overcoming an awful shooting first half, to supercharge his team to victory, and making the offense purr.
And Thibs can't find minutes for him when Kemba and Alec and IQ are stinking up the joint. Let the kid earn his spurs.
FINALLY, losing both Noel AND Rose, has thrown our team into a tizzy, sundering the One-Two Punch of a stable second team to create energy and balance out the impact and signature of our first and second units. Nor does the sheer inconsistency of Julius and Evan, who sometimes look like world beaters, and who oft times look frustrated and befuddled, help.
Clippers on Sunday. Hopefully Reddish can bring some energy. Hopefully Noel can get back on the court.
I do so hope Leon Rose does not pursue a panic move. I don't see anything out there which is going to transform us, and the price for the likes of a Fox or a Brunson could prove prohibitive.
Please, DEAR LORD, no Eddy Curry, Stephon Marbury, Carmelo Anthony reaches. Clearly, Leon wanted to maintain the chemistry of last year's team, but was hedging his bets with all of those 2-year/3rd year team option deals, though we went all in on Julius and Evan.
Time to make it work, and go back to the drawing board to find some schemes that work.
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