Loves me some Julius. He is our bell cow and we will go as far as he will carry us. I mean he is a walking triple double, and as unselfish as they come, as witnessed by his assists totals.
BUT YOU ARE PLAYING HIM TOO MANY GODDAMN MINUTES.
Clearly, by game's end, he was running on empty and a touch gimpy from an apparent thighg bruise.
Not that Julius would ever give in to fatigue or pain or make excuses.
But with seconds remaining to tie, and everyone in the arena knowing where the ball was goiing?
You've got this puppy Obi Toppin, who is surely rough around the edges, and a ways from being a finished product, let alone a consistent force on both ends of the floor, but he has a Shelby Cobra V8 under the hood, a competitive fire, and a skill set that will only get better with useage. It ain't just a matter of him getting floor time, but of allowing Julius to have something left in the tank with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
I defer to you in most matters Thibs, but you do have this well deserved rep, not only for loving your vets, but for running your rotation players into the ground.
Last night Julius played 39 minutes and Obi played 9.
Might I humbly suggest, oh, trying a 32-16 split. Yes, yes, I understand that given our inconsistent PG play, we depend on Julius, much as we depend on him to score and board, to be our rudder out there on the court, in lieu of a dominating presence at the point. I reckon this is why in his baby steps, Obi often seems to be over passing and too deferentual.
And the numbers surely don't lie. As a team last night we had 12 assists, while Julius as a team mate had 12. RJ is often counted upon as a facilitator, and while he has an excellent scoring and shooting night, on 4-6 from trey, and 4-4 from the FT line, he has no assists, and like Julius, five turnovers a piece.
I mean, I get it, I get it....you surely don't feel comfortable when JR and RJ are not out there on the floor, but there would appear to be a ripple effect from all of that useage, which is when push comes to shove, perhaps, they are a step slow from fatigue, and there DOES SEEM TO BE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TURNOVERS AND FATIGUE, though you would never hear them making excuses.
Sure, we played a strong first half, and even with a surfeit of turnovers were still in a position to win or tie in the final seconds. But some critical turnovers and being a step slow on the offensive boards?
Hey, what do I know? You'll never hear JR or RJ citing useage and faigue as a factor.
But all those minutes sure seem to pile up. Not everyone is a John Havlicek.
Anyway, keep up the good work, Thibs.
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