Knix have played most of their games with the same starters.
We've had way more stability than most teams this year. Minimal lineup variation.
Mitch the only significant injury and Noel has filled in for Mitch almost perfectly.
With Nerlins and Taj we haven't missed Mitch.
Rose is our mid-season acquisition backup PG.
Yes, BOS is better with Kemba. Very helpful when Knix have the PG advantage.
And it was a B2B for them as well (which is why Kemboy sat).
Knix play 9 of the next 11 at Home.
Might get Lakes without A Davis and LeBJ.
The only other really tough game is @ DAL.
Time for a run ...
I would love to get on the court w you some day. It’s clear we both enjoy, pay attention to, and understand the game, but we see it very differently.
Young or prime Taj could sufficiently replace Mitch. Noel does not despite his defensive prodigiousness. What he can’t do in terms of catching the ball or holding his ground too often give up more than his offense and defense garner. He’s a great fit as first defensive big off the bench. In fact, Noel, Taj, and Obi make a solid frontcourt bench especially with Pelle there to act as bouncer. I’d bring the four of them back and not feel bad if they were the reserves.
What healthy Mitch did in terms of catch, pass, move, board, and occupy bodies and attention is easy to underrate. Have opponent offensive rebounds been a factor in any of our recent games?
Payton has developed into Marcus Smart 3 years ago which is not as good as the Marcus Smart of today. Rose isn’t ready, so it’s a cross we have to bear. Once Rose is ready, even if Elf starts Derrick will see most of the time on the floor. A PG has to above all bend defenses and get the ball moving so the right guys get shots in the right spots. Payton has been more prone to constipate things this year which has a lot to do with why Randle is so worn down.
My hope is we’re saving Burks and Prepping Rose so they peak in time for our run through the play in and into the second round of the playoffs. Randle, RJ and those two are the ones I most trust to ball in the face of pressure enough to make decent shots possible.
Anyway, the home stand should give us some chance to get organized again after this recent tough stretch. It would be nice to stop the bleeding sooner rather than later.
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