Daily Roundup 2.06.07
Posted on Tuesday, February 6th, 2007 at 9:51 am by Xteve
The culture of losing insidiously creeps its way in.
“This team is not me, it is not just Rashard, it is everybody,” Allen said. “We have opportunities where something needs to be done, something needs to be said, this is a team. We have 14 guys. At some point, guys need to step up and say something. Everybody. At some point, I need Luke (Ridnour) to say something, I need Nick (Collison) to say something. (Chris) Wilcox. Because this is their team. I can’t say something every minute of the day.”
Lewis still on schedule to return Saturday, and more tidbits.
Hill said Earl Watson will continue to start at point guard when Lewis returns even though Luke Ridnour, now coming off the bench, thrived earlier in the season while playing alongside Lewis and Ray Allen.
“Why do you guys keep asking that?” Hill responded to reporters. “The numbers so far are not even close.
“It may end up that way again. It may. They (Lewis, Allen and Ridnour) were in the beginning of the year the No. 1 scoring trio in the league. But Earl hasn’t given me any reason to put him back on the bench. And Luke hasn’t given me any reason to put him back in the starting lineup. This season is not about the point guard situation. It is about our team.”
and
The Wizards’ game against Portland next week has sold out because Gilbert Arenas has promised to score 51 points in payment to Nate McMillan, who was a coach with the USA basketball team that cut Arenas – and Luke Ridnour – last summer.
Latest update in a bizarre arena story
The Times cuts its beat writer on the road.
That’s amazing. Even in the depths of the worst Baby Bulls seasons I can’t see any Chicago area newspaper doing that. Obviously the team isn’t doing well, but to cut off your coverage before the trade deadline??? That paper can’t be doing well.
Ted says tank, but don’t tank.
This isn’t a plea for the Sonics to tank the season. No team is going to admit tanking it anyway. And no team should. The unseemly notion feels as if it might infect a competitor with an indelible taint….So no magic playoff save. And, please, no meaningless drive for pride down the stretch.
OT: Love and Rockets
February 6th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Hill is getting more desperate by the day. Playing Allen for 44 minutes - he is going to burn him to the ground - already his shot is starting to suffer. Is there a more golden opportunity to develop young players? Hill’s tune sure has changed from when he took over last year - when he did the right thing by throwing Swift and Petro on the floor. Very frustrating when a 30 or so year old guy is taking 30 shots a game - shots away from young players that need them to get better.
You get better by doing - not watching. Hill should know that.
I dread when Rashard gets back and we start to win some games which take us to the #10 pick or so. Short sighted foolishness. Kinda like Wall Street.
February 6th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Unfortunately, we really don’t have a decent backup to Ray right now. With Lewis on the bench we’ve got Gelabale starting and Wilkins backing up both Gelly and Ray……which results in Ray putting in big minutes.
Neither Luke or Earl should be playing the SG, but it happens.
February 6th, 2007 at 11:25 am
I am thinking he can keep the Gelable/Wilkins combination in for a (much) longer period of time (a combination i actually like). Gelable only played about 24 minutes. He needs more playing time and shots to get his comfort level/confidence higher. If it hurts the Sonics chances of winning, so be it (to me, it would actually be a good thing).
February 6th, 2007 at 11:32 am
“Hill is getting more desperate by the day. Playing Allen for 44 minutes - he is going to burn him to the ground - already his shot is starting to suffer. ”
Hill’s in a no win situation. What would you do in his place if your mandate is to win games? This team is missing Rashard Lewis on the floor and has no adequate substitute to replace him. That’s the simple truth.
It’s not as if the team needs to save Ray for a playoff run. Worry about Ray’s minutes if he’s still playing 44 after Rashard comes back. Right now he’s everything they’ve got.
February 6th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I guess i am thinking management should take a long view and tell Hill to not concern himself with winning in the short term (read: this season). I see that as highly unlikely. I also think it is unlikely Hill will do that on his own. Absent those things, Hill will continue to play Allen 44 minutes a night until he gets injured or completely runs out of gas (the later might cause the former).
The thing is, even playing Allen 44 minutes does not lead to a win. When will Hill and Sonic management understand that? So short sighted.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Well, given that Lewis will be back shortly, it does lighten the burden on Allen to score all of our points.
Plus is gives Hill more flexiblity in rotating Wilkins and Gelly in at the SF and SG positions.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
— *bang* *bang* *bang*…what’s that sound?? Oh it was the final nail in the coffin…the third quarter last night was just really, really bad. The team just will not be the type of contending team that we thought it could be. Their offense is soooooooo poorly executed that I can’t believe how they ran a team that was once considered a top offensive team into the ground.
In my eyes this is most definately a coaching problem…whatever you want to say about Hill and some of his other dealings he simply does not (or is not) getting his team into good offensive sets.
— Watching the game last night I feel REALLY bad for Ray. He is actually playing the best I have seen him play in a long time and he just can’t carry the whole team on his back. Especially since the offense requires him to go one on one way too much.
— This whole season has achieved depressing status.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Playing Ray that many minutes is bogus. Who cares if he’s the show? He’s not doing the Supes any good if he doesn’t have any legs in the 4th quarter.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
i just had a premonition (sp?) that almost made me cry.
I see the Sonics getting the #2 pick by a long shot. I see Seattle buzzing over the fact of getting either Oden or Durant. I see the arena deal falling into place. I see Seattle’s future looking up. Oh wait, I see Rick Sund using the #2 pick to secure 7-3 big man Hasheem Thabeet! NOOOOOO!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!! *wakes up*
sorry, but can anyone else see this happening
February 6th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
“Playing Ray that many minutes is bogus. Who cares if he’s the show? He’s not doing the Supes any good if he doesn’t have any legs in the 4th quarter. ”
If they sit Ray they aren’t even in it in the 4th quarter.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Depressing yes…
But, I think it is times like these that we must face reality.
Injuries have killed our season. THere is just no way we can win without Rashard for 2 months.
When a key player in your rotation (Swift) went out the game before your season, you are doomed to scramble for a new rotation from the get go.
This has been preached before, but we are not a veteran team. A veteran team knows how to overcome this, we don’t as witnessed with our constant 4th quarter collaspe.
The rebuilding mode which we have been avoiding for so long have finally reached the inevitable stage.
Unless you ask of course Ray Allen.
Ray was on KJR the other day, not sure y’all heard it or not. The man was professional.
He denied any desire to be traded and think this is a good learning experience for his team. He thinks next year or the year later, this team can win in the NBA.
It almost convinced me. I mean, as a young team we are JUST about to come around this season until injury bugs bite us. I just wonder what could’ve happened if we stick with this core for another year.
Its painful to throw away a project when it is the X-factor (injuries) that ruined it.
BUT man… man man man…..
A chance to get one of the top 5 players for years to come?????
“DO THAT TANK, GET DURANT” baby…
I’m ready to start over.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
“Oh wait, I see Rick Sund using the #2 pick to secure 7-3 big man Hasheem Thabeet! NOOOOOO!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!! *wakes up*”
Can’t see that happening. Can’t really see Sund making the pick at this point.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
“I see Rick Sund using the #2 pick to secure 7-3 big man Hasheem Thabeet!”
I can certainly see that happening. As much as we want to blame Hill, it ALL goes back to Sund (& wally). So what if we tank the season… doesn’t mean we will (actually) get the top pick.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
“It almost convinced me. I mean, as a young team we are JUST about to come around this season until injury bugs bite us. I just wonder what could’ve happened if we stick with this core for another year.
Its painful to throw away a project when it is the X-factor (injuries) that ruined it.”
There is alot of useful parts and young players with upside that the Sonics can still trade in order to construct a more balance roster around Ray and Rashard. They really don’t have to stick with the Ray and Rashard and tons of youth and wait for all the youth to catch up. Matter of fact if they want to compete next season they need to make some decisions on which youth to keep and which ones are better off being traded for better complimentary parts that fit the roster better.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
- You can blame Hill for his totally inept handling of the team’s offense…he has completely grounded this team.
February 6th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
HOW can you blame Hill when he lost his main 1-2 man for over 2 months now?
February 6th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I dont really blame Hill, he does have some excuses, but he is the leader of this team and therefore, has expectations and goals he MUST meet. There are many signals that show Hill is not really getting to his players. I like the guy, but I have to question is leadership skills a bit.
February 6th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
This is totally off topic but
http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/blog/basketball/index.html
Funniest ish ever. A featured article on Radman’s fashion and dance moves.
I actually like Radmanovic, the man is just a goooof ball.
Imagine a locker room with him and Petro.
We almost have to hire Carrot Top as a ballboy to push it over the top.
wow..
OH WOW…
February 6th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Haha, good find GP, thats some funny stuff!
February 6th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
We always seem to need something.
Ever since not having Kemp or Baker (yikes) its been “we need a pf”? Then we got Wilcox, and Collison has come on.
Last year it was “we need a backup pg”. Then we got Earl. Now we want to get rid of one of our PGs.
Most recently we are in the “we need a veteran C” mode.
Well say we get a Magloire or some other veteran center. He helps our interior D a little, and that completely exposes our lack of d on the perimeter.
Then what will we need? “combo guard who plays D”. “another pg?”
I’m positive we will need something. We always do.
February 6th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
We actually need:
1. One of our centers to become servicable/consistent
2. A good draft (no projects)
3. Good health
February 6th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Like Hunter S Thompson said in his famous book, “you have to learn to love losing!”
February 6th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
FEAR and LOATHING
February 6th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
on the Radman article… How did they not talk about the Mullet or the Rat-tail post Mullet… I mean come on!
February 6th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Hey, Radman was in the Nutcracker for cryin out loud! the man can dance.
February 6th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I’m convinced from Gary’s article: tank the season. I haven’t been willing to get on board but I am sick of mediocrity. It sucks. Find a way to tank.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
“Well say we get a Magloire or some other veteran center. He helps our interior D a little, and that completely exposes our lack of d on the perimeter.
Then what will we need? “combo guard who plays D”. “another pg?”
I’m positive we will need something. We always do.”
Unless you win the title, I think every team is in the “we need something” category in order to win that title. ;o)
Yes, we need to make a decision on our PG situation…….however we’ve needed a combo guard and a veteran post player (center) ever since day 1 of the season……the front office new it, even said it publically……..we new it…………..the problem is the front office just never followed through and acquired them. We haven’t had a true backup SG since we cut Farmer and that is another case of the front office going with a cheap inexperienced alternative rather than signing a veteran like Bonzi Wells to backup Ray.
Yes, Sund did not do a very good job with his roster construction.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
“I’m convinced from Gary’s article: tank the season. I haven’t been willing to get on board but I am sick of mediocrity. It sucks. Find a way to tank. ”
Tanking a season doesn’t guarantee you anything. Just ask Danny Ainge how that turned out when he tanked the Celtics season in order to get Tim Duncan in the draft.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
I think they should try to win and show some pride. I don’t give a blank about the next hot lottery pick. Sure it would be nice to land a high spot in the next draft considering the pool of talent, but if we are anywhere in the lottery we will get a decent to excellent pick as long as our drafting is competent. Hell, even the bottom dwellers might not get Durant or Oden — it’s a gamble. Tanking the season is a gamble and surely won’t help the situation with building an arena in Western Washington — who wants to build an arena for a team that sucks? It will be great when Rashard gets back and eases some of the pressure off of Allen. Basically, if we lose — great, a better chance (gamble) at landing a high pick and good talent. If we win, even better — we can have something to look forward to right now.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Tank? If we play the same as we have been… it’ll be the same. No reason to tank.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
“Tank? If we play the same as we have been… it’ll be the same. No reason to tank. ”
Of course, without another injury, it will be pretty tough to play the way we have been, considering our #2 scoring option /second best player on the team is about to come back.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
I’m asking him to clarify his wording, but according to Frank’s blog entry today he thinks Hill and Sund will both be back next year.
http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/sonics/
February 6th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Frank was just a little sloppy with his wording by using the double negative. The intent of what he was trying to say was obvious.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Why are people so enamored with Hill for “playing the young guys?” How tough is that? “Hey Johan, go in the game.”
Hill was supposed to improve the team’s 13-17 record which was still within reach of a playoff spot and they played worse! He then used the “young guys” as an excuse. Continuing to make excuses for this guy is lunacy.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
“Continuing to make excuses for this guy is lunacy.”
So a different coach would make this a winning team? We have the players now??
So then we shouldn’t ‘tank’ the season, and instead change coaches right now (who??), win some games and keep the core roster then?
February 6th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
“This team is not me, it is not just Rashard, it is everybody,” Allen said. “We have opportunities where something needs to be done, something needs to be said, this is a team. We have 14 guys. At some point, guys need to step up and say something. Everybody. At some point, I need Luke (Ridnour) to say something, I need Nick (Collison) to say something. (Chris) Wilcox. Because this is their team. I can’t say something every minute of the day.”
Hmmm, I noticed that he didn’t mention Earl in there. Does he not accept him yet or something? Also, I think (no matter what Hill says) Luke will be starting when Rashard gets back. Any thoughts?
February 6th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Yeah Sam. He hates Earl. Same goes for Wilks, Gel, Brown, Sene, Petro and Swift.
February 6th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I, for some reason that’s even unbeknownst to me, miss Vladimir Radmanovic. Despite of the fact that I constantly ragged on the guy for being lazy, defenseless, and seemingly hungover each and every game, I still had an inexplicable affinity for him. In all likelihood, it’s ’cause of his innovative hairstyles.
February 6th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZkKr0VW13Ck
I might just be sick, but I got a good laugh after this one. It was my Vlady for the rest of the year. Ouch, that’s gotta hurt!
February 6th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
- I blame Hill for his coaching abilities. If it looked like it was just talent that was holding him back I would be ok. However, Hill’s offensive system is just flat out horrible and I strongly believe a coach with a more imaginative offense would have this team scoring more points. This team is supposed to be built around being a top notch offense and it has not been one all year (even when everyone was healthy)
- Does Hill really play the young guys? I mean Gelabale sat for most of the first half of the season. Petro has fluctuating minutes depending on the coach’s whim and Sene is back in the NBDL. This seems to be another widely held opinion that isn’t exactly all that true.
February 6th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
haha remember that commercial with radman and those sonic fleece blankets?
February 7th, 2007 at 8:36 am
“haha remember that commercial with radman and those sonic fleece blankets?”
All I can do is reflect on other times w/Sonics, basketball or commercials: A time that was better than now. This is possibly the worst I’ve felt as a Sonics fan. It is a sad state currently…
February 7th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Hill’s problem is that he is a control freak. He calls all the offensive plays every time down the court. He is responsible for the “sit around and wait for Ray to come off a pick” offense late in games. Why the hell aren’t they running high pick and rolls late in games? I’ll take a Collison or Wilcox dunk over a running, falling, sideways three attempt by Ray.
I would agree that we don’t have the talent if we were getting behind early in these games and losing big. The fact is that we play well and have a good offense early and then it disappears in the second half. We can compete with anyone in the first half and then fall apart in the second. Sounds like coaching to me. Who is going to get in their face and demand focus and intensity if not the coach?
February 7th, 2007 at 10:22 am
The culture of losing insidiously creeps in. Nice statement.
I’ve lived through that with the Grizzlies in Vancouver. It does become a mindset, and one which is hard to break out of once it sets in. Even with solid players like Bibby and Rahim they couldn’t get over the losing identity. A comfortable ride takes hold and leaving practices and games quickly to get home and put the game out of your mind becomes the norm.
If they want to salvage the season(even Rashard Lewis said yesterday that it’s tough knowing that he won’t be playing in April, thus saying they’ve given up hope for the playoffs), then a couple of trades for veteran players that have been on winners could be pulled off. But what is the gain for next season and beyond besides gaining some pride from a strong finish to the 06/07 season?
A few of those same players will be coming up for sale in free agency, and if the Sonics can make a couple of key trades to get enough cap space for at least one good free agent then along with a high pick it could help them for the 07/08 season.
Ask yourself, are leaders like Allen and Lewis really able to impose their will on the others and carry the team, or are they simply playing their roles as offensive stars? Is Earl Watson, for all his tough attitude, good enough to keep around, or is there a reason why he’s bounced around a number of teams in a short time? Is Luke Ridnour a leader? I know what I think. Why is it for all the good stats, Chris Wilcox seems to compile them so quietly? Will Johan Petro ever get a mean streak or is he just another foreign player trying to fit in to make a living in the NBA?
Who on this team holds everybody accountable and vocally calls out his teamates when they continue to underperform? They say the other night when the Suns played the Nuggets it was a rough game. Marion got cut by a Nene elbow and needed stitches. Steve Nash went out with a bad shoulder. Denver physically tried to intimidate Phoenix. At halftime Nash got red faced angry and yelled at his team to stand up and not take any shit from the Nuggets and fight back. The Suns rsponded and came back to win. Who on Seattle is willing to do that?
I just hope that if trades are made Seattle brings in players with some grit.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:35 am
“I would agree that we don’t have the talent if we were getting behind early in these games and losing big. The fact is that we play well and have a good offense early and then it disappears in the second half. We can compete with anyone in the first half and then fall apart in the second. Sounds like coaching to me. Who is going to get in their face and demand focus and intensity if not the coach? ”
Couple interesting thoughts there…………I would be alot more discouraged with this team if, like you mention, we didn’t seem to be in every game up to the middle or so of the third quarter or even well into the fourth quarter only to have either a mental lapse that results in a 5-6 point run by the other team that puts them out of reach or we just have a 3-4 possessions that we just can’t get a good shot off because either Ray is double or triple teamed or one or more of our young players just takes a bad shot or makes a dumb turnover.
I think alot of that can be attributed to us missing our second best player / second leading scorer and the lack of experience on our roster. We seem to be trying to “develop” just too many young players at the same time. In addition, there seems to be a few key coaching moves or lack there of that result in a few of these collapses as well.
All things that I see as fixable with some key trades and not necessarily needing a complete blow up of the current roster.
February 7th, 2007 at 11:24 am
“I just hope that if trades are made Seattle brings in players with some grit. ”
Agreed 100%…….we need some of that toughness in the post that we lost when Fortson went AWOL after the 2004/2005 season and Reggie Evans was relagated to the bench then traded. Collison is about the only player we currently have amongst our bigs who will mix it up on a consistent basis.
Could also use another perimeter player that is a tough one-on-one defender (combo guard?).
February 7th, 2007 at 11:46 am
RENTON!!!! maybe.
Um, ya, Steve, were going to move you down to storage B, we need this space for some new employees coming in.
February 7th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
“At some point, I need Luke (Ridnour) to say something, I need Nick (Collison) to say something. (Chris) Wilcox. Because this is their team. I can’t say something every minute of the day.”
Hmmm, I noticed that he didn’t mention Earl in there. Does he not accept him yet or something?”
Earl was the one player I noticed after the Chicago loss to say something. He at least acted like he was upset with losing. Maybe that’s why Ray did not mention him.
Many have given Hill credit for the team not quitting. It looks to me that they HAVE quit. No one cares enough to mutiny.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Great post DK.
Though, being in the game for 2 or 3 quarters doesn’t shows much to me. Nearly every game in this league is being decided in the 3rd or 4th quarter and therefore just about every team is in most of it’s games till that time.
I can still remember watching those great Bulls teams(MJ & Pippen) being broadcasted over here in Germany and the score was nearly always tied at half time. Then the broadcaster mentioned that it’s time for these guys to pull the game away and they just did it, because they were a great team.
So yeah, we’re showing some fight and are in most games till the 3rd or even 4th quarter, but when it comes down to doing the little things, that win you games and decide who’s good and who’s not, we’re always at the short end of the stick and find ways to lose games.
Therefore I think we’re not a god team and even with Shard back I don’t see us being a playoff caliber team in this league.
————————————————————————–
“i just had a premonition (sp?) that almost made me cry.
I see the Sonics getting the #2 pick by a long shot. I see Seattle buzzing over the fact of getting either Oden or Durant. I see the arena deal falling into place. I see Seattle’s future looking up. Oh wait, I see Rick Sund using the #2 pick to secure 7-3 big man Hasheem Thabeet! NOOOOOO!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!! *wakes up*
sorry, but can anyone else see this happening”
Heh, I had a similar dream a couple of weeks ago and I wrote an article(A Sonics Draft Nightmare) about it on my blog.(The “interview” with Greg Anthony and Charles Barkley is in English
)
http://www.basketball-blogs.de/sonics/21012007-mein-alptraum-vom-draft-2007/
Though, im my dream we also had the arena deal falling into place, but secured the first pick(Fans were already ordering Greg Oden Sonics Jerseys) and used it for 7-4 big man Mun Beng Beng, who hails straight outta Taiwan, can dunk in everyones face but never heard of a thing called defense.
So yeah, I could actually see this happening. :/
February 7th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
can anyone in sonics management ever pull off a good trade like other GM’s. Giving away not to much for something. At least try for paul Gasol I would give Johan Petro in a heart beat and Damian wilkins and Fortson for him. You see other GM’s making deals good ones without giving anyway of there core players and Johan aint no core player. He has shown no improvement.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Nice work sneaking that post through the spam filter, DK.
Why is it for all the good stats, Chris Wilcox seems to compile them so quietly?
It sure would have been nice to see SOME signs of improvement. Remember in pre-season when Wilcox said he’d be going for double digit rebounds? He had 8.2 during his stint with the Supes last season. Only 7.6 this season. He shot over 59% last season here, less than 52% this season. Wilcox also said he was going to become a shot blocker… he has a TOTAL of 20 this season – Collison has nearly DOUBLE that!
-*-*-*-*-
Earl was the one player I noticed after the Chicago loss to say something. He at least acted like he was upset with losing. Maybe that’s why Ray did not mention him.
I noticed the same thing. I’ll also note (for whatever it’s worth) that the players Ray called out are the ones that recently signed new contracts.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
“At least try for paul Gasol I would give Johan Petro in a heart beat and Damian wilkins and Fortson for him. You see other GM’s making deals good ones without giving anyway of there core players and Johan aint no core player. He has shown no improvement. ”
So let’s consider your statement. You think Sonics mgmt is bad because they can’t pull off a trade for an All-Star big man like Pau Gasol giving up players that by your own definition have shown no improvement or are basically cap filler like Fortson. Gee I wonder why Jerry West wouldn’t jump all over that offer …
February 7th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
“It sure would have been nice to see SOME signs of improvement. Remember in pre-season when Wilcox said he’d be going for double digit rebounds? He had 8.2 during his stint with the Supes last season. Only 7.6 this season.”
I totally agree with the premise of the statement that CW has been disappointing defensively, but playing alongside Nick is a big part of his rebounding #s going down IMO. I don’t care about the rebounding #s as much as I’d like to see some effort or intelligence on defense. Wilcox doesn’t seem to have the switch thing down….at all.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
well you hear that the grizzles are looking for expiring contracts so that brings Danny Fortson and you see mark Cuban finding away to give away nothing for something in return. Thats the point.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
“……and you see mark Cuban finding away to give away nothing for something in return. Thats the point. ”
First Mark Cuban is the owner, not the GM….but which trade in particular are you referring to in which the Mavericks gave up nothing and received this “something” in return?
February 7th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Wilcox isn’t the only one with problems understanding the fundamentals of defense. When is the last time you saw a Sonic player actually get down in a true defensive crouch/posture? Of course, I have that gripe with a lot of NBA teams/players in general, to be fair.
February 7th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
“I totally agree with the premise of the statement that CW has been disappointing defensively, but playing alongside Nick is a big part of his rebounding #s going down IMO. I don’t care about the rebounding #s as much as I’d like to see some effort or intelligence on defense. Wilcox doesn’t seem to have the switch thing down….at all.”
I hear you. I like to think that Wilcox is still learning the game. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he start playing in high school? Played two years of college and has been in the league since then. He is only what….25-26. I’m not giving him an excuse, but he has room to grow and is young. This is really his first full year as a starter.
February 7th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Locke’s blog has some important updates on Rid and Ray
February 7th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
“First Mark Cuban is the owner, not the GM….but which trade in particular are you referring to in which the Mavericks gave up nothing and received this “something” in return?”
This should be fun.
My person to chose on this topic would be Avery Johnson as coach:D