Is it to early to recant on my "this is my team" thread?
Just kidding, guys this is what we are going to be facing for awhile & probably even for the rest of the season which will make for a bumpy ride.
Because as Stephen Jackson goes, so go the Pacers. At least at this moment anyway.
When he is on from the field we are going to be d@mn hard to beat but when he can't get it going we are going to have a very hard time scoring & thus winning.
First before we all complain & moan let's give credit where credit is due. Washington overall played a very tough game. They shut down penetration to the middle as the game wound down & since we had nobody that would pull up & stick a J they pretty much shut off our offense.
Gilbert Arenas is one touch S.O.B. This guy was everywhere, he scored, he assisted & he even played good defense knocking loose several balls. I don't know if he get's any steals yet as I have not looked at the box score but I know he was in on a lot the defense in this game.
So we take nothing away from the Wizards, they played well enough to win.
Even though we lost I don't feel bad about it, I feel as though our guys left it all on the floor we just didn't score as well as I'd like to see us do.
But before we talk about anything bad let's talk about something very good.
Our bench is becoming a force. It's gaining it's own identity & I feel as comfortable when they come in as I do when the starters are in.
Right now we are using the depth of our bench to it's proper potential. Remember in the 3rd quarter the starters fell behind by 10 points & our bench not only brought us back they actually took the lead. So I think the bench get's nothing but praise from every man who played.
I think we need some form of nickname for our bench crew to give them a unique identity.
I know bench mob has been taken, dog pound has been used. The sizzling scions of sensation has a nice ring to it but I don't think anybody would go for it.
So how about we call our bench "the True Warriors". Yes, that has a nice ring to it & pretty much describes the mentallity on the floor.
Let's just deal with the big monkey in the room right off of the bat.
I have made no hidden fact that I have been & continue to be an A.J. supporter. I think for a backup point guard the guy gives you about everything you would ever want. It's not his fault that our point guard who is supposed to start can never stay healthy enough to start over him.
So, I do not have a problem when he is in the game. In fact over the past 8 games I think he's been a very steadying influance.
However, in this game Rick made a mistake by using the egg timer player rotation.
In the 4th quarter Rick subed out Saras for A.J. & we went flat from there. Was this all A.J.'s fault? Of course not, but Saras had a groove going & he was running the offense to perfection with Croshere & O'neal. A.J. is a good guard but is not a creator & neither A.J. nor Saras was stopping Gilbert so since we couldn't stop him I would have preferred to have some offense on the other end of the floor & A.J. at the time was just not bringing it as well as Saras was.
This is NOT a rebuke of A.J. btw. He is perfectly capable of being the point, but there are times when a player has it going on that you ride him till he wears out & in Saras case we did not do that.
Let me say say somthing good about Jeff Foster. In the first quarter, Jeff Foster played about as good as I've ever seen him play. His rebounds were, for the most part, actually rebounds where he was in the paint going to war with someone & he even had some offense.
I like him in the role of energy bunny off of the bench because Jeff can get his #'s in whatever role you need him to get them. However in the second half he slowed way down. He ended with a double/double so no complaints on my end.
In fact the combo of Croshere & Foster is becoming quite physical for a back up tandom.
Does anybody else remember the old Spurs bruise brothers of Mark Olberding & Dave Corzine? That is what Foster & Croshere are starting to become like.
I've got it.
Foster & Croshere need to shave their heads bald & grow thick beards. This would give them the psycholigical edge that they need & would instill either fear or laughter into the opposition. Either way, we win.
Again what more can I say about Croshere? The guy just flat out knows how to play basketball.
I know Chauncey has the Luke Walton rules but I'm not so sure they shouldn't be the Austin Croshere rules. Again in the 4th he comes up with boards & starts scoring more. There were a couple of times we tried to post up J.O. in the 4th that I really wished that we would have given it to Cro instead hoping they would foul him.
Speaking of J.O. he had some nice blocks on Haywood. I just wish Brendon would stay home when we play the Wizards because against almost any other team in the NBA he sucks, vs. us & O'Neal in particular he turns into Pat Ewing.
Jermaine tried really hard down towards the end, but didn't have enough to pull us over the edge. You could argue that a max. player should be able to do that, but I don't know that you would be right. I don't know that you would be wrong either. But I know over the years he's helped us win plenty of games.
David Harrison still needs that big man coach. I love that Carlisle is letting him start & I love the fact that he is actually letting him play. It's all on David now to prove that he belongs out there. That is all that I've ever asked & that is what Rick is giving us. To me, David was to concerned with the offensive end of the floor during this game. I know he can score & when he finally learns to use his body (hey I wonder if Shaq would mind doing some off day tutoring ) nobody will be able to stop him. But that does not mean do NOT rebound & do NOT play tough post defense.
Still keep saying it over & over with me. Last pick in the first round of a shallow draft. I am thrilled that he is just starting right now.
The Dan Wagon hit a bump in the road on this game. He fought & we can be proud of that, but overall it was a rookie game for sure from him.
I saw a lot of things I liked in this game. Sure I'm as dissapointed as anybody about the loss, but I still feel that even down to about 45 seconds we were in the game.
I still feel that we are coming together as a team.
Now on a side note, & I don't mean to leave on a negative so I'll try & say something else positive later, I want this Artest thing done. Not because I just want the nutball gone (I do) but because it is obviously impacting (thanks Jay) the team. Even if it is not bothering anybody else it obviously is bothering Jermaine.
Jermaine NOW is the time to show the TRUE leader you are. Stop telling everybody what players you want or don't want. Tell the players who are here right now that you are ready to go to war with them & screw the rest of the world because these guys will bust their @sses for you. But if they keep hearing that the team needs this or needs that then they will begin to believe that what we are doing now is just either a holding pattern or worse, makes no differance at all.
This next part is directly to J.O. who I know has someone who reads this board & tells him what the mood is.
God knows it sickens me to say this but here goes, trust Donnie Walsh to get the best deal possible & just lead the team.
We've seen the warrior you are down low & I know you've seen your team mates fight with you.
You don't need another star to lead us to the promised land. You are that star & your team mates are more than capable of helping you get there. If Walsh brings in another star who is to say they will be any more willing to be Robin to your Batman? If we get another good player who fits the system then so much for the better.
But right here, right now, you have the horses. Ride them.
Anyway to end this on a real true positive let me say this.
Jon Bender looked better last night than in any game I've ever seen him in.
Love,
Peck
P.S. Ok, it's killing me. Can someone out there find out something/anything about the pom pom girl who is at the top of section 2. Who is she, why do they let her do that & what drugs does she take?
P.P.S. Did anybody else cath when the nights M.C. (I can't remember her name because we only know our own Ashliegh) said that when the guys were rolling around on the floor trying to get the money to stick to them it reminded everybody of brokeback mountain?
Just kidding, guys this is what we are going to be facing for awhile & probably even for the rest of the season which will make for a bumpy ride.
Because as Stephen Jackson goes, so go the Pacers. At least at this moment anyway.
When he is on from the field we are going to be d@mn hard to beat but when he can't get it going we are going to have a very hard time scoring & thus winning.
First before we all complain & moan let's give credit where credit is due. Washington overall played a very tough game. They shut down penetration to the middle as the game wound down & since we had nobody that would pull up & stick a J they pretty much shut off our offense.
Gilbert Arenas is one touch S.O.B. This guy was everywhere, he scored, he assisted & he even played good defense knocking loose several balls. I don't know if he get's any steals yet as I have not looked at the box score but I know he was in on a lot the defense in this game.
So we take nothing away from the Wizards, they played well enough to win.
Even though we lost I don't feel bad about it, I feel as though our guys left it all on the floor we just didn't score as well as I'd like to see us do.
But before we talk about anything bad let's talk about something very good.
Our bench is becoming a force. It's gaining it's own identity & I feel as comfortable when they come in as I do when the starters are in.
Right now we are using the depth of our bench to it's proper potential. Remember in the 3rd quarter the starters fell behind by 10 points & our bench not only brought us back they actually took the lead. So I think the bench get's nothing but praise from every man who played.
I think we need some form of nickname for our bench crew to give them a unique identity.
I know bench mob has been taken, dog pound has been used. The sizzling scions of sensation has a nice ring to it but I don't think anybody would go for it.
So how about we call our bench "the True Warriors". Yes, that has a nice ring to it & pretty much describes the mentallity on the floor.
Let's just deal with the big monkey in the room right off of the bat.
I have made no hidden fact that I have been & continue to be an A.J. supporter. I think for a backup point guard the guy gives you about everything you would ever want. It's not his fault that our point guard who is supposed to start can never stay healthy enough to start over him.
So, I do not have a problem when he is in the game. In fact over the past 8 games I think he's been a very steadying influance.
However, in this game Rick made a mistake by using the egg timer player rotation.
In the 4th quarter Rick subed out Saras for A.J. & we went flat from there. Was this all A.J.'s fault? Of course not, but Saras had a groove going & he was running the offense to perfection with Croshere & O'neal. A.J. is a good guard but is not a creator & neither A.J. nor Saras was stopping Gilbert so since we couldn't stop him I would have preferred to have some offense on the other end of the floor & A.J. at the time was just not bringing it as well as Saras was.
This is NOT a rebuke of A.J. btw. He is perfectly capable of being the point, but there are times when a player has it going on that you ride him till he wears out & in Saras case we did not do that.
Let me say say somthing good about Jeff Foster. In the first quarter, Jeff Foster played about as good as I've ever seen him play. His rebounds were, for the most part, actually rebounds where he was in the paint going to war with someone & he even had some offense.
I like him in the role of energy bunny off of the bench because Jeff can get his #'s in whatever role you need him to get them. However in the second half he slowed way down. He ended with a double/double so no complaints on my end.
In fact the combo of Croshere & Foster is becoming quite physical for a back up tandom.
Does anybody else remember the old Spurs bruise brothers of Mark Olberding & Dave Corzine? That is what Foster & Croshere are starting to become like.
I've got it.
Foster & Croshere need to shave their heads bald & grow thick beards. This would give them the psycholigical edge that they need & would instill either fear or laughter into the opposition. Either way, we win.
Again what more can I say about Croshere? The guy just flat out knows how to play basketball.
I know Chauncey has the Luke Walton rules but I'm not so sure they shouldn't be the Austin Croshere rules. Again in the 4th he comes up with boards & starts scoring more. There were a couple of times we tried to post up J.O. in the 4th that I really wished that we would have given it to Cro instead hoping they would foul him.
Speaking of J.O. he had some nice blocks on Haywood. I just wish Brendon would stay home when we play the Wizards because against almost any other team in the NBA he sucks, vs. us & O'Neal in particular he turns into Pat Ewing.
Jermaine tried really hard down towards the end, but didn't have enough to pull us over the edge. You could argue that a max. player should be able to do that, but I don't know that you would be right. I don't know that you would be wrong either. But I know over the years he's helped us win plenty of games.
David Harrison still needs that big man coach. I love that Carlisle is letting him start & I love the fact that he is actually letting him play. It's all on David now to prove that he belongs out there. That is all that I've ever asked & that is what Rick is giving us. To me, David was to concerned with the offensive end of the floor during this game. I know he can score & when he finally learns to use his body (hey I wonder if Shaq would mind doing some off day tutoring ) nobody will be able to stop him. But that does not mean do NOT rebound & do NOT play tough post defense.
Still keep saying it over & over with me. Last pick in the first round of a shallow draft. I am thrilled that he is just starting right now.
The Dan Wagon hit a bump in the road on this game. He fought & we can be proud of that, but overall it was a rookie game for sure from him.
I saw a lot of things I liked in this game. Sure I'm as dissapointed as anybody about the loss, but I still feel that even down to about 45 seconds we were in the game.
I still feel that we are coming together as a team.
Now on a side note, & I don't mean to leave on a negative so I'll try & say something else positive later, I want this Artest thing done. Not because I just want the nutball gone (I do) but because it is obviously impacting (thanks Jay) the team. Even if it is not bothering anybody else it obviously is bothering Jermaine.
Jermaine NOW is the time to show the TRUE leader you are. Stop telling everybody what players you want or don't want. Tell the players who are here right now that you are ready to go to war with them & screw the rest of the world because these guys will bust their @sses for you. But if they keep hearing that the team needs this or needs that then they will begin to believe that what we are doing now is just either a holding pattern or worse, makes no differance at all.
This next part is directly to J.O. who I know has someone who reads this board & tells him what the mood is.
God knows it sickens me to say this but here goes, trust Donnie Walsh to get the best deal possible & just lead the team.
We've seen the warrior you are down low & I know you've seen your team mates fight with you.
You don't need another star to lead us to the promised land. You are that star & your team mates are more than capable of helping you get there. If Walsh brings in another star who is to say they will be any more willing to be Robin to your Batman? If we get another good player who fits the system then so much for the better.
But right here, right now, you have the horses. Ride them.
Anyway to end this on a real true positive let me say this.
Jon Bender looked better last night than in any game I've ever seen him in.
Love,
Peck
P.S. Ok, it's killing me. Can someone out there find out something/anything about the pom pom girl who is at the top of section 2. Who is she, why do they let her do that & what drugs does she take?
P.P.S. Did anybody else cath when the nights M.C. (I can't remember her name because we only know our own Ashliegh) said that when the guys were rolling around on the floor trying to get the money to stick to them it reminded everybody of brokeback mountain?
Comment