We’ll start with the housekeeping since these items are relatively important:
- Kobe Bryant will not play tonight. In fact, he will not play in the Lakers’ preseason finale tomorrow either. He’s nursing a sore foot and will be reevaluated over the weekend, per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
- Dwight Howard is also out tonight. He’s experiencing some “general soreness” but nothing serious. Before he made his debut on Sunday, there was talk that the Lakers would not play him in one of the back to back games. It turns out, it’s tonight’s. Reports say he will play tomorrow.
- On the good news front, Jordan Hill should be making his return to the lineup this evening. After being out for a bit over two weeks with a herniated disk, Hill went through shoot-around this morning and is expected to dress for the game.
- On the Clippers side, Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, and Chauncey Billups are all expected to sit this game out. There’s even a report that Vinny Del Negro may rest other starters as well.
What does this mean for tonight? Basically that there’s little we’re going to learn about either of these teams in a big picture way.
The Lakers will again be missing multiple starters and that will again limit what we can discern from how they operate on both sides of the ball. Getting Hill back should start to inform us better of what the bench will look like when everyone is healthy, but as we’ve discussed the expectation is that any reserve lineups will prominently feature starting players. So, again, not having Kobe and Dwight throws off any advanced look at potential rotations.
This doesn’t mean there aren’t things to take note of while watching. With Hill back we should get to see him play as both a PF and a C. That should give us more insight into how the back line if the defense holds up with another defensive minded big in the rotation.
Hill’s presence should also mean we get to see a Hill/Pau pairing that lets the Spaniard get to the low block a bit more than he does when paired with Howard (or Sacre). On the possessions Pau has gotten to post up, he’s looked good — he’s flashed his jump hook, had some nice spins/drop steps, and has made very good reads — but he’s mostly been playing with a traditional C and that’s led to him working the pinch post a fair amount.
We should also get to see substantial minutes from both Jodie Meeks and Devin Ebanks on the wing. Meeks has looked more comfortable as the preseason has gone on and tonight, in playing for Kobe, he’ll get more burn. Ebanks should get some minutes at both wing spots and that should help inform us of his ability to play some SG in this offense.
Then, of course, we should also see plenty of Blake and Duhon and try to get a better idea as to who may be the back up PG. Not that I expect that answered tonight, but the more minutes both guys get, the more of an impression we can get.
Besides those things, however, there’s not much to glean from tonight.
For some fans in the L.A. area, this may be their first chance to see the Lakers play on their TV sets since it will be aired on Prime Ticket (who carries Clippers’ games). So, in that respect, I hope the game is enjoyable for all of you. Odds are, it won’t be as I would not doubt the team is 0-7 after tonight. Not that it matters. The games that do start next week. It’s those I can barely wait for.
Ko says
Biggest concern in my mind is Laker injuries. Kobe, Nash and Howard are irreplaceable and Brown has shown a tendency to play starters to many minutes last year.
Could be busy year for training staff.
LT mitchell says
Lakers to release DJO? Very disappointing. He wasn’t even given a chance for any meaningful minutes.
mindcrime says
Sacre showing a little scrap and some shooting touch…good to see.
Kareem says
BINGO
mindcrime says
If Ron can find his spot in this group, he really looks like he can have a good year–he is clearly a step quicker this year than last. His first step on that dribble drive for a layup looked like Pre-Laker Ron.
Shaun says
Is djo gone? How could guys like artest say he is a starter in this league and then we drop him.
Everyone on this board spoke highly of
Him.
Hattoriisan says
DJO isn’t gone yet.
Ko says
Still on team. Between Glock and DJO for final spot. Can’t be worse then Blake who can’t dribble down the court.
Kevin_ says
Sacre reminds me of P.J. Brown. He’s going to be a solid role player for a long time. He can play.
Shaun says
Lucky shot by Blake , terrible possession
Steal by bledsoe , Blake sucks
Hill playing with the decisiveness that the bench needs.
Maybe if the clippers drop Leslie we could pick him up – Gaines just became available As well – hope to see Duhon soon
Ko says
Jordan Hill should get ALL of Jamison’s minutes.
Shaun says
Decent hedge and recover by Jamison Followed by bad blow by though
Another terrible possession by Blake
Nice movement by Nash with the 2nd unit
Barnes is looking good 🙁
Shaun says
Bledsoe has to be the best backup of in the league – guy is gonna get a huge
Contract once his rookie deal is up
Ko says
7 games in and offense again looks confused. Another turnover half for Nash. Hard to understand how any coaching is working.
Shaun says
19 bench points in a half is nice
Kevin_ says
Lakers were in it for a while. Won’t stay in any game when Sacre is your leading scorer. Clippers just look to be the more energetic team.
Kevin_ says
Pau’s base is weak when trying to post up Blake. Hope he gets the 4th off and tomorrow’s game. Get Goudelock and Morris some run against this young team.
Cloud says
Bledsoe, Lakers’ “future” PG of the future? I think in 2 more years, he might be ready. By that time, it’s no secret the Lakers have no one signed but Nash (and likely Howard), and Bledsoe will just be entering his prime. Let’s look at tonight’s stat line: 6 steals against Nash and Blake — obviously doesn’t say much, but still showing some great court vision out there.
Other notes: Rotation looks much better with Jordan back, missed his energy and more importantly, his rebounding.
It seems our bench is starting to get used to their roles now that we’ve cut some guys. Not a particularly compelling statement, being that Kobe, Howard, and Paul are sitting out. Meeks shooting well, Ebanks shooting well.
Good thing in case Kobe has to miss games as suspected.
DieTryin' says
Bledsoe is not a fluke. He is the real deal. Energy and skills lead to 6 steals in the first half. Meeks will be fine. Peace looks like he has no legs tonight. Jordan much improved. Nash & Pau need to school these pups but Gasol is not dialed in tonight, at least so far. Sacre a steal as the 60th pick. Blake “Little Orphan Annie” Griffin is showing the results of his work over the summer but still bugs me to no end. Like him in the Kia commercials but that’s about it. Say what you will about Brown but vastly superior to Del Negro. Great start to the 3rd for a change. Let’s hang tough and win this thing so I don’t have to listen to these gushing sycophantic Clippers announcers. I’m out. ps Wish we had kept Barnes.
Glove says
Artest (MWP) with the steal and the slam dunk. I think we can trust him on layups this year.
Ko says
Very impressed with Hill. Like to see him get lots if minutes this year. Good to see.
Kevin_ says
All the faithful fb&g posters that were talking about trading Pau just witnessed exhibit B that 3rd qtr. He carried the team. Exhibit A was last game’s 1st qtr you don’t often find elite players who are also glue guys.
Shaun says
I hope we keep djo so we can have at least 1 pg that can dunk
Ko says
My goodness how long can Lakers and Brown stay with Blake?
DieTryin' says
Blake is unwatchable
Long Time Laker Fan says
Couple of observations:
1) Steve Blake should not see the light of day. He is truly horrific.
2) God these Clippers announcers are annoying!!!
Shaun says
Either brown or Jerry needs to make sure that we have an athletic guy as our backup guard – Blake has like 10% of Nashs ability and is just terrible setting up the offense, he is no threat to drive, not really a good passer, and terrible on D
If he gets the backup position i think MB must have a thing for guys that suck so he keeps him out there.
Long Time Laker Fan says
These Clippers announcers say the most asinine things…
Kevin_ says
No matter how incompetent we think Blake is in other parts of the game if he’s 3/4 from 4 he’s doing his job.
Kevin_ says
Why is Pau back in the game?
Shaun says
Love hill – if leslie gets cut maybe we should look him up
Ko says
Can hardly wait for Browns litany of excuses after the game. Like it or not Lakers remain only winless team in tbe NBA.
Kareem says
Has anyone else noticed that Hill has made a number of terrible ‘and-1’ fouls. I count at least three where he had no business fouling someone going up for an easy stuff. Everything else is great with him, but he’s got to have better awareness of when to foul.
Shaun says
Kevin- big deal yeah he is shooting it ok tonight but these are all on last second shots because nothing was set during the rest of the clock with him leading the offense – also is it quite visable
That he cannot guard his man creating defensive breakdowns every single possession on D
I mean even Jim says that he covers all the analytic stuff when evaluating a player and Mitch covers the eye ball test – Blake is badly failing all of our eyeballs – see that last pass
Shaun says
Totally agree on being winless
Ko says
Is there anyone out there that think this is a well coached team?
Kareem says
Ko,
What specific aspect of this game makes you feel that Brown did a poor job coaching? Everything? I saw a lot of players making PLAYER mistakes, not coaching mistakes. And yes, we remain winless in preseason. Whoopdiedo.
Glove says
Turnovers continue to plague the Lakers. One more tune up game, can’t wait for the season to start.
Kevin_ says
Ko: Mike Brown is a much smarter man than me and is a coach for a reason. But I don’t agree with some of his theories.
He continously said last year “I’m playing the starters heavy minutes in games because there’s no practice time” and now he has practice time is playing Pau 36 minutes in preseason games. You should trust Pau will be there when you need him get Jamison (16 mins) in rhythm let Pau sit some.
It’s a notion because the Lakers got Nash and Howard they’re fine. Nash isn’t 28 he’s 38 (and has looked every bit) Kobe’s body is breaking down before our eyes he’s 34 (and there’s a reasonhe keeps saying he’s only playing a few more years because he knows his body won’t hold up). Pau is 32 and Ron is 32. Blake’s 32 and Jamison is 36. 6 of 7 players Lakers are counting on are over 31 yr old. Okc’s best 4 players aren’t even 25 yet. Finals are not a given with this Lakers team. Lakers are counting on Ebanks and Hill to have steady impact something they have never done over a full season. I’m sorry to throw a turd in the punch bowl but it isn’t all roses. There are some hurdles Lakers have to overcome this year nothing is given.
Kevin_ says
Having said that Meeks and Blake 5-8 from 3 and Sacre’s play were good spots. And the shot distribution continues to be balanced and that’s a good thing.
LT mitchell says
When will Brown’s love affair with Blake end? Duhon has been outplaying him on both ends throughout the preseason and DJO is getting no significant minutes.
Jordan Hill deserves at least 20 minutes a game. Hopefully, his back, and Brown’s decision making, won’t prevent him from getting significant minutes.
If Jamison doesn’t prove he has something left in the tank, this bench is in trouble.
EBanks and Meeks were solid on both ends tonight.
Tra says
Good to see that Ko is in ‘mid-season’ form during the pre-season .. From what I recall, come Tuesday morning, every team will have the same record .. Fall back and relax.
Shaun says
Someone that we should look put for as a draft day steal is perry jones 3rd – he has been quoty averaging 15 per game in preseason and could
Give them another legitimate 3 to cover
Lebron as opposed to seflaosha – thunder are gonna be good
Ko says
Kareem
Guys still appear to not know where they Should be on offense, hence 2 games in a row with 20 TO. Either the starters last game or reserves they appear confused. Last year brown’s excuse was lack of practice and preseason. It appears the more practice they get the worse they look.
No Laker team in history has ever gone 0 and 8 and it was mostly 2nd and 3rd string Clips that played tonight. Do you think they will just flip a switch to start the season? I just don’t know. Hope so.
harold says
I have a feeling that the first game we lose, we’re going to have a lot of people saying ‘i told you so.’
Anyway, we’ll see. I just hope that MB really limits the starters’ minutes.
Kareem says
Ko,
It was not mostly 2nd and 3rd string Clips. It was mostly 1st and 2nd with one or two throw ins. Only Leslie and Turiaf played more minutes than they likely will come the regular season. Did you also notice that we were without our 2 best players? And the turnovers, SHEESH! Did you even watch the game? Most of them were after defensive rebounds, lazy passes. Sacre giving up the jump ball. Brown cannot pass for them. The vast majority of these turnovers are the players not yet being up to game speed. That’s why athletic teams like the Kings and Clips are able to jump into their passing lanes. The guys need to readjust to game speed and everything will be fine.
Kevin,
I agree with you that Nash is looking his age, but he’s said that he didn’t play much ball during the off season and is still rusty. I believe him, so it doesn’t worry me. I really don’t believe in preseason, so I’m not prepared to crucify Brown. I believe that he wants the team to be ready come opening night. That means running the rotations as close as possible to the real thing. What you’re essentially scrutinizing is 15 total minutes (over 3 games) that you think Gasol shouldn’t have played. If that’s not nitpicking, I don’t know what is.
The Dane says
This preseason has been very confusing in relation to rotations. I still don’t see a pattern i regards to which groups will play together.
I do hope that the coaching staff settles on this fairly early. Will they play Nash a lot with the second unit, and let him loose for his own style? Or will they want to pound the ball inside to get Pau, Howard, Artest or maybe Kobe more post-ups?
There are so many ways to go with this team, and I am looking forward to the roster being cut down, and hope to see the coaches settle on some patterns for the subs, which would let the team build its identity.
The worst thing that can happen next to injuries, is if the coaches keep switching things around throughout the season. This team is completely new, and needs time. I wouldn’t worry about the record, as long as there is an early plan in place and the players can start building on that.
nimble says
The most important question to be analyzed is can a team win anything shooting a total of 67 shots per 48 minutes just for being polite and share the shots and running ESPN guided offense?
Busboys4me says
Pau played major minutes because Sacre was in foul trouble, Earl Clark is injured and the Lakers cut their other bigs. There was no one else to play.
Magic Phil says
Agree with Ko and 1/2 decaf…
It resembles college bball at certain times. Nobody knows where to go or what to do. And that with a ful training camp. Watching the 3rd string from the Clips being able to get a wide open man just by playing simple ball, makes me wonder what kind of training camp is going on on el segundo.
Darius Soriano says
I understand the want to vent. The team hasn’t won a preseason game yet.
But what happened to people saying they understood it was going to take time for this team to learn to play together and to pick up a new offense (especially a read and react one)? Did all of that go away because the team actually started playing games? I don’t get it.
If you listen to the players (not Mike Brown) talk, they will say it’s a process. Steve Nash is saying this. I don’t think you’re going to find a smarter player, with more feel for the game, than Nash yet he’s acknowledging that the learning curve is steep. Yet fans think it should be clicking right away? Really?
Aaron says
I wouldn’t worry till the games count but what else are the players going to say? “yea… We suck… We should worry”. It’s funny the one game Blake shoots well from the field (50 percent) he literally loses the ball 4 times just trying to bring the ball up the court.
Jim C. says
Darius:
I think there was some understanding that this was a process and would take some time. I also think this process has been substantially slowed down by the injury bug.
But I don’t think anyone really expected the process to be THIS slow that we’d have a big goose egg for wins at this point. If we were 1-6 and our bench players had looked good when they were playing, I doubt you’d be seeing the same level of nerves as we have seen in the comments over the last few threads.
I agree with the need to be patient and not panicking over a few lost preseason games, particularly a few lost preseason games where we were starting Robert Sacre at center. (No offense to him as he’s looked better than I thought he’d be at this point, but he SHOULD be “break glass in case of emergency” big man not a starter at this point in his career.)
The biggest thing that I would like to see is a solidified rotation in our lineups. Admittedly, that’s been hard with the injury bug, but it took forever for Coach Brown to settle on one last year. The thought was that with a full training camp and a complete preseason, we’d have a good idea of who plays what position for what amount of minutes by now.
In other words, I’d like to see Brown make these decisions sooner rather than later. In my opinion, this is what the lineups should look like once everyone is healthy and rosters are set.
PG: Nash, Morris, Duhon, Blake
SG: Kobe, Meeks
SF: Metta, Ebanks/Jamison (Depending on lineup needs)
PF: Gasol, Jamison/Hill (Depending on lineup needs.)
C: Howard, Hill, Sacre
I’d like to see Jamison playing at the four more often than not so he can stretch the floor with his three point shooting. I’d like to see Hill playing at Center more often than not so we can benefit from his energy, interior defense and rebounding.
Minutes distribution: (Approximate numbers)
Howard: 38 minutes per game
Kobe: 33 minutes per game
Gasol: 33 minutes per game
Nash: 30 minutes per game
Meeks: 15 minutes per game
Metta: 34 minutes per game
Ebanks: 15 minutes per game
Morris: 18 minutes per game
Jamison: 15 minutes per game
Nobody else getting regular minutes outside of foul trouble.
Why Morris at PG? Because he’s an unknown quantity whereas we KNOW all the other PGs on our roster suck fiercely. Give Morris more burn and hope he blossoms into a serviceable backup.
Edwin Gueco says
If Lakers want to win, let the players run the show and play their best based on their style. The P.O. is really stalling them as though they are learning it for the first time in El Segundo. I’m seeing Blake as a better SG than a PG, why don’t we go with a nimble PG like DJO. Sacre is not ready for the big show, he is a 4th option after Dwight, Pau, Hill and finally, Sacre, he needs to get intern more on NBA moves, he is being schooled there by Hollins, Turiaf and Jordan. Who should they cut? Glock, Morris, Clark, Duhon and all coaches too. haha. (Ihope you are not too serious when reading posts during preaseason, take it with a grain of salt.)
Psiwolf says
I agree with Darius. At this point I just want to see steady improvement by the team during the clurse of the season, making the playoffs at any spot, doing so with everyone at 100% health, and peaking at the start of the playoffs. We have enough talent to beat anyone in the west, as long as we make the playoffs and gel well during the course of the regular season.
Jim C. says
Oh, forgot to add Hill to my minutes distribution.
10-15 minutes per game.
Darius Soriano says
Jim C,
You say: “The biggest thing that I would like to see is a solidified rotation in our lineups. Admittedly, that’s been hard with the injury bug, but it took forever for Coach Brown to settle on one last year. The thought was that with a full training camp and a complete preseason, we’d have a good idea of who plays what position for what amount of minutes by now. In other words, I’d like to see Brown make these decisions sooner rather than later.”
——-
It hasn’t been just “hard” due to the injury bug, it’s been impossible. The Lakers top 8 players haven’t played in a game together yet. Not a single game. How then, is there any expectation that Brown can start to settle in on any sort of rotation?
He hasn’t been able to evaluate Jamison with both Pau and Howard for more than a single game. Hill and Howard haven’t played one game together. By the time the preseason is over, Kobe would have played in 5 games and missed 3. He’s played one game w/ Howard.
And, as I’ve said with the bench, they may be better players individually than the guys from last year. But they’ll still be dependent on the starters to carry the offensive load and will need to work off of them when they share the court with them. Because the starters have been in and out of the lineup, we haven’t been able to actually see how the bench plays with the mix of starters.
This is why I just can’t see how anyone can come to any real conclusions about this team. I can understand the frustration from losing. But we need to be reasonable about the other things that really can be explained.
Jim C. says
Darius:
Yes, limited GAME experience, but plenty of practice/training camp experience together, which should have given a fairly good idea of who should be playing where and how many minutes.
With the exception of point guard, where we have one stellar player and an abundance of non-entities at this point, the rotations for the other positions have been more or less obvious since the players were brought in by the front office.
Did we really need to see, for example, Ebanks playing shooting guard instead of Meeks to know that was a poor idea given Ebanks’ inability to stretch the floor with his outside shooting?
Wasn’t it obvious the moment Meeks was signed by the team that the intention was for him to be the backup SG?
Edwin Gueco says
Quoting the new LA Times blog under Eric Pincus:
“The folks at TNT (Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal) recently voiced skepticism about the Lakers’ offense this coming season. On Wednesday, Magic Johnson and Jeff Van Gundy, of ESPN/ABC, were slightly more open-minded about the Princeton offense hybrid that Coach Mike Brown is working to install.
“The Princeton offense should be fine, and if it’s not, trust me, Kobe Bryant will say, ‘Hey, let’s go back to the triangle,’ if it’s not working,” said Johnson. “Mike is smart enough to know and then Kobe is smart enough to know. They’ll make it work or they can take some of it and still do some of the triangle at the same time.”
Brown wants his team to run a motion offense that involves every player, making it harder for opponents to scout his team. The concern may not be a November game against the Detroit Pistons but a seven-game series in April, May and June.”
~~these former players seemed to know what they see on the court. On paper, we own Nash, Howard but until they get the feel of a Championship season, everything dicey if these losses extend to regular season. I hope we don’t waste the money, optimism of the Buss Family with all these new theories teaching old dogs with new tricks.
Darius Soriano says
Jim C,
Again: Did we really need to see, for example, Ebanks playing shooting guard instead of Meeks to know that was a poor idea given Ebanks’ inability to stretch the floor with his outside shooting?
———–
You mean the same Devin Ebanks that’s made 6 of his 14 three pointers this preseason (42%)? You mean the guy that’s showing his jumper is improved in every game he’s played in? That guy?
Players improve. Coaches see more in practice than we’ll ever see in games. Yet you want to say things like “isn’t it obvious from the day we signed him…” without ever acknowledging that you don’t know how these guys play outside of the minutes you’ve seen them this preseason and whatever you saw of them before this year. The coaches see these guys every day and are trying to figure out what would be best for the team.
Also, this can’t be said enough: it’s the preseason. When is a better time to find out what Ebanks can do at SG than now? What if Kobe’s foot injury keeps him out? What if Meeks underperforms or gets injured himself? What then? Throw Ebanks to the fire w/o any game time to see how he might play?
It’s always better to try and see the big picture in these instances. Like I said earlier, I think people are frustrated with the losing more than anything else. The losing is exaggerating other things and turning non-issues into issues for a lot of people.
Jim C. says
6-14 = Really small sample size next to Jodie Meeks’ percentage from three for the last few years.
I think the bottom line is trust. As in, does the fanbase trust that Mike Brown knows what he is doing?
Phil Jackson also used to do this same thing in preseason. Laker records in preseason games during his tenure also tended to be pretty bad as I recall, but the fanbase didn’t care because Phil was trusted. All the things you’re saying about the coaches seeing things in practice and that a regular rotation would be found that worked…people believed it about Phil.
I’m not sure that Brown has that trust by the fanbase and that’s why you see non-issues becoming issues.
I look at last year as the reason why I’m a little skeptical. You’d see things like Ebanks being named the starter and then four games into the season vanishing from the rotation all-together only to reappear in the starting lineup at SG when Kobe got hurt.
You’d see Hill buried on the bench for weeks only to shine when he finally gets some game time.
Basically, I think fans just question whether or not Brown is a good judge of these things or is like that guy in my fantasy football league who overreacts week to week and needs to make a trade from his team every week or he gets twitchy.
You’re absolutely right on your arguments, but they all boil down to a belief that this experimentation is leading to a good result, whereas others are more worried about Brown due to his track record of last season where lineups and minute distribution of the bench seemed to change more often than some people change their underwear.
Now, all of this comes with a HUGE caveat…the lockout.
Much of the evidence that Brown is indecisive and can’t come up with good rotations that make sense is colored by the lockout last year erasing training camp, the preseason and most of the practice times.
I remain in the camp that Laker fans need to be patient and give Brown more time to get his team healthy and let them learn the new offense. I agree with you that this is a process and, while the early returns aren’t promising, we can’t overreact to them.
But I also understand why others might be more inclined to start panicking and wanting changes made.
After all, the Laker window with their big four is very short. Time is wasting with a group as old as this one.
Jim C. says
BTW, my comment about records in preseason during Phil’s tenure was their typical records. I know there were a couple of preseasons in Phil’s reign where not a lot of turnover, injuries or change had happened and the Lakers were gangbusters.
Darius Soriano says
Jim,
If there’s an inherent trust issue with Mike Brown, then that’s an issue that I can’t do anything about. You don’t trust him and you’ll see everything he does through that prism of distrust. But, since that’s the case, I think it’s easier to just shrug off those types of comments because they come from a place where the premise is set. You’re not going to give him the benefit of the doubt. That’s fine, but it taints comments. At least in my eyes.
Also, this preseason, more than any other I can remember is more about process than results. That’s why I simply can’t understand panic. Not at this point. That mentality seems rooted in some sort of rush to judgement I just can’t identify with. Not with this particular team.
Darius Soriano says
A new post is up.
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2012/10/25/around-the-world-wide-web-124/
Jim C. says
Darius:
I think you were a bit harsh with the “taints comments” response.
“Now, all of this comes with a HUGE caveat…the lockout.
Much of the evidence that Brown is indecisive and can’t come up with good rotations that make sense is colored by the lockout last year erasing training camp, the preseason and most of the practice times.
I remain in the camp that Laker fans need to be patient and give Brown more time to get his team healthy and let them learn the new offense. I agree with you that this is a process and, while the early returns aren’t promising, we can’t overreact to them.
But I also understand why others might be more inclined to start panicking and wanting changes made. ”
This is not the first time I’ve seen you lob the “commenter is biased and therefore dismiss their arguments” grenade.
My comments are calm, rational and show both sides of the equation. I’m considering all the evidence at our disposal, and ultimately argued for GIVING BROWN MORE TIME AND BEING PATIENT, which is the exact opposite of panicking or rushing to judgment.
There IS evidence that Brown isn’t very good at managing rotations. But much of the evidence is tainted by the lockout.
Really wish you’d stop using this particular argument.
Jim C. says
Think I may have misread the “you” in your last response Darius. Not sure if that “you” was directed at me personally or at the fanbase in general.
Darius Soriano says
Jim,
I don’t dismiss comments. But if someone is admitting the have a distrust of Brown and then go on to criticize him while disregarding context (not saying this about you) what is the proper way to absorb that argument?
Jim C. says
I’d suggest taking it as one piece of an overall puzzle really. I’d take those comments the same way I tend to take news coming from various sources. If a source has a well known bias, I’ll view something they say with a bit of skepticism and seek additional verification, but also understand that there’s always going to be a spectrum.
After all, if you look at one coach and see that they have a history of doing a little experimentation when it doesn’t matter and then finding and settling on a combination that works leading to good results, and then you have a second coach who experiments…and then continues to do so indefinitely leading to poor results, then maybe that distrust isn’t “bias” but a different reading of the available data?
We do the same thing when we evaluate players. We look at some players as having, just as an example, a good track record “in the clutch” when evidence is mixed and others as shying away from the moment. Trusting some players vs. not trusting others.
There’s precious little in life that is unequivocally good or bad, right or wrong. Everyone incorporates and weights new information differently.
Some folks outright dismiss new information that contradicts their currently held beliefs. Others overreact to small amounts of new information.
I’ll openly admit to not trusting Brown AS MUCH AS Phil, and definitely think he wasn’t a popular hire at the time. I also think that some of his moves/non-moves last season tended to look a little puzzling or lack logic.
Therefore, I can see why some people might perceive him as a weak link on this team.
I think the evidence is not clear enough to come to that conclusion, but I still view those who DO think so as being valuable contributors because they throw out new data worth incorporating when coming up with my own viewpoint.
Darius Soriano says
Jim,
The last I’ll say on this is that I think there are reasons to not have full faith in Brown. I criticized him plenty for a variety of things last season (especially how he handled his rotations).
But, as I continue to say, context matters when any evaluation is made. Were Brown’s rotations/choices in who played and how much a product of indecisiveness or searching for answers on a very limited roster all with the backdrop of the lockout and limited practice time? Are his rotations looking shaky this preseason because of injuries and the desire to see how players fit in various roles all against the backdrop of half his team being brand new? Or is it a general lack of decisiveness?
Yes, there’s a spectrum. I’m pointing that out with my comments, no?