"I gauruntee that if DeAndre Jordan agreed to a contract with us, then wed sign and trade Batum for him (Jordan) and Barnes. They'll (LAC) have no cap space anyway, and trading Barnes for Nic is an upgrade. We do it because it gives us the space to resign Wes"
It's not easy to come off the bench cold and show fire with long stretches of inactivity. Crabbe was Pac 12 player of the year before we drafted him and has a good stroke. He just deferred to the vets because that's what he was supposed to do. He has talent and is unselfish.
I'm not a huge fan of Jordan or Barnes but apparently you are..to each his own. Jordan will not be in the game when it counts more than likely so he's sort of a half a game expensive guy who can't make free throws but blocks shots...I'll take the freethrows and in no way do I believe Matt Barnes is better than Nic
thats true. I just think that Crabbe isn't good enough to be a steady minute guy on a contending team. If he plays out of position at SF and ends up our backup, then we won't be contenders
This isn't remotely true. Freeland played substantial minutes against elite bigs everytime he was healthy and with good results.
I think a 3 minute stretch in the 4th with Leonard at the 5 is worth the productive 30+ minutes he'd play per game. And in no way is Barnes as good as Nic, but he is worth the upgrade at center and being able to resign Wes.
exactly... and 12 minutes a game isnt substantial, with most of those minutes coming against backups, not starters like you say. You're making it sound like he should've started over Lopez
Now you're exaggerating. Joel, like CJ has had a stuttered place in the rotation because of injuries, not because of lack of value. If you don't value a guy or like his game that's all fine but not for the reason you have presented. These guys are role players and accept it without complaining. Team's need them. We have them.
I just don't think Freeland is the best defender on the team like the stats say. I don't wanna rely on unproven role players stepping up next year, because that means we wouldn't be contending.
Without injuries we're contending last season. Why would that change next season if everyone came back and stayed healthy? With a full healthy squad we were top 3 defensively in the league. That includes the role players. We will probably see roster changes this off season but not because our team wasn't good enough. Rather because we had injuries to DWright, Aldridge, Freeland, Lopez, Kaman, CJ, Afflalo, Wes and Nico...that's a lot to overcome
You don't have to as most wouldn't (and probably for good reason). However, that is different then saying he is barely an above average defender which is false imo.
we didn't have the intensity to contend. A good regular season doesn't mean we're contenders. We were missing one guy in the first round and couldn't get close to matching the intensity of Memphis.
We were missing more than one guy in the first round and playing a hobbled Afflalo, Kaman with a back injury, Wes with a broken achilles and Lamarcus with one thumb and DWright out for the season..did you even watch the team dude?
Why do you think that is? Why wouldn't we be motivated to advance? Intensity comes down to motivation.
Memphis was clicking and the second best defense in the league. They deserve some credit. You win as a team and lose as a team. Yeah, we lost but really, they won.
When you watch players g down around you, it is VERY easy to have some doubt set in, lose some intensity, sat questioning the season, etc. Before the injury to Rolo ( the first major injury we had last year I think), I thought our overall intensity was much better than after the injuries started happening. We did build some deficits, but we came back from them, and you dont come back from those double digit leads without some intensity, fire and drive. I remember thinking at one point... wow, are we really on the same plain as the Spurs? Do we really have that much control of the game, that we can take it easy at first and then stomp teams in the second half? Well, my questions were answered, but I don't think it was because the team gave up, I think it was due t al the injuries playing fatigue on he team. I didnt quote it, but someone said intensity is the same thing as motivation and I disagree. I see players and know people who are intense without a purpose. I think Trob was a great example of this. I also know those who are not intense, super passive, but once the path is paved, do not quit no matter what.
Well tell that to Paul Allen & Neil Olshey. This could very well be an off season like the one were the Blazers traded Brien Grant for Shawn Kemp. A whole lot of what if's & why? Better yet you might want to tell that to LMA also.
