HE'S SUCKING LIKE A SHOP VAC ON SIMMON'S NUTS!!!! No, really, I don't understand his stubborn, stupid, bull-headed adherence to this FALSE image he's built up in his mind about who Bobby Simmons is. This is not about who Simmons was 4 years ago, not about what he did when he was a Clipper and Kerry Kittles called Frank to rave about Simmons' work ethic, not about what Simmons did in training camp or how he's healthy for the first time in over 2 years, not about Franks obvious love for the kind of player he THINKS Simmons is (the "glue" guy that knocks down a few open shots, does dirty work, and does all the "little" things). The simple fact is that Simmons has had ONE, exactly ONE, good game in 14 regular season tries (against the Clippers). His contributions that game? He shot 4-9 overall and 3-4 from 3, grabbed 9 rebounds, and tallied 3 assists, 2 of which were genuinely do to nice drives and dishes to Lopez for dunks. Other than that game, he's had a sporadic good play or two where he played good defense or hustled for a loose ball or finally managed to hit a wide open jumper. But for every opportunity he manages to capitalize on, for every defensive stand or tough rebound, there are at least 4 wide open missed shots that Vince or Devin busted their asses to create for him, 2-3 turnovers, and several blow-bys or bad fouls because he is outquicked by an opponent. Most nights, he is a Net liability on the court (pardon the pun). Now don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting he shouldn't play or even that he shouldn't start, given the Nets personnel and injury situation at the moment. I'm willing to believe that he might be MARGINALLY better than Hassell (although I'm no longer sure since Hassell is a better defender and passer). And I do like Hayes' reliable and consistent contributions coming off the bench to help balance out the scoring from that unit. But there is absolutely NO JUSTIFICATION for Simmons playing more minutes than Hayes or assuming the role of closing SF when Hayes has outplayed him in every facet of the game every time he's stepped on the floor. And there CERTAINLY is no excuse for Simmons playing the 4 for extended minutes in crunch time when Anderson and Yi are still available, are the youngsters in need of development in tight games, and when either could shoot blindfolded and likely be more proficient and clutch than Simmons. This is the kind of shit that drives me crazy with Frank and that fuels less fair critics to scream for his head. He has a brilliant basketball mind, generally makes outstanding calls out of time outs, is fiercely loyal to and protective of his players, and is a "good guy" that I'm proud to have coach a team I root for. But he has areas that need VAST improvement, and clinging to a flawed perception of a player against all reason and evidence, and when superior alternatives exist, is one of them. Lawrence, take your head out of your ass, adjust your rotations, yank Bobby Simmons unless he's hitting early, and please put in the all round better player in Hayes (or Anderson or Yi, if we're talking the 4) when a game is on the line. End of rant.
Hayes or Anderson should have been on the floor instead of Simmons in the clutch. Plain and simple. EDIT: Simmons should never, ever, ever, EVER play 38 (!) minutes ever again. Even if it's triple OT and Hayes, Anderson, VC, Yi, Williams and Hassell are all fouled out.
Huh??? What is the calm answer? The profane all caps first sentence was obviously put in for irony in view of the request for calm. But the rest of my post was QUITE calm. But if you are somehow suggesting there isn't a hell of a lot of merit to the criticism, . . .
Thank you! It's unreal that Frank can't or won't see this, especially when he's got a young vet to turn to having maybe the best year of his career in Hayes.
I just meant to quote the second sentence. Can you at least wait for the alternatives to be available before assuming you know how Frank feels about playing Simmons? His other rotation decisions have been dead on all season. Also we won. Have a cocktail.
The alternatives ARE available. Who the hell do you think Hayes is? And who is it we're supposed to be developing for the future if not Yi and Anderson? Simmons played significant crunch minutes at the 4 and did a shitty job for the most part. He played significant late minutes at the 3 when Hayes or Dooling should have been in and was even worse at that position. If Anderson had picked up his 6th foul and after Vince went out, MAYBE it could be defended. But not under the circumstances of that game. And it's not about whether we won. As Frank would tell you, it's about getting better every game, and that damn well should include the coach.
dude, we won the game on the road with a team full of rookes, and the superstar goes down. You can take any coach and put him under the microscope and come up with something. Frank sees this team 24/7 and knows alot more than us. I will defer to his valuation of the players. He brings Hayes off the bench to help the second team score since he goes with a 10 man rotation. The nets have 4 scorers on the starting unit in vc, harris, lopez, and Yi sometimes. Maybe he going with chemistry and team balance...
I'm still trying to soak up all the calmness and reasoned-ness of this discussion. So your main criticism is about the handful of possessions that Hayes was out and Simmons was in? Let's weigh that against the fact that Frank has a team that should have about 4 wins at .500. They just won a second half of a back-to-back on the road. I think it's awesome how you can deduce that Frank isn't improving because of some minor rotation decisions in one game - which of course you have a fraction of the information about that he is working with. If ranting is making you feel better, then knock yourself out. I prefer to enjoy the game and celebrate the win.
Please don't lump me in with the Frank bashers that you may come across here or elsewhere. I have never, ever made a thread to single him out for criticism, and I'm supportive of his decisions and judgment in the great majority of cases. If you read my last paragraph, you'll see that I have great admiration for his knowledge of the game and coaching abilities in general terms. But he's not perfect, and this is one area that surfaces time and again, whether it's failing to go to Ryan in the 4th quarter when Najera was laying eggs and the offense needed a boost or (in previous years) waiting far too long to start giving minutes to Boone at the expense of Jason Collins or stubbornly latching on to Simmons when Hayes and Anderson were both available. And, btw, I'm not a dude.
My main criticism is exactly what I wrote, not what you conveniently re characterized to suit your own specious arguments. The decision to stick with Simmons over Hayes has been going on not for one game but for ALL 14, and MANY, MANY possessions, even though it was patently obvious from the first minutes Jarvis stepped on the floor in New York preseason that he was a superior player simply for the fact that he can actually move, hit a jumper with confidence and range, and put the ball on the floor with some authority, three factors that are pretty important for a role playing SF in this offense. Oh, and he's defended much better too. I have a fraction of the information Frank is working with, but I have ALL of the information that really matters, and that's looking at the fucking games and seeing that Simmons SUCKS. This isn't about whether Simmons should play. It's how much and at what crucial times his brick-laying ass should be on the bench, and Frank has done a piss poor job in both those areas. And if you prefer to simply enjoy the wins and celebrate and believe I should be free to rant, why are you in here replying multiple times? By all means go enjoy yourself. I've been pissed for quite a while at this aspect of the rotations and finally let it boil over on the forum tonight.
Hayes is a second-unit player. There is very little benefit to him getting his time with the starters when he has a much more positive effect on the game when Carter and/or Harris is off the floor.
And BTW, when are you going to realize that the title of the thread was supposed to be ironic? Yes I tried to present the case calmly for a paragraph or two, just to make clear that I'm serious, but, for heaven's sake, I even ended the post with "end of rant".
