Ain't it the truth. When teams buckle down and play a tight halfcourt defense, he is practically useless.
There was definitely a message sent by Roy and Aldridge to the rest of the team - we are good but we can't do it without you. You can ride either of us for about one 3rd of the game but that leaves something for you as well. Who is this "rest of the team"? Well, mostly our rookies and Outlaw. Joel does and will do his job defensively and on the boards but IMO, Greg Oden has showed us a somewhat frustrating "If I were playing for more than 15 minutes per, I'd be one of the best centers in the L". Rudy needs to be able to spell Roy but also play with him and learn to strive as the 2nd option in the backcourt. My dream lineup includes Rudy/Roy playing well together at the guard positions. can we implement this lineup for big parts of next year's games? time will tell. Travis is also a keeper. He's a great scorer that can create for himself and be relied upon to rescue us in certain times when the offense isn't working. His 3-pointer from the corner is money and he knows how to sometimes make a 3 from other places and they are always big momentum builders. Batum is a versatile defender, probably the best one-on-one and team defender we have. His hustle and intensity makes him a tremendous asset that can not be moved. Even if Martell comes back strong, there will be room for Batum, even if it's on the bench, providing inspiration. Now, to Steve Blake. If there's anyone that more times than not, lets me down, it's Steve Blake, but who'll be our starter if not Steve Blake. Would you start with no traditional PG and instead use Rudy right from the start? would you go with Sergio as starter and lose his wonderful understanding with Rudy when they both play together? Do you go with Bayless and play a starting lineup with two guards going to the basket and very little outside firepower (Batum hits a couple 3's and Roy hits a couple 3's but that's like per game)? IMO, no changes should be made. the cake is baking/ the team is growing, etc. we won 13 more than last year with four rookies. remember how much better Roy and LA were their 2nd year? We almost didn't have anyone new and won like 10 more than the year before. For now, the only thing I see in the horizon is Joel Freeland as backup PF and maybe draft a rookie for the end the bench. And by rookie deep on the bench, I don't mean because KP lost his draft-touch, simply because we're stacked. Then continue to grow as a team, play together, some more playing together.
To be fair, Boston was on a 59 win pace without Garnett. The difference between Boston with and without Garnett, is that they were no longer blowing teams out to get most of their wins, they were just surviving games.
