Problem is too many crackers. My 2nd-favorite Blazer Claver shouldn't have to compete for the white minutes. Leonard, Babbitt, and Freeland have basketball IQs of dusty old men.
without seeing the recent games, I'd imagine that Leonard (and Freeland) will take a backseat so that Stotts can "showcase" Hickson and Babbitt, 2 players who will most likely not be here in July and see what he can get for them now (whether a trade for future prospects or taking salary on now). If I had to guess, I'd say that Babbitt as a stretch 4 (w/LMA at the 5) was working pretty well earlier this year and that Olshey's hoping that continued minutes (at the very short-term expense of Leonard's growth) isn't a backbreaker for ML and might be upping Babbitt's value around the league.
I watched Courtside last night and Haynes said that the problem with Leonard is that he doesn't trust his ankle yet. He sprained it pretty bad a few weeks ago and he has to get over the mental hurdle of going all out without fear of hurting it again.
He's insanely raw, and misses out on a lot off defensive rotations and doesn't box out very well. That's why.
I don't know what the big deal is with this kid. I don't see a center that will dominate looking at Leonard. He doesn't even look that big to me. But I guess he is a 7 footer and with some weight lifting he could be a strong player. I just don't see it now or even a couple years from now. He looks like those high school boys that haven't worked into their body, being clumsy and out of proportion.
That's a pretty weak story by Haynes. He played a lot of minutes right after he came back, so not trusting his ankle makes no sense
I think you are right about Babbit and why he is playing as much as he is, it's too bad he's shooting so shitty as IMO he has not at all upped his value
Not trusting his ankle is why he hasn't played well. Not playing well is why his minutes have been reduced. Makes perfect sense to me.
Why not trade him for a lottery pick? Hopefully they can do this before other teams discover he is a white American big man.
How many #11 picks play major minutes as rookies for teams in a playoff race, regardless of position? Houston's entire draft was a failure, if you want to look at it that way. Unless you're getting one of the top picks, you're usually drafting either a project or a player already near his ceiling. The days of stealing great Euros late in the draft are basically over.
No act. Observation is all. Kid isn't playing hardly any minutes on a team desperate for bench help. He used to play a lot more
this kid needs to be playing 15 to 20 minutes a game. we are going to pay for this later when he still extremely raw in a couple years because he has had no seasoning. watch he will play out his rookie contract here and go sign somewhere else and be an all star. im all for winning now but i think he could actually HELP this team. getting 3 minutes a game does help a player mentally.
