BREAKING NEWS>>>>New Starting Lineup

Maybe we are showcasing Webster.

 

Maybe we realized that Roy can not be Roy when he is not the primary ball handler and that Miller is just not that great as a PG in the half-court system we run.

 

And if he doesn't? He consoles himself by taking a spin in his Porsche, and snorting coke off some stripper's funbags.

Who needs pride, when you have money!

 

Martell drives a Maserati, or a black Hummer.

 

Pritchard is also the guy who was not happy when Blake was traded away and made a point of getting Blake back on the team as soon as possible once he was GM. I don't think there is any rift.

 

Its hard to tell why they went with this starting lineup.

Although I'm a fan of Blake, I would certainly not say he won the starting position out-right.

I think Roy got tired of guarding (and being guarded by) bigger SFs and was more comfortable with the ball and Blake playing the off-guard role. It also provided an opportunity for Webs to get into a groove. Roy is THE allstar and (along with LMA) the cornerstone of this team. Based on comments he's made, it looks like his impression was the team played fine last year and simply needs to stay the course with players getting better and Webster returning. Obviously, the loss of Batum has really hurt that concept, but a rejuvenated Webs might make up for it.

Today was a small test - against a very poor opponent. We'll see how things shake out against better teams next week.

 

The 3 guard lineup had/has its points, but Id agree this was mainly about Roy. He needs shooters to spread the floor (probabaly main reason to like Blake) so he doesn't have to spot up as much, and he really didn't like expending so much defensive/rebounding effort. As long as Webster can do those things, it should free up Roy. We'll see if both parts of that equation hold up. Tonight, Roy didn't go off, but he was still good.

 

Imagine my surprise when I was at the game and I saw Miller out on the floor before starter's were announced. I literally laughed out loud which I think caused several people around me to double-take and wonder if was a little crazy.

Observations:

Blake hit some shots when he was open, but did very little else on offense, his defense on Flynn was passable, but I'm not really sure the Wolves were really all that interested in getting dribble penetration since Oden was wiping shots out at a pretty neat clip.

The thing that really surprised me was Martell finally rising from the dead and showing he had a pulse, his shot was off early but once they started to go down he opened up the game for everyone else ... including Steve.

Whatever, it's easy to get all bent about Nate benching Andre, but I think the writing is pretty clearly on the wall. Brandon and Andre literally do not interact in any way shape or form during warmups, on the bench and barely during the game. I don't know what the deal is, but their body language towards one another isn't good ... I'm already starting a countdown until December 15th, because I have almost no doubt he's on the move ... if they can move him.

 

What? Why that's blasphemy! Haven't you heard? Martell couldn't find his way to the Garden if it weren't for Blakey!

 

Dude, what game you were watching? Blake had 14 points 9 assists (in 3 quarters) and he and Oden were clicking!

 

Nate refuses to start Miller over Blake because, literally, he's been afraid (and admirable) of Steve ever since he threw that chair in practice.