Freeland! er...Claver! Kopenen! Er...some D-league star! er...the new young PG they're trading for! er...Ha! Finally a role for Ha on this team!
If you don't mind him not being able to run, jump or shoot, then sure we'll keep in on the floor to look tough.
Joel is worth more to us than to other teams. McMillan knows how to optimize his semi-talent. Unless we gyp some team, I hope he stays. He has been our most underrated player for several years. He's better than nothing. Even if he has lost 50% of what he had, well, Oden has lost 100% unless he ever plays again. We need a substitute center with size. In many situations, Joel's height helps far more than Cunningham's youth. To those saying he will return to Minnesota if he can, remember, he got kicked out of college. I guess all is forgiven on both sides after all these years. On Valentines Day, at the end of the game in Minnesota, some Wolves assistant or management member came up to Joel as he was leaving, and they talked for a minute on the court. Wheels or Rice just said, there's Joel talking to one of the Wolves guys. I knew right away that recruiting was going on.
Joel is clearly not the player he was before the injury. Whether he's able to return to form/close to form or not is anyone's guess. I don't think he's hurting the team though. He plays 15-20 minutes a night, get's his 3-5 rebounds, and takes up space in the middle. At 6'8" and 230, Dante is grossly undersized to play Center for extended minutes. We've been getting away with getting beat on the boards almost every night recently because we've been shooting the lights out (better than 50% 5 out of the last 6 games I think), but that won't last. I think Nate is managing Joel's minutes very well, and I don't feel the need to see more Dante Cunningham.
Joel can't rebound, score or run right now. So why play him? It doesn't make sense. I wouldn't play Dante at the center position--I agree with you. Give LA the five spot and Dante at the four. It's worked VERY well for us. Compare the play of Joel and LA vs Dante and LA. You'll see the big difference.
Just one more reason not to play Przybilla - he'd consider retiring if traded! The guy can't play anymore.
Right, virtues not diminished by the injury. The main job of a center is to protect the paint, not those things. It's a mentality to control your space. He still bothers the opponents and makes the other coach change his style. And he will improve. This is just the start of his recovery.
I think when opponents see Joel in the middle, they think the opposite of what you described. They likely say this: "Here's a crippled center that's 1/4 of the player he was a year ago. Let's go straight at him."
I'd like to see a new stat, the number of verbal arguments and threatened fights a player gets into with other players. Two categories of on-court arguments. 1) The "Payton" argument. This is a player yapping his mouth off all game, but the opposing coach has warned his players, so it has no effect. Similarly, the referees have been warned by Stern and Stuie Jackson to "Ignore this dick." His teammates have come to expect the misery, so they endure, hoping to get traded. Desensitivized, the superstar, head coach, and fans hide their sorrows by bloating up their weights, eating nothing but steer steaks, and running to Cleveland, Denver/Portland, or Oklahoma City. 2) The "Przybilla" argument. This is a player who irritates the hell out of opposing players and drives them loco. This opens opportunities for his own team to exploit. When the opposing player shows the least bit of rebellion over being bullied, this player runs up to push him around and inform him that he will not be allowed to play normally in this game and he might as well hit the showers right now for a long bubbly one. The key skill is to act morally outraged that the opponent does not enjoy your dirty play, and to convert him into a spectator on the court while you display your shaman voodoo mental dominance of his weak mind. A secondary skill is to bodily push him around while keeping your arms at your side. Always ahead of the curve, Mark Cuban has been a leader in recognizing the need to put at least two arm amputees into his talented staff of specialized assistant coaches.
Props to the Vanilla Gorilla Godzilla Thrilla Przybilla for his effort during the Laker game. (just don't watch the airballed free throw)
Joel did step it up tonight, enough so that it would make me sad to see him go at the trade deadline, unless he went to a team that we were sure would release or buy him out and he might come back.
Interesting tidbit from the MSP on 95.5 The Game this AM. Chad had Canzano on to talk about the TJ Ford thing, and he mentioned that he had a one-on-one with Joel Przybilla. Joel admitted that he's basically playing on one leg out there and for the first time in his career he has to think about when he's going to jump. Also said that he's going to go home this off-season and take some time to think about whether or not to hang it up.
