In the NY papers Sunday, he was talking to the writers about how he still wants to start and he deserves to start. My reaction? Why fix something when it's not broke? I like to see Sammy come off the bench. We are better team for it. Plus Troy has played well in the last three weeks so you can't demote him to the bench. Besides it does not matter who starts. What's important is that you are playing in crunch time in the fourth quarter and that's where Sam is. I don't think Sam coming off the bench is an issue.
Yeah Sam has expressed his wanting to start to Greg Anthony as well cause Greg Anthony was talking about it one day on shootaround or fastbreak, one of those Espn shows, anyway I agree dont fix what aint broke. Sammy still plays a majority of the big time 4th quater minutes so thats what is really important. Plus Sammy, even admitted he is only 75% right now, so that means his body is still fragile. And if he goes down again after being inserted back into the starting lineup, then that will be another distraction in the flow of the starting 5. The thing that is making the Wolves so successful right now is the fact that other then at the 4 spot with KG, you can say that at every other position the Wolves are getting more production from their bench then their starters, their 2nd unit is clearly the strong point ,right now. They should keep it that way. Also with Cassell out their in the 2nd unit, it gives the Wolves a guy who can create shots for other people. And run the play making part off the onfense thru, thus allowing Garnett to sit longer periods resting on the bench in the 2nd and early 4th quarters, if you put Cassell & Garnett on the floor together at the start of the game then you take that aspect of a playmaker in the 2nd unit away. And Garnett will have to play more minutes in the 2nd quarter specficially, which takes away some of his freshness down the stretch of the forth. So right now I think moving Sammy back into the starting 5 will have to many ripple effects on the overall of what the team is doing right now. Sam needs to fall back on this. And just come off the bench till the end of the season.
I have no idea why it's such a big deal for players to want to start. They get cheered coming off the bench at home. I know it's a personal pride thing not to mention they want to be the intros and get cheers at home and away, but that's nothing. Playing in the fourth quarter is what matters.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Timberwolf:</div><div class="quote_post">I have no idea why it's such a big deal for players to want to start. They get cheered coming off the bench at home. I know it's a personal pride thing not to mention they want to be the intros and get cheers at home and away, but that's nothing. Playing in the fourth quarter is what matters.</div> Yeah its a pride thing, a guy like Sam hasnt came off the bench since like 96 in Dallas, after he got traded from the Suns. And everywhere he has went he has viewed himself as the pulse of the team, so in his mind I guess its hard to invision himself as that coming off the bench. But in reality it is to his advantage right now, cause he gets to come right in and impact tempo. But he also has the advantage of viewing the game at the start and seeing what opens the defense is giving to the other guys on a given night depending on how they are playing KG. Anyway, I dont think Mchale is going to give in, if he doesnt see fit or how it will benefit the team. Mchale needs a fresh Cassell coming down the stretch of ball games, therefore playing Cassell mainly in the 2nd and 4th quarters is clealry more benifical to the team.
It's good to want things.....it keeps us stiving for more. Sam was just quoted as saying that he doesn't care about starting since he's in the game at crunch time (which I would rather do anyway) when it matters. He needs to stand by those words and relish in the fact that he is a major contributor.
I agree that theres no real reason to bring Sam back to the starting line-up, at least for the rest of the regular season. But what i'm worried about is Sam whining about it and/or not playing as hard. I wouldn't normally think about that, but after I have seen the way some of these players will act this season, I worry.
There wouldn't be a real need for him to start right now until (if we make it) the playoffs. Sam is already playing major minutes, so it shouldn't be a problem if he starts or not. Mchale shouldn't and probably won't let Cassell start unless it is needed. If he starts Sam just because he wants to then he would just be another Flip who gives into the players demand. We don't need that. I wouldn't worry about Sam not playing hard because he's a vet and knows that the team is playing for that last playoff spot. Even with past events, the team still wants to win.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KG-MVP:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree that theres no real reason to bring Sam back to the starting line-up, at least for the rest of the regular season. But what i'm worried about is Sam whining about it and/or not playing as hard. I wouldn't normally think about that, but after I have seen the way some of these players will act this season, I worry.</div> If it was earlier in the season, Sam would probably make a bigger deal about it but its late the Wolves lives are on the line every night, so I doubt it goes any futher if he doesnt start again. Actually Sam hasnt even made a big stink about it at all, all the media has said is that he expressed the want to start, which should be expected from someone who has started as many games in his career as Sam has...
