Yeah, but he missed half the season because of an injury and then was expected to come in and compete for minutes on one of the best teams in the league. I don't think you're being fair to him. He didn't have a training camp. He didn't have a preseason. He didn't get to develop like most rookies.
You have an understanding it takes time to build a championship team and they've noticed some issues with the team during the playoffs. I think we all recognize our team improved greatly from last season and has room for more improvement.
Ive been a fan since early 90s. Ive never had a championship. Lakers have had like 17. I want a fucking championship
We all want a championship. I don't remember our title i was too young. I do remember making big roster altering trades to promising up and coming teams that didn't net a title but shortened our window and depleted our resources.
I'm under the thought that it wouldn't hurt to make some upgrades in the starting lineup. One being the two position. But maybe what we need to do is put all our resources in creating a secondary lineup that can compete with any starting lineup in the league and giving these starters one more year to grow together. The chemistry is there and if you give these guys more time to rest during games through. Their potency and effectiveness should be felt in the offseason.
If we make a trade to upgrade the 2 then we likely are moving Wes plus bench pieces, which further depletes an already thin bench, even if we add an MLE player.
Mo mentioned a few weeks back he was going to opt out of his contract. Our team will need to potentially replace him and possibly bring in another body for the bench.
We can do better. We can do so much better. Hell, I would rather give all his minutes to Barton right now. There are other vets that I would target next summer. It depends on how much money we have and who is available, but I would love to bring in guys like Gasol and Pierce. They would be so money off the bench.
Mo is fine as a backup for us. I have a tough time thinking the grass is greener elsewhere in terms of backup pg. If No takes the smaller exception for a couple extra seasons then we would be fine.
Schilly I respect your opinion, but I completely disagree about Mo. He represents nothing I would want in a backup point guard. He takes bad shots, he dribbles too much, he makes silly turnovers, and his defense is abhorrent. I do like that he seems to be a really good leader for us, and I like that he can catch fire and hit shots, but I do not think the benefits outweigh the cost. I hope we find someone better this summer.
I'm not against upgrading the backup pg spot. Livingston and Collison are intriguing. If Mo wants more than the smaller exception then i am all for letting him walk. I would rather our money was spent on additions instead of replacements.
The problem is, Mo is not a point guard. He's a combo guard. He's a really shitty version of Dame. So when they play together, their weaknesses are amplified. Neither are good defenders, both take a lot of shots, and neither are really distributors. What we really need is a backup point guard who can play with Dame, play good defense, make passes, and maybe hit a three here and there.
First of all one must define deep playoff run, then consider the log jam that seperates the top 9 teams in the western conference, then realize we're playing the # 1 seed in the league and have a chance to even the score at home. We've got a minimum of 10 playoff games if we lose the next two which is not too shabby, I think we'll split the 1st 4 which gives us a chance at the game 7 win. Defense is part of the picture but not the whole picture, we have not shot the ball well or protected it on offense. We can beat the Spurs if we play our game well. Phoenix under D'Antoni didn't get a ring but went pretty deep in the West back in the day. I think we're better than that team was. It's not the all or nothing show here, we've had a run that put us in a position to win and we still can. Sure we can improve defensively. Support starts here with the fans. Go Blazers and to hell with the doubters and gloom folks. I'm enjoying this post season for what it is, a historical return to great basketball.
