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It was 85 to 77 as I went to my tennis match.... Lemme guess? Gentry and player selection?
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It was 85 to 77 as I went to my tennis match.... Lemme guess? Gentry and player selection?
Pretty much. Although he is claiming Zion’s minutes were numbered by medical staff. He was still tinkering with the lineup at times and not acting like this was a game for the playoffs. The defense started out good in the first half but went downhill after.
la vs la was a game of What the Fork!?
so many questionable fouls and turnovers. i now understand why people birch that the lakers (well, the divas) get an unfair advantage everytime they hit the court.
this game was bs.
the pels game i can at least blame on sheetty game planning and management, but the lac had that game. pels literally shot themselves in the foot, or feet, many, many times.
i honestly feel bad for the lac more than anything tonight.
I feel like a lot of you guys were in here complaining about Zion’s lack of minutes before the shutdown.. It was true then, and it’s true now- Zion’s next 10 years are more important than the next ten days.. i realize a playoff spot is on the line, but the kid was basically forced to be inactive for the better part of two weeks, you can’t rush him back into NBA action only like three days after he starts practicing.. and oh-by-the-way he had an injury only a few months ago still.. i agree with the medical staff, and yeah i think theyre making the call. Gentry isn’t someone I’m overly enamored of, but i dont think he’s making up what the medical staff are dictating that he does.
He was injured Oct 2019. Not a "few months ago".
if you are watching his minutes, at the age of 20, then your 10 yr plan likely will not come to fruition. He is 20 - has boundless energy and ability. 15 min???? for a No 1 pick thats 20 yrs old???? cmon man.
My basketball buddy called me this am said that first two possession Zion had 5 pts ( and 1 and 2pter) - played 2 more min and was pulled in FIRST QUARTER. Who does that???? Better yet WHY???? why is he playing 3 min in the FIRST Q???
I looked at the box score...we had 11 players over 10 min each. ELEVEN. That translates to 5 or 6 different lineups on the floor at a given time.
I don’t think management gives two farts about this seasonWith these minutes restrictions on Zion at this situation in the season, I almost believe that management doesn't even want to make the playoffs this year but I'm just a fan. It wasn't a "must win" but the margin for error gets smaller with each loss. Before the game last night I figured they'd have to go 6-2 or at worse 5-3 in these 8 games to get to the playoff game for the 8th seed. Now you already have 1 loss in a game you should have won.
I don’t think management gives two farts about this season
Can’t remember where I heard it, but the ‘insider’ scoop was to use this and next season to get the team to gel, then bring in a coach who could pull in championships
That makes a degree of sense
When Zion was injured this was clearly Ingram’s team - with Zion back everyone knows it’s his ten eventually, but it’s no one’s team right now
Take the time to get it right
We are all Saints/nfl fans which is very much a win at all costs right now league
NBA is much more about the long game
I feel like a lot of you guys were in here complaining about Zion’s lack of minutes before the shutdown.. It was true then, and it’s true now- Zion’s next 10 years are more important than the next ten days.. i realize a playoff spot is on the line, but the kid was basically forced to be inactive for the better part of two weeks, you can’t rush him back into NBA action only like three days after he starts practicing.. and oh-by-the-way he had an injury only a few months ago still.. i agree with the medical staff, and yeah i think theyre making the call. Gentry isn’t someone I’m overly enamored of, but i dont think he’s making up what the medical staff are dictating that he does.
I'm not saying Gentry is passing the proverbial buck. Where I am coming from - if you're talking about a player growing and a team gelling, then you capitalize on opportunities.
You have a game close, late. This is something you can try to replicate in practice, but you can't, really. These situations are ideal opportunities to learn something about your team and their players. It's an ideal learning opportunity.
You're playing a good team who has given you fits over mismatches the entire game and you're still close. So how do you close out a game? What might Zion's role be?
Again, I understand if the 'season is lost' is the mindset, then it doesn't matter. But if the goal is to use the season as a learning and assessment opportunity, then I understand this less. If there's a legit medical reason, of course that takes precedence. But a strict minute-management is never going to be precise. And maybe conversations were happening during the game leading up to it and Zion wasn't feeling it.
I just felt like it was poor coaching - which is generally my take on Gentry - because it's just such a good opportunity to have on the floor who you want on the floor and learn.
And the decision was also not in a vacuum for me - it was in context. And he wasn't coaching well during the game. Poor planning and letting them gash off the pick and rolls and high screens. No coaching when they were gashing the defense and getting to the lane too easily. Half-hearted BLOBs - it really was JJ, I'm convinced, who finally said, after one SLOB, that he was gonna take and stick a 3.
I just don't know that he even identified it.
Personally, the reason that made the most sense for me was when Zion was in, they were -16 or something. That's not exactly the stat line you want in the final minutes of a close game. And I think it was the defensive collapse in the end that really sealed their fate.
I don't really care about losing the game, it happens. It just felt to Gentry-esque from beginning to end. Situational basketball is just really hard to watch in these games.