Yeah Jeannie went with a heartwarming hire instead of experience and competence so Ham stays for 3 years at least of that brand new shiny contract
Not happening. And he’s not as bad as some are making him out to be, but yeah he’s learning on the job. This analysis of heart and energy of the players on the team is a whole lot of mind reading some think they’re doing when it’s a bunch of nonsense. Ball takes bounces randomly and three or four possessions to the opponent doesn’t necesssarily mean no effort is happening. If anything his personality has kept them from quitting in games most all season, unlike the blowouts of the undermanned squad and Russ’s first year last season when LeBron and / or AD weren’t available.
has anyone in the press asked him why he's doing this? i wonder if it's because he thinks (knows) that russell and beasley aren't great defenders, and it's the only way he thinks he can stop dribble penetration? i'm generally not a fan of zones in the nba unless you're desperate to junk up a game for a few minutes at a time.
No one asked him about this but I think they’re coursing the questions thru Trudell so I think it might be sifted. Terrible
He's going to have to find some type of zone scheme, that will work for stretches of games. If we plan on playing Lebron, D'Angelo and Malik for heavy minutes, we are going to get torched on defense in the playoffs. If I'm the opposing coach, I'm targeting Lebron and Malik specifically.
This is just what we do as obsessive fans. Since I’ve been here, I’ve witnessed much more “passionate” discussions supported by facts than those without. We all have our biases, but I think 99% of the posters here don’t try to take a stance that isn’t completely unfair or only meant to incite rage.
We could do the smart thing and put Austin in Malik's place and use Malik for the scorer off the bench that he is suited for. Balances our starting line up, gives the defense and play making a massive upgrade and we have a scorer off the bench that could give us a huge boost. He isn't hitting his shots we take him back out mitigating the damage he would have done as a starter. Seems pretty simple considering Austin is the better more complete player. Nothing against Malik as he is a valuable weapon to have. We just need to quit being stubborn and put players in the right roles.
This is my biggest complaint of Ham- his combinations of players, before the trades and after, often don’t make sense and aren’t producing positive results. The three guard lineups were brutal and he kept using them. When Beas isn’t hitting(which has been the majority of the time), it’s obvious to most that you can’t play him with Vando.
If I see Dennis in the f***ing starting lineup alongside DAR...I will break something. I have a feeling it'll be AR in for Beas or Troy Brown....
I like Austin starting without Lebron, but honestly, I would rather start Jarred and Malik when James comes back. The 2nd unit with ...Austin, Dennis, Troy, Rui and Wenyen is pretty damn solid IMO. The 1st unit will be excellent offensively, (Lebron, Anthony, and D'Angelo are a potential nightmare trio scoring wise,) but as I said earlier, I'd have some concerns with our perimeter defense. Mostly because Lebron and Malik, both have a tendency to lose their man in rotations often. Too damn frequently for my taste. Right now though, we need to do whatever is necessary, we gotta get these wins.
Taking Austin out of the starting line up ever again would be terrible. Other than AD and Lebron he is our best player. Good game for Ham. Might be his best one. Dlo and Austin are a tough match up for teams. Both can score, pass, grab a few boards and play pesky defense. They should be starting together for the next 5-6 years.
Ham for once made the right call in changing the starting lineup. Reaves needs to remain the starter for the foreseeable future. He's that good. I still hope that Ham adjusts and doesn't play the 3-guard lineup too much (although DLO/Schroder/Reaves is WAYYYYY better than Russ/Schroder/Bev!!!!) and will only do it based on the matchups. I think when LeBron is back though we won't have to play it as much...Let's see.