That was Lamelo’s breakout game I think, one of many
1 Like
That sounds right
I wouldn’t go as far as saying we are better or play better without Terry, but I think your general point is well taken that we do play differently without him. @dnbman alluded to this in his post as well and I agree. Same is true for Melo or any of our top guys.
Just like in nature, star players have a strong gravitational pull when they’re on the court. They affect everything and everyone around them. In their absence, we get to see guys like Bouk and Cody shine in ways that we don’t when our full roster is active. That’s exciting and tantalizing, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s sustainable in terms of wins/losses over the long haul without your star guys.
As a case in point, the stretch last year when Hayward was out was when the first glimpses of full blown Miles were unleashed. But that didn’t mean we didn’t still need Hayward. We clearly did because a Hayward-less line up over an extended period didn’t translate to wins. But it does mean it that it’s important for other guys to get valuable court time. And it also means it will take time for the guy being reinserted into the line up, as well as everyone else, to readjust to the different dynamic and their role within it once everyone is back.
Yeah, I’d say it’s less about court time than maximizing each person’s talents within the flow of the game. First, it’s hard to really establish a systems, and then it’s hard to get the most out of each player within in that system. But, I feel like we have a lot of pieces, and these opportunities are showing us what our players are capable of, and hopefully establishing trust and confidence in our stars that they can defer to these guys.
I definitely don’t mean any negative feelings towards our stars, but that “gravitational pull” is a good way to put it. Guys can get lost in that, and our next stage of evolution as a team is to find everyone’s roles in a fully realized team system.