Condolences to the House family!
This would be a great time to see what Pruitt is made of. A very rusty Sam can't be better than Gabe. Rondo will get more minutes than usual unless he is in foul trouble. We need to see what Gabe can do given the chance. Nothing to lose.
You think a couple minutes of garbage time a week makes Gabe less rusty than Sam? They both have been practicing, as far as I know, so I think the "rust" part doesn't really come into play.
Of course none of us know who is better at this point in their careers, Gabe or Sam, since no one has seen Sam play since last year, and Gabe has barely played any NBA ball at all.
With that said, I have a feeling we will be seeing more Gabe than Sam tonight, because I don't think they are ready to break the glass on Sam yet.
And yes, I am still convinced they plan on Sam being the backup PG by the end of the season.
Considering Sam played almost 20 games of regular season and the playoffs without shaking that rust off, YES I DO!
He also played 38 games earlier last year with the Clippers where he played much closer to his career norm (12.8 pts, 4.7 ast, in 25.7 minutes). That would at the very least provide reasonable doubt that his play with the Celtics last year was an accurate view of where he is now. There is just as much evidence that he was either injured, or tired (which could be why he is sitting out the beginning of this season), which led to an aberation where he played significantly below his career norm.
So NO YOU DON'T (sorry, couldn't help myself).
The YES I DO, was saying that I do feel that Gabe is better than a rusty Sam. Just because you disagree with that doesn't mean that it isn't the case. Therefore the answer is still YES I DO.
Your assessment of his playing 38 games earlier and being better than what we got doesn't work. He was injured and came back rusty which is likely why he had such a huge drop in his production. So if he hasn't played in all that time what do you think we are going to get again?! More rusty Sam. Much likelier that he will look like the post signing Sam than the Clipper Sam. The guy just isn't that good anymore.
Well, the "no you don't" thing was referring to anyone other than those watching practice every day "knowing" who is better right now. Of course you still think Pruitt is better. I would never challenge that. But at this point, it is all speculation.
I don't see how it makes sense to think he was simply rusty in the playoffs, and that is why he played different than he did early in the season. If he really were just rusty, then he would have improved after a few games, just like a player improves as the preseason goes along. Instead, he continued to struggle. What I was inferring was the possibility that he was STILL injured in the playoffs last year, which is why he played so far below his career norms.
But anyways, all we can do is wait and see. If he either gets cut, never plays this year, or comes out at the end of the year looking like he did in the playoffs last year, I will gladly say I was wrong, and Sammy is toast. But until then, I think this argument is at a standstill, because there is strong evidence for both sides, but nothing to sway it.
If he was injured then I agree that may have something to do with it. You would have thought that one of the coaches or Danny would have made some reference to him still not being 100% though seeing he was playing so poorly. They would have likely given him that in the media so we all cut him some slack. I was a very big fan of Sam's during his career, but I just don't think the guy will ever be anywhere near what he was. I also think he is too much dependent on his own shots to make that second unit look good. Even an injured guy can bring it up and get the team into their offense and he never did. As a guy who is currently 37 and change and feeling the affects of getting older out there on the court, maybe I am just swayed by my own huge drop off in ability to do the things I once could! I am all for whatever makes us better though. We need some help on that second unit.
I guess here is the question. If last year, over the first 38 games of his season, he was able to play very well....maybe not his old self, but at least some semblance of it. Is it not out of the question that he could do something similar this year?
I really think that is what they are counting on, and why they are keeping him with the team, but not playing in games. He is like a pitchers who only has so many bullets left in his gun. Last year he may have shot them off too early, but this year he is saving them for when it counts.
Yeah, maybe it is a stretch, but it is worth a shot.
And by the way, even if he does shoot the ball too much, the fact that he knows how to set up a simple entry pass makes him incredibly valuable to this team, whose second unit can't get the ball cleanly into the post, unless the defense decides to completely roll over.
Eddie House is an important player to this team, and he is going to be very important to their run this year, but if I see him dribbling in circles 5 feet above the 3 point line waiting for someone to take the ball from him too many more times, I might just go crazy. Get him on the weakside, nailing 3's, where he belongs.
