The "I Admit that I Gave Up Too Soon" Thread

[Roy H.]

I'm never going to give up on this team possibly making the Finals.  I learned my lesson last season.

I don't really have any faith in their ability to win it all, though.  I don't see any positive differences this year vs. last year that would give me good reason to think they can accomplish what they could't before.

KG being a lot closer to his '08 self than his '10 "poor" version? Having the O'Neal brothers to provide a double massive presence in the paint? Much improved depth at guard and wing?

Regarding the big men, is injured Shaq + injured JO really that much better than healthy Perk + playoff Sheed?  I would prefer the latter group.

I agree about KG, though, and like Delonte at backup PG better than Nate.  Green probably trumps Tony, but I think I'd prefer Tony's skill set.

[Drucci]

I'm never going to give up on this team possibly making the Finals.  I learned my lesson last season.

I don't really have any faith in their ability to win it all, though.  I don't see any positive differences this year vs. last year that would give me good reason to think they can accomplish what they could't before.

KG being a lot closer to his '08 self than his '10 "poor" version? Having the O'Neal brothers to provide a double massive presence in the paint? Much improved depth at guard and wing?

Regarding the big men, is injured Shaq + injured JO really that much better than healthy Perk + playoff Sheed?  I would prefer the latter group.

I agree about KG, though, and like Delonte at backup PG better than Nate.  Green probably trumps Tony, but I think I'd prefer Tony's skill set.

Well the thing is you're looking at Shaq and JO being injured. I look at them being healthy for the playoffs. Obviously we will know what version we have when they will be (or not) present for the playoffs and how healthy.

However on paper healthy Shaq and healthy JO are clearly much better than Perk + playoffs Sheed in my opinion because they both bring two different things (offense and average D for Shaq, great D and average offense for JO) and we can use them in more versatile lineups which obviously go to our advantage.

[Roy H.]

I'm never going to give up on this team possibly making the Finals.  I learned my lesson last season.

I don't really have any faith in their ability to win it all, though.  I don't see any positive differences this year vs. last year that would give me good reason to think they can accomplish what they could't before.

KG being a lot closer to his '08 self than his '10 "poor" version? Having the O'Neal brothers to provide a double massive presence in the paint? Much improved depth at guard and wing?

Regarding the big men, is injured Shaq + injured JO really that much better than healthy Perk + playoff Sheed?  I would prefer the latter group.

I agree about KG, though, and like Delonte at backup PG better than Nate.  Green probably trumps Tony, but I think I'd prefer Tony's skill set.

Well the thing is you're looking at Shaq and JO being injured. I look at them being healthy for the playoffs. Obviously we will know what version we have when they will be (or not) present for the playoffs and how healthy.

However on paper healthy Shaq and healthy JO are clearly much better than Perk + playoffs Sheed in my opinion because they both bring two different things (offense and average D for Shaq, great D and average offense for JO) and we can use them in more versatile lineups which obviously go to our advantage.

I don't even know what "healthy JO" looks like any more.  If it's the 14/7 guy, then I can see your argument.  However, is there any probability that we'll get that guy? 

[Drucci]

I'm never going to give up on this team possibly making the Finals.  I learned my lesson last season.

I don't really have any faith in their ability to win it all, though.  I don't see any positive differences this year vs. last year that would give me good reason to think they can accomplish what they could't before.

KG being a lot closer to his '08 self than his '10 "poor" version? Having the O'Neal brothers to provide a double massive presence in the paint? Much improved depth at guard and wing?

Regarding the big men, is injured Shaq + injured JO really that much better than healthy Perk + playoff Sheed?  I would prefer the latter group.

I agree about KG, though, and like Delonte at backup PG better than Nate.  Green probably trumps Tony, but I think I'd prefer Tony's skill set.

Well the thing is you're looking at Shaq and JO being injured. I look at them being healthy for the playoffs. Obviously we will know what version we have when they will be (or not) present for the playoffs and how healthy.

However on paper healthy Shaq and healthy JO are clearly much better than Perk + playoffs Sheed in my opinion because they both bring two different things (offense and average D for Shaq, great D and average offense for JO) and we can use them in more versatile lineups which obviously go to our advantage.

I don't even know what "healthy JO" looks like any more.  If it's the 14/7 guy, then I can see your argument.  However, is there any probability that we'll get that guy? 

Nope, I think it's a pipe dream, we will never see the 14/7 JO again. However I remember seing a very good defensive JO after his second comeback as a Celtic. He was also getting in a groove offensively at the time.

Obviously the question, when he comes back, is how long he can stay healthy to be productive enough but if we get the "good" JO we've seen this season this alone will be a huge difference maker off the bench, allowing Baby & cie to focus on scoring while guarding the paint and bringing a big presence with the 2nd unit.