The "Sammy" factor is one of the last pieces/problems of this team that needs to be resolved. After all that happened last night, I'm absolutely
stunned that Eddie didn't play, and that total
waste of precious playoff court-time: Sam Cassell, was in once again, pounding the ball and wasting time. And while, thank goodness, he didn't seem to be looking for his shot, his energy was completely counter-productive to what the team was trying to do, and one of the few times last night where the Lakers seemed to have an edge.
I honestly thought that Doc had come to his senses and was ready to give House some minutes, and I would like, no ...
love, to know why the heck it's not happening. It's truly baffling and actually detrimental to how successful we are in these playoffs, and while we and almost
all of the media keep calling for Eddie, or at least an explanation as to why he's
not on the floor, Doc
continues to ignore good decisions for the sake of his favoritism for "veterans", and the longer it goes on, the less and less sense it makes.
We've seen the incredible lapse in judgement that not playing Leon has been by last night's "pimping" performance, and Eddie is a talent just as important as Leon, who can contribute significantly and give this team another perimeter threat, that's being wasted and ignored for reasons that completely elude me. Please, please,
please, Doc ... get off the "veteran advantage" kick and put Eddie in the game .... instead of wasting time with a guy who's not producing. How can you
not play a guy with so much heart and hustle, who, like Leon, gives 110% every time he's on the floor, and brings energy and momentum with him off the bench?
It's truly bizarre, and just when we start playing well, in comes Sam,
again, and
down goes the energy and tempo, and up goes my heart into my throat, and back come the Lakers into the game. Of all the explanations I've seen put forth here,
none have made concrete sense, or enough sense to justify this absolutely incongruous lack of judgement. As
another such seemingly nonsensical decision, why in the world would you take Leon, one of the hottest players on the floor,
and the guy who's adding the energy and spark we need, and sit him on the bench for the remainder of the game?!? Sorry, but these questions need to be answered ... they're blatantly irrational and counter-productive, at the most important time in the recent history of this team.
No matter what
else he's is responsible for, a coach's
number one duty, is to put his team in the best position to win .... to give them the necessary tools to do their job successfully, and while Doc has done a good job overall, (for the
most part), these obvious quandries need to be addressed. To think that a coach is making such decisions based on his personal feelings for a guy who's been a "buddy", or that he's got some kind of blind faith in this guy who keeps
NOT producing on the floor, is maddening to say the least. Eddie
needs to be played, and Sam needs to sit ...
period. And this Celtics Nation needs a concrete explanation as to why this is
not happening.
I really want to have faith in our coach, because all this makes for a lot of insecurity and conjecture, but how the
heck can we
not feel uneasy when he continues to do things that make no sense? And
please, don't give me the "Doc is above criticism" crap, or the "He's doing great, just look at the record, so back off" garbage. This question is screaming to be answered, and how does anyone know how much better we
could be possibly playing if Doc was giving this team the best tools with which to do just
that? Eddie should be playing, and if he's not being played, we should have an understandable, solid explanation as to
why. Hopefully this wrist thing will make him put Eddie on the floor, but being
forced to play House is not the correct reasons for doing it, and this kind of stuff threatens to continue to undermine Doc's ability to be trusted to make the best decisions for this team.
Other than that ... I love the guy!
