The problem is, even there's a reason for why they're not playing it doesn't mean that they wouldn't produce or play better than the ones that have a reason to be playing.
The assumption you guys are making that X player is not playing because he's not better than Y player is incredibly flawed. I think you've stated as much as it regards Ainge before nick... they're human. Even if there are justifying reasons for why certain players are playing instead of others, it doesn't mean what you guys are assuming is the case with these players, especially when you guys know that Doc hugely favors veterans for better or worse.
Too often around the league is the better player not playing because of X reason. No need to start assuming reasons as to why things happen the way they do. You're merely providing a plausible explanation... not the facts of things or the real explanation of things as you guys are apparently leading us to believe. Just as it's also true that there are people that excel in practices while others excel in games. I'm quite positive that Doc is missing that on the latter as it comes to rookies.
Our reasoning is flawed but the facts of things are that the coach should do the things you suggest because his eyes might be fooling him or because what he has discovered has worked in his system could be wrong. So let's test out these players even though it goes against everything his instincts and years and years of professional experience is telling him. Let's test these players because they might get in right in games even though they aren't getting it right in practice or shoot arounds and other team sponsored work outs. Let's test these players with the possibility of costing this team games and possibly Doc's job because there's a possibility, no matter how slight, that everything his knowledge and experience is telling him could be wrong.
Is that what you are trying to say? Because I don't know if you know this or not but people in the tax bracket that Doc is in, aren't paid to be wishy washy and vacillate on decisions and continue to try new things every day if something didn't work the previous day. Things don't work that way in corporate America and believe it or not, NBA basketball is corporate America.
Could Doc be completely wrong? Sure. But considering that Danny is the one that sent Walker and Giddens to the NBDL, obviously he feels Doc's decision not to play them is valid. And you have said it yourself, POB was supposed to be a project. Projects are developed in game atmospheres on BAD TEAMS, not on world championship caliber teams. Those projects are developed in practice and integrated in when they have earned that right and have shown the consistency of doing right over and over again so that the coach can use that player properly with the objective to win games. We are no longer the 22-60 Celtics. The objective is not to develop players, it's to win games.
I am sorry but I'll trust Doc's moves on this one because from what I saw in preseason and during this year, POB, Walker and Giddens are not the caliber of players I want on the floor defending the title.
Walker and Giddens are rookies, they won't be perfect in the system that's granted, that's a plausible reason for them to not play... nothing to do with they not being better players than some of the other people in the team.
Walker and Giddens were rookies that weren't going to get time on the floor early in the season (and Walker was playing quite well to earn the SF backup minutes over Scal) so their time was best served getting some minutes in the NBDL, little to do with them not being better than some of the other players in the roster.
Walker and Giddens, since they have been in NBDL, they haven't had time to practice with the team, so Doc can't really have much of an impression of what he has seen in practice. That they may not be ready to pick up all the things defensively and offensively that Doc will want at this point? Sure, but that doesn't mean they're lesser players than the ones going to the floor or that they can't contribute more than some that know the system.
Even as good as PJ knew the system last year, it took him quite a bit to perform it like it should... and it was mainly through playing in the playoffs that he started getting better and better.
Sam Cassell never got the system last year in the 2-3 months he was with us.
It's all about trust, and Doc trust veterans that much we all know. I don't blame him for doing such, but it also doesn't mean that he's putting the better player on the floor or that the players that aren't getting on the floor aren't any good nor better. Walker should be the better example of this since by all accounts Doc was quite impressed with his development and how quick he was picking up things in PRACTICE in what little he saw of his during training camp. Walker completely outplayed Scal in GAMES during the preseason. So once again, it all comes down to experience and trust over wether a player is better than another.
Topic: O'Bryant, Walker Giddens must play (Read 20745 times)