Doc has never played young players unless forced into it due to injuries. NEVER. Think back through all the players and you won't find one that Doc put on the court unless he had to: Al, Perk, Rondo, Gomes, Powe, BBD... Everyone of them could play but couldn't get on the court until Doc had no choice. Once there, they showed the fans were right to call for them to get the PT to show they could play.
I've have difficulty understanding why some people here support Doc's judgement concerning young player's abilities and saying they're not ready to contribute on the court --> he has a poor track record of judging a young player's ability to contribute.
At this point in the season, I understand the team's need to wrap up a high seed (HCA is extremely optimistic at this point) but burning out PP and Ray is only going to cost us in the playoffs. Giving Walker/Giddens 5-8 minutes of PT while we're down some players can only help PP and Ray retain some energy both for the current games and the playoffs.
Could you please explain how Doc was forced to play:
Perk - he had other options including Blount, LaFrentz and others. Perk still got big minutes even though he was only in his late teens and early 20's.
Rondo - Rondo first year he showed flashes but wasn't ready and justly sat because Delonte and Telfair were other options. Even last year Doc had other options and could have played Eddie huge minutes at PG but Rondo earned the PT.
Davis - he was a rookie last year and Powe and a shortened rotation could easily have rendered him a DNP-CD for most of the season. Instead he was extremely inconsistent but showed flashes of a real good game. This year his game has grown and he's earned everything he's getting in regards to playing time.
Powe - very similar to Davis. He had Big Al in front of him in Big Al's break out year and yet got some decent minutes. Last year Posey and a very short rotation could have rendered him useless. But he got steadily better and earned everything he got.
These are just the players on this squad. I won't even go into Doc use of Big Al in the playoffs as an unproven rookie Doc's first year here or some of the young players he used in Orlando.
But the facts just do not support this claim that seems to be so prevalent. On this current championship squad we have a 25 year old center starting, a 23 year old PG starting and a 23 and a 24 year old as our backups up front and all 4 players were key in earning that championship last year. If Pruitt, Walker and Giddens were good enough they would be getting minutes. They just don't have what it takes yet to give this team what it needs.
To be fair his argument was that Doc only plays them out of necessity, not that he doesn't play them. Perk might be the only instance in which Doc chose to play a young guy.
Powe- He played on a horrible team with little to no, depth, and a lot of injuries.
Davis- we needed his bulk, becaused of lack of depth at the center position. Pollard was just a warm body, who was constantly injured, and Powe doesn't have the body to cover centers.
Rondo- Injuries got him time as a rookie, even though he seemed to be better than telfair since day one, in my opinion. He got to start last year because he was the only pointguard on the team.
Sometimes Doc puts too much value into veterans, and experience. Of course if you show you can be a positive in extended minutes on the court he will continue to give you minutes. The problem is that young players rarely get the extended minutes needed to prove themselves.
If I remember correctly Big Al didn't even start at the beginning of his break out 06-07 season. The starting lineup that season, If I'm not mistaken, was Telfair, West, Wally, Pierce, Ratliff, with Big Al coming off the bench. Pierce! was our power forward when Al was perfectly healthy on the bench. Luckily for Al, Ratlif got injured that first game,. and Doc had to start him the next few games.
Doc is horrible with gauging when young players are ready to contribute. I don't buy his, "earn their minutes in practice" crap. It might apply to vets, on his team, but doesn't seem like it for the youngins.
