I've read on this blog, ad nauseum, how Doc didn't play the youngsters and doesn't trust them and has a history of not playing young players. I've read how we have to "Free Gabe" and "Free Walker" and "Free JR". I've read that playing the young guys needs to happen to develop them that they can't get better without playing time. I've read a lot of other stuff about the value of playing youth.
And I'm here to tell you it's all hogwash. Doc plays the players he feels he needs to play in order to win games. His job is judged on how well his team plays and just how many games his team wins. He has to play the best players to accomplish this.
What so many miss here is that Doc and his staff are there from the beginning watching these players through Summer League, through two-a-days in training camp, through preseason practices and games, through regular season practices and shootarounds, through after hour workouts and through games. By the time the season starts and then as the season progresses, Doc and his staff have seen their players play hundreds and then possibly multiple thousands of hours.
By observing them this much they see what they can do and what they can't. They see if they get how to move on the defensive rotations. They see if they play the pick and roll properly both offensively and defensively. They see if they run the open floor properly. They see if they understand what "making the extra pass" means. They see if they are ball dominat or to passive. They see all the strengths and all the flaws and they work to make their players and team better. And this means thousands of hours of practice, personal instruction, game film preparation, etc., etc.
So when it comes down to game time, 99% of the work has been done and the coach's job is then to use the correct combo of players to win games. I'm not telling you anything you don't know here.
But why is it that people feel that young players have to have playing time? Simply put if you are a young player and want to play you have to prove you are better than the guys in front of you on the depth chart. Coaches can't just give players playing time, they have to work for it and earn it. For every player you play who hasn't earned the right to play. the coach is going to have another player he has to explain to that, yes, he is better than that young player and has proven it in every way, but he has to play that player to develop him.
I'm sorry that just doesn't work. Telling Paul or Ray that they had to sit during a crucial time of the game that cost the team a win because JR Giddens had to play to develop is going to get Doc fired faster than a Rondo bullet pass. Why? Because players want to win and on championship pursuing teams, that's important.
If players want playing time they have to prove they deserve that time in practice and shootarounds. They have to prove they can make the right decisions and rotations and passes in practice. They have to show they can box out, switch on the pick and roll, set a proper screen, get the rebound and make the shot in practice. Honestly, if a player isn't getting the job done in practice against someone he plays against every day, who he knows what his tendencies, strengths and weaknesses are, then why should he play in a game where he can continue to make the same mistakes that will hurt his team?
Please people, enough with the (player X) has to be played by Doc to develop. That isn't the way it works in team sports. It's the reason people have sat on the bench since youth ball. The best players that continually show they are the best through practice and performance are the ones that play....regardless of age and regardless of whether they need to develop. If they need to develop so much then they need to get "IT" in practice and show the coach they deserve those minutes.
Topic: To play or to not to play (youth that is)? That is the question. (Read 7400 times)