Kozlodev brings up a great point about Powe and Baby, being not as long for big men, using their speed to clog up the lanes and take alot more charges. This created alot more energy and pace on the defensive end. And as he properly states, we are slow to those spots this year and it's resulting in alot of easy layups for other teams. Powe and Baby's energy and speed with the young legs were a very nice compliment to KG and Perk's slower long game at the rim.
I think it's important to also note that these types of things Kozlodev describes are the exact same thing that Rambis, AC Greene, Fisher, Posey, Powe and other "glue type guys" also do.
It's a combination of energy, hustle, grit and toughness. I just don't see that guy on our bench yet. I like House, Sheed, Marqis and Shelden, alot. But they don't provide this element and I think it is a very critical element.
That's why I think that having no Powe AND missing Baby and Tony ( two tough, scrappy, hard nosed young guys with energetic legs) makes a big difference in the team right now. And I think getting those two guys back will be a major boost and we won't see our best basketball being played until they are back and the team has about another month to work it all out together.
I alos think Ryan Gomes would be a great, great replacement for Powe / Posey. Does all the little things, perfect glue guy.
Shelden has been great. I really like him and hope he plays here along time. This said, he is not Powe or Baby. He is slower and more of a plodder, more similar to KG and Perk.
His offensive is mostly opportunistic. Whereas with Powe and Baby, they are legitimate threats ( Powe in the block is a terror, and Baby is a threat from inside and out ). If I had to choose, I'd trade Shelden before Baby in a New York minute. Baby is a gamer, he is a threat in many ways and he plays with alot of heart. Shelden is a nice solid role player with a few good skills.
The difference between Powe and Shelden to me is Powe is an animal, he is the type of player that is nose to the floor for 48 minutes, every game. Shelden will play you hard from the hips up. Leon also has the intangibles to me, the heart, the emotion, that relentless attitude.
Speaking of emotion, I see no reason to see Baby crying on the bench as asign of weakness. i see it as a strength and what makes him endearing to his teammates and the fans and also what makes him a gamer, a guy who plays with alot of passion. It's why the crowd loves him and why he can energise the team.
What kind of team would this be?
Parish / Duncan / Julius / Gervin / Kidd
It would be the kind of team that would get crushed by this team:
Parish / Duncan / Bird / Gervin / Kidd
Reason? The emotional intensity Bird brings that would infuse the second team and make each one of other four staters that more intense, that much more confident and that much better.
I call them the emotional engine of the team, the alpha dogs that make it all go.
That is why:
The Celtics are not the same team without KG, the Lakers without Kobe, The Bulls without Jordan, The 80's Lakers without Magic, The Rockets without Olajuwan, The Pistons without Thomas, etc.
It's a combination of skill and the ability to inspire and it can be at the all pro level, or the second unit level.
Bird, KG, Jordan, Magic, they all have it at the all pro level.
KG is the emotional engine for the team at the highest level. But most great teams have another "junk yard dog" coming off the bench that acts as the emotional engine for the second unit.
Perhpas that's the best way to describe what I'm talking about, who's the junkyard dog for the second unit on this team? You know, KG is the junkyard dog on the first unit, he barks and backs it up. Perk has some junkyard in him too, just not the talent of KG.
Rambis, AC Greene, Michael Cooper, Derek Fisher, Maxwell, ML Carr, Leon Powe, Posey, Even Delonte West, Rodman, Mahorn,
All these guys have a few things in common:
1. Even if they don't have starter talent, they play like they think they do.
2. They back down from NO ONE. In fact, they take it to everyone like they are the better player.
3. They all do the dirty work. But more importantly, they like doing it.
4. They all stand and fight. You get the feeling if you get into it with any of them, it's going to the floor.
It'a mentality I'm talking about, it's not just the numbers they put up. Powe and Shelden could put up similar numbers but they will impact the team's psyche alot differently becasue of the way they're put up.
It's the difference between:
Dave Cowens and Robert Parish
KG and Chris Bosh
Shelden Williams and Leon Powe or Baby
It's intensity. You need the Parish's and the Bosh's too, but you have to have the other element to be great.
I don't see that guy on our bench. He was there when Posey and Powe were here.
It's like the difference between KG and Chris Bosh. Bosh puts up much larger numbers than KG. But he doesn't come close to impacting the game the way KG does.
Who would you want on your side going into a championship series? That's a rehtorical question. And that's my point.
The fact that Shelden puts up as good or better numbers than Powe means nothing to me. Powe makes the team dramatically better putting up similar numbers to Shelden because he amps up the rest of the team, gets them juiced when they saw him going nose first to the floor or getting into it down low with someone. I know Powe is gone. And this whole conversation is made with the assumption that Powe were healthy, for argument's sake. The fact that Pose is gone and Powe is gone, who fills that void? That role?
It's called passion. We need some. We have it with KG, Perk and pretty much all the starters when they're properly motivated and come playoff time they will be.
Where's it come from on our bench? Who's the junkyard dog?
That's why I think two young guys who are physical, tough and energetic will be a ver, very welcome lift for this team to mix in with the vet savvy older players.
PS: I think Lester Hudson and Bill Walker have some junkyard dog in them. They are just not ready. But they would be nice compliments to the more refined, specialised games of Eddie Marguis and Sheed.
Rasheed has some junkyard in him but he's a bit too old and doesn't bring the other requisite elements at thsi point in his career to claim the title; speed and energy.
PSS: As a nother good example, we are facing one of the best young junkyard dogs in the game tongiht in Gerald Wallace. You know you are "in for it" when you play this guy. Same thing with a Posey, A Powe, A Fisher. They are going to be up into you on every play.
I'm hoping Baby and Tony can give us some of that physical aggression off the bench when they get back.
Topic: Don't underestimate the impact of losing Leon Powe, and TA and BBD being injured (Read 13058 times)