Why has it been so difficult to find a back up for Pierce?

[EDWARDO]

Danny is pretty afraid of creating a bad contract, which is his flaw (of few--he's great at picking in the draft and minimum contracts, and gathered a top-notch combo of superstars, but securing the in-between parts long-term has been his weaker area).  He's done great with what he's had, but hasn't had the luck of stumbling into a long-term solution through the draft or some lucky LLE or minimum guys that get sucked in for two years.

I would say his refusal to take on a bad contract that isn't a trade asset is one of Ainge's strengths.  He's not going to overpay marginal talent in a panic move.

+1

Well, it would be one thing to overpay marginal talent in a panic move, and what I suggested would be something completely different.  Signing an emerging yet competent rotation player with high-upside to a long term deal would be pretty smart.  That's what I suggested.  He's used the MLE for short-term deals instead. 

MLE-level players tend to be either:
1) 4th or 5th year players on the upswing (i.e. Outlaw, Ariza),
2) old timers coming off of big money deals (JO)
3) more talent than brains (Artest)
4) more hustle than talent (Nocioni?  Blount?)

Danny's screwed up by signing Blount to MLE money, and to signing Scal (who was coming off of a minor breakout year where he showed he could be a rotation player but had more hustle than talent), both for 5 year deals. I think he's gunshy about using the MLE for a long-term deal because that's were most of the salary cap mistakes get made.  Many of the "bad contracts" that we sometimes talk about around the league were once MLE signings, perhaps now with a trade kicker boosting the money some.

I'm not saying Danny's approach is 100% wrong, but only that by taking the short-term deals with the MLE (and for the same position 2-years running), the same roster spots need to be filled and re-filled (which is the point of the OP).

Cap flexibility doesn't win championships.

I'm not saying that Danny is 100% right, but to make an argument under the assumption that his moves have been ANYWHERE near close to 100% wrong is absurd.

He took this team from having no talent to winning a ring and competing for multiple others, plus has given us max salary flexibility after the window has closed. The Blount contract was a mistake, but his record is as good as any GMs in the league and thank god he's afraid of giving away bad contracts because that's what kills 90%+ of the teams in this league.

Get real.

Get real?  Hey, what's your problem?  Reading comprehension?  Am I somehow trashing anybody?  No.  The OP wondered why we keep having the same hole(s) to fill.  I responded that he's been giving short term contracts, which leads to having the same spots open every year or two, rather than locking up a rotation player for the longer term.  I went on to suggest that he's made a couple of mistakes in the middle-salary areas, and is gunshy to do it again as a reason for the short term deals.  I never wrote that he's 100% wrong, that his moves are 100% wrong, and was very attentive to qualify and specify the area that I think his weakness seems to be, so I completely don't understand the "get real" and defensive tone in your response. 

In fact, the only thing that I wrote that could be considered the least bit controversial is the implication that Danny, who is generally thought to be a risk-taker, only takes relatively small, small risks and refuses to take any higher-stakes gambles (like offering a 5-year MLE).

I hope you don't interact with people this way in person.

More Banners... sorry, you are right... I hadn't fully read through you pieces and they are well considered and well written. Sorry about that.

[ScoobyDoo]

C'mon guys ( Loose Cannon and Guava), are you actually saying Big Baby is undersized at the PF position in the same way Marquis is underssized at the SF position? Are you really calling that "a great first point?"

Gimme a break. Big Baby is a little short but there is nothing "undersized" about him. He can bang with the biggest guys in the league ( Shaq, Yao, Howard, Duncan, anyone ). He struggles length wise, but he generally does "ok" and that's all you need from your back up, to be "ok", to win some and know he'll loose a few too. That's why you have starters.

Marquis is an off guard who can't shoot, but can play a little point in the right spots. Say hello to your back up Small forward...an offguard who can't shoot.

He can get on the boards and bang at all and he can't defend.

The bottom line is that the Celtics have not had a decent back up swing, wing player since the first year and it has a been a "major failing" of Danny's and a serious negative detriment to the the team. If either Harangody or Baby can't play a little there when we need it, it will most likely cost us again this year against either Miami or the Lakers, who have LeBron, Miller, Artest and Barnes...

We need a bigger, back up small forward behind Pierce, to go along with Marquis. Maybe it's Harangody, I dont' know...

Big Baby, undersized? Please...he;s one of the biggest guys in the league, in his own way. He's more than adequate as KG's "back up." And that level of ability and size is all we need behind Pierce. You're not goung to find it in Marquis Daniels.   

[Meadowlark_Scal]

BBD isn't KG's backup. That isn't a comparison.  BBD does "okay" with his width, but his conditioning is in direct relation to his inability to jump. Sheed was KG's backup would be more like it. BBD is a decent guy off the bench, but will be in trouble if they start covering him, which they will. Then he will fade again, getting his shot blocked too often, showing he really has no outside shot, and can't dunk when he should. His only hope is to develop something over the summer, and get in really good shape...for once....as he said he would...what 1 or 2 years ago..!

[Snakehead]

C'mon guys ( Loose Cannon and Guava), are you actually saying Big Baby is undersized at the PF position in the same way Marquis is underssized at the SF position? Are you really calling that "a great first point?"

Gimme a break. Big Baby is a little short but there is nothing "undersized" about him. He can bang with the biggest guys in the league ( Shaq, Yao, Howard, Duncan, anyone ). He struggles length wise, but he generally does "ok" and that's all you need from your back up, to be "ok", to win some and know he'll loose a few too. That's why you have starters.

Marquis is an off guard who can't shoot, but can play a little point in the right spots. Say hello to your back up Small forward...an offguard who can't shoot.

He can get on the boards and bang at all and he can't defend.

The bottom line is that the Celtics have not had a decent back up swing, wing player since the first year and it has a been a "major failing" of Danny's and a serious negative detriment to the the team. If either Harangody or Baby can't play a little there when we need it, it will most likely cost us again this year against either Miami or the Lakers, who have LeBron, Miller, Artest and Barnes...

We need a bigger, back up small forward behind Pierce, to go along with Marquis. Maybe it's Harangody, I dont' know...

Big Baby, undersized? Please...he;s one of the biggest guys in the league, in his own way. He's more than adequate as KG's "back up." And that level of ability and size is all we need behind Pierce. You're not goung to find it in Marquis Daniels.   

BBD got blocked 18% of the time he took a shot last season.  Compare that to other young bigs: Taj Gibson: 8%, Maxiel: 8%,  Craig Smith (similar build to BBD) still less at 12% (and Craig Smith shot better all around).  So yes he is wide, and that helps against certain Centers since he can get low and move them out of position, but he struggles with length and his height is an issue.  Other longer or more athletic players that can get off the ground have an advantage.  See Andrew Bogut's facial dunk on him.

And if you say Quis sucks on D, I hope not because that's the whole real reason he's on the team, definitely why they resigned him.  They were trying to replace TA's D.

[ScoobyDoo]

Unless I've missed something, Big Baby has been Kg's back up since he's been on the team. He certainly was in 2009 when he started at KG's position at the end of the season and throughout the entire 2009 playoffs. Big Baby has backed up both teh center position and the PF position but mostly the PF position for the last two years.

Rasheed and Baby generally came in together with Rasheed taking the center on most nights. Like when he would guard Gasol and Rasheed would guard Bynum.....

Big Baby has most defiantely been KG's back up. I'm not sure how that's not crystal clear.

And yeah, I get it, Baby gets his shot blocked. So what? Some guys can shoot over him easily, so what? Other guys can't guard the people he can. Other guys don't play with the passion and motor he does. Other guys can't bring the muscle he does. "Every" player in the NBA has their own specific weaknesses, especially guys coming off the bench.

But Big Baby, a guy who stepped in the score 15 a night with 8 boards, with all his limitations is still an adequate back up for KG. He will win some and he will lose some, but overall he holds his own well enough against the big boys.

You can't say the same for Marquis at the SF spot. He gets injured too often and he certainly cannot bang with the bigger SF's in the league and he can't shott outside much, another basic requirement of small forwards.

The fact remains that a combo of Pierce and Daniels will be at a distinct disadvantage against both a LeBron / Miller combo and an Artest / Barnes / Odom trio in LA. I dont' like my chances in those match ups.

Conversely, I feel pretty good about my chances with a KG / Baby "combo" against pretty much any other PF duo in the league, including the Gasol / Odom one in LA of the Bosh / Haslem one in Miami.

That's the difference.

[BballTim]

C'mon guys ( Loose Cannon and Guava), are you actually saying Big Baby is undersized at the PF position in the same way Marquis is underssized at the SF position? Are you really calling that "a great first point?"

Gimme a break. Big Baby is a little short but there is nothing "undersized" about him. He can bang with the biggest guys in the league ( Shaq, Yao, Howard, Duncan, anyone ). He struggles length wise, but he generally does "ok" and that's all you need from your back up, to be "ok", to win some and know he'll loose a few too. That's why you have starters.

Marquis is an off guard who can't shoot, but can play a little point in the right spots. Say hello to your back up Small forward...an offguard who can't shoot.

He can get on the boards and bang at all and he can't defend.

The bottom line is that the Celtics have not had a decent back up swing, wing player since the first year and it has a been a "major failing" of Danny's and a serious negative detriment to the the team. If either Harangody or Baby can't play a little there when we need it, it will most likely cost us again this year against either Miami or the Lakers, who have LeBron, Miller, Artest and Barnes...

We need a bigger, back up small forward behind Pierce, to go along with Marquis. Maybe it's Harangody, I dont' know...

Big Baby, undersized? Please...he;s one of the biggest guys in the league, in his own way. He's more than adequate as KG's "back up." And that level of ability and size is all we need behind Pierce. You're not goung to find it in Marquis Daniels.   

  Gotta love this. Daniels is 2-3 inches shorter than Davis, but he's too small to be a sf but Baby's not at all undersized? Based on "it's ok that he's short because he's also fat"? He's not undersized but "He struggles length wise"? Funny.

[Snakehead]

Unless I've missed something, Big Baby has been Kg's back up since he's been on the team. He certainly was in 2009 when he started at KG's position at the end of the season and throughout the entire 2009 playoffs. Big Baby has backed up both teh center position and the PF position but mostly the PF position for the last two years.

Rasheed and Baby generally came in together with Rasheed taking the center on most nights. Like when he would guard Gasol and Rasheed would guard Bynum.....

Big Baby has most defiantely been KG's back up. I'm not sure how that's not crystal clear.

And yeah, I get it, Baby gets his shot blocked. So what? Some guys can shoot over him easily, so what? Other guys can't guard the people he can. Other guys don't play with the passion and motor he does. Other guys can't bring the muscle he does. "Every" player in the NBA has their own specific weaknesses, especially guys coming off the bench.

But Big Baby, a guy who stepped in the score 15 a night with 8 boards, with all his limitations is still an adequate back up for KG. He will win some and he will lose some, but overall he holds his own well enough against the big boys.

You can't say the same for Marquis at the SF spot. He gets injured too often and he certainly cannot bang with the bigger SF's in the league and he can't shott outside much, another basic requirement of small forwards.

The fact remains that a combo of Pierce and Daniels will be at a distinct disadvantage against both a LeBron / Miller combo and an Artest / Barnes / Odom trio in LA. I dont' like my chances in those match ups.

Conversely, I feel pretty good about my chances with a KG / Baby "combo" against pretty much any other PF duo in the league, including the Gasol / Odom one in LA of the Bosh / Haslem one in Miami.

That's the difference.

I never said BBD is bad at all, it's just he is undersized and although his width can be an advantage, if I have guys who can cover C's (like Jermaine and Shaq), I might rather have a longer PF who doesn't struggle with height. 

Like Tim points out, you admit he struggles with length and even say others can shoot right over him, which is a weakness to him I hadn't mentioned.  Both are obvious facts. And though he may be wide, he is at a size disadvantage.

Sure he plays hard, but others could too, he's not the only player who plays hard.  And some are longer and don't have that major weakness.

You bring up the Lakers, who with BBD playing more minutes due to Perk's injury capitalized on our lack of size.  Though BBD is wide, notice with the long, athletic, agile PF's he gets out rebounded.  At times he muscles them.  He had one great game in the Finals where he managed to get to the ball and the rim against Odom.  But for every one of those type games there are many where his size is an obvious disavantage.

Getting your shot blocked almost 20% of the times you shoot as a big man is not really a "so what" situation.  Again, BBD is a solid player but this is a serious weakness to his game, and it's why I don't see him getting much better in the future.

[MBunge]

Getting your shot blocked almost 20% of the times you shoot as a big man is not really a "so what" situation.  Again, BBD is a solid player but this is a serious weakness to his game, and it's why I don't see him getting much better in the future.

In the 08-09 season, Baby only got 12% of his shots blocked.  That's not great, but it's not abnormally bad.   The difference in the last two years is that in 08-09, 60% of Baby's shots were jumpers and that dropped to 42% last season.  He really played radically different roles on offense.

Hopefully with Shaq and JO on board, playing in the post and being the primary finishers on drive-and-dish plays in the lane, Baby's days of getting his shot blocked multiple times a game will be gone.

Mike

[BballTim]

Getting your shot blocked almost 20% of the times you shoot as a big man is not really a "so what" situation.  Again, BBD is a solid player but this is a serious weakness to his game, and it's why I don't see him getting much better in the future.

In the 08-09 season, Baby only got 12% of his shots blocked.  That's not great, but it's not abnormally bad.   The difference in the last two years is that in 08-09, 60% of Baby's shots were jumpers and that dropped to 42% last season.  He really played radically different roles on offense.

Hopefully with Shaq and JO on board, playing in the post and being the primary finishers on drive-and-dish plays in the lane, Baby's days of getting his shot blocked multiple times a game will be gone.

Mike

  When Davis was a rookie he had 15% of his inside shots blocked. in his 2nd year it was 12%. Last year it was 25%. It's not just whether he takes inside shots or outside shots. It's whether he's able to create space to get his shot off or find space to get his shot off. Going straight up with a center standing right next to you is unlikely to work, as Davis proved over and over again. While I still kind of hope that he'll get in somewhat better shape, he needs to either jump into the defender to create space or just kick the ball out.

[MBunge]

When Davis was a rookie he had 15% of his inside shots blocked. in his 2nd year it was 12%. Last year it was 25%. It's not just whether he takes inside shots or outside shots.

Uh, there's a huge difference between getting your shot blocked 15% or 12% of the time and getting blocked 25% of the time.  Last year, Perk got his shot blocked 12% of the time.  Tyson Chandler got his shot blocked 11% of the time, which is pretty amazing given how many dunks he got.

Again, Baby went from a guy who got got his shot stuffed often but not abnormally often, to a guy who got his shot blocked so frequently he significantly hurt the team on offense.

Now, some of the difference had to go with Baby just playing like a moron and trying to power the ball up over taller players, even after he repeatedly failed to do it.  But some of it was also Sheed's refusal to play down low leaving Baby in positions where his inability to finish at the rim was greatly magnified.  If Baby plays a little smarter and plays a role more suited to his talents, there's no reason he can't go back to getting his shot blocked a high but acceptable amount of time.

Mike

[BballTim]

When Davis was a rookie he had 15% of his inside shots blocked. in his 2nd year it was 12%. Last year it was 25%. It's not just whether he takes inside shots or outside shots.

Uh, there's a huge difference between getting your shot blocked 15% or 12% of the time and getting blocked 25% of the time.  Last year, Perk got his shot blocked 12% of the time.  Tyson Chandler got his shot blocked 11% of the time, which is pretty amazing given how many dunks he got.

Again, Baby went from a guy who got got his shot stuffed often but not abnormally often, to a guy who got his shot blocked so frequently he significantly hurt the team on offense.

Now, some of the difference had to go with Baby just playing like a moron and trying to power the ball up over taller players, even after he repeatedly failed to do it.  But some of it was also Sheed's refusal to play down low leaving Baby in positions where his inability to finish at the rim was greatly magnified.  If Baby plays a little smarter and plays a role more suited to his talents, there's no reason he can't go back to getting his shot blocked a high but acceptable amount of time.

Mike

  Just curious, but do you need to start off your posts with "Uh"? I'm sure it's meant to be condescending, but your posts, in general, aren't that eye-opening.

  When someone criticized Davis for getting 20% of his shots blocked, you said "In the 08-09 season, Baby only got 12% of his shots blocked.  That's not great, but it's not abnormally bad.   The difference in the last two years is that in 08-09, 60% of Baby's shots were jumpers and that dropped to 42% last season." I pointed out that 12% of his *inside* shots were blocked in 08-09 and 25% of his *inside* shots were blocked in 09-10, so how many jump shots he took didn't account for all of the jump from 12% to 20%. His percentage of inside shots rose by about 50%, but his percentage of those shots that were blocked rose by over 100%.

   Which, of course, led to your thrilling comment "Uh, there's a huge difference between getting your shot blocked 15% or 12% of the time and getting blocked 25% of the time." Congratulations on figuring that one out.

  Oh, and just for fun, Davis got his jump shots blocked 6% of the time in 08-09 and 9% of the time in 09-10, so he's got a lot of wok to do in that area as well.

[MBunge]

When Davis was a rookie he had 15% of his inside shots blocked. in his 2nd year it was 12%. Last year it was 25%. It's not just whether he takes inside shots or outside shots.

Uh, there's a huge difference between getting your shot blocked 15% or 12% of the time and getting blocked 25% of the time.  Last year, Perk got his shot blocked 12% of the time.  Tyson Chandler got his shot blocked 11% of the time, which is pretty amazing given how many dunks he got.

Again, Baby went from a guy who got got his shot stuffed often but not abnormally often, to a guy who got his shot blocked so frequently he significantly hurt the team on offense.

Now, some of the difference had to go with Baby just playing like a moron and trying to power the ball up over taller players, even after he repeatedly failed to do it.  But some of it was also Sheed's refusal to play down low leaving Baby in positions where his inability to finish at the rim was greatly magnified.  If Baby plays a little smarter and plays a role more suited to his talents, there's no reason he can't go back to getting his shot blocked a high but acceptable amount of time.

Mike

  Just curious, but do you need to start off your posts with "Uh"? I'm sure it's meant to be condescending, but your posts, in general, aren't that eye-opening.

  When someone criticized Davis for getting 20% of his shots blocked, you said "In the 08-09 season, Baby only got 12% of his shots blocked.  That's not great, but it's not abnormally bad.   The difference in the last two years is that in 08-09, 60% of Baby's shots were jumpers and that dropped to 42% last season." I pointed out that 12% of his *inside* shots were blocked in 08-09 and 25% of his *inside* shots were blocked in 09-10, so how many jump shots he took didn't account for all of the jump from 12% to 20%. His percentage of inside shots rose by about 50%, but his percentage of those shots that were blocked rose by over 100%.

   Which, of course, led to your thrilling comment "Uh, there's a huge difference between getting your shot blocked 15% or 12% of the time and getting blocked 25% of the time." Congratulations on figuring that one out.

  Oh, and just for fun, Davis got his jump shots blocked 6% of the time in 08-09 and 9% of the time in 09-10, so he's got a lot of wok to do in that area as well.

Uh, if you'd stop getting so caught up in winning the argument and actually think about what's being said, you'd find that there's often nothing to really argue about.

There's a huge difference between getting blocked 12% of the time and 25% of the time.  Since Baby didn't suddenly become shorter last season, WHY did he get blocked so much more often?  What is the reason for Baby going from a high but normal number of shots blocked to a crazy amount?

I've offered an explanation.  As best I can tell, you haven't.

Mike

[ScoobyDoo]

If you don't like Baby, there's not much credit you're going to give him anyway Bball.

Baby is not undersized from a weight or strength standpoint. And I'm not sure I'd say Baby is fat. He's built like Shaq, Shaq never looked cut in his career. Neither has Pierce for that matter in the last 5-6 years. Ray Allen looks cut, Pierce looks pudgy to me.

Baby could stand to get more cut, but I don't know if I'd say he's "fat". The guys moves better than most guys his size.

He is undersized from a length standpoint but his strength hel;ps amke up for that.

Comparing Baby to Marquis at their positions is a riduclous comparison as you've put it.

Not only is Marquis smallish, height wise at small forward, he's a wafe at the small forward position as well.

To make the comparison you're suggesting would be like saying that no only is baby on the short side for the PF spot, he also only ways 210 lbs.

The bottom line and the only question that needs to be answered, without getting into all kinds of numbers about how many **** times Baby gets blocked without giving him credit for what he does well at all, is:

Are you comfortable with going up against LeBron and Miller or Artest / Barnes / Odom with Pierce and Marquis?

I am not. But I am completely confortable with a PF rotation of KG and Big Baby as his back up. Becasue even with his limitations, Baby is at least a guy who can get under the rim and hold his own. He WILL STRUGGLE some nights but he is a far more comptetant back up at the PF position than Marquis Daniels is at the SF position.

Marquis Daniles is an off guard who can't shoot. That's not my ideal back up small forward.

Great point and 100% accurate MBunge re Baby's role and how that might have affected his game negatively.

Perhpas he deserves some credit for trying with alot of heart and effort at doing somethign that isn't his strength, post up basketball. But he did it without complaint becasue...the guy who was built for it, spent most of the season at the three point line...Rasheed. 
 

 

[LooseCannon]

C'mon guys ( Loose Cannon and Guava), are you actually saying Big Baby is undersized at the PF position in the same way Marquis is underssized at the SF position? Are you really calling that "a great first point?"   

I don't think I've ever said that, but I think I can say that Big Baby is undersized at the C position in the same way that Marquis is undersized at the SF position and some people wanted to rely on Big Baby as the primary backup at both big man positions rather than signing Shaq.   I don't think anyone disputes that Marquis Daniels is primarily a SG, but most seem to think he can play some SF, unlike Rudy Fernandez.  He's bigger than Tony Allen, though a worse defender.

I'm willing to say that Daniels is a better choice for primary backup small forward than Harangody or a vet min pickup, but I also believe that his injury history means the Celtics should still be looking for a third-string SF and, on their budget, their options are probably a shooter who can't defend, a defender who can't shoot (but worse in both aspects than Tony Allen), or a consistently mediocre player.  If Pierce and Daniels are both out (due to injury, foul trouble, etc), I suspect that Ray Allen will end up slipping into the SF role if there is a short-time need.  Anything more and Ainge will try to swing a deal.  Quite frankly, the most tradeable assets will be Davis and Perk as an expiring contract if his recovery goes poorly.

[BballTim]

When Davis was a rookie he had 15% of his inside shots blocked. in his 2nd year it was 12%. Last year it was 25%. It's not just whether he takes inside shots or outside shots.

Uh, there's a huge difference between getting your shot blocked 15% or 12% of the time and getting blocked 25% of the time.  Last year, Perk got his shot blocked 12% of the time.  Tyson Chandler got his shot blocked 11% of the time, which is pretty amazing given how many dunks he got.

Again, Baby went from a guy who got got his shot stuffed often but not abnormally often, to a guy who got his shot blocked so frequently he significantly hurt the team on offense.

Now, some of the difference had to go with Baby just playing like a moron and trying to power the ball up over taller players, even after he repeatedly failed to do it.  But some of it was also Sheed's refusal to play down low leaving Baby in positions where his inability to finish at the rim was greatly magnified.  If Baby plays a little smarter and plays a role more suited to his talents, there's no reason he can't go back to getting his shot blocked a high but acceptable amount of time.

Mike

  Just curious, but do you need to start off your posts with "Uh"? I'm sure it's meant to be condescending, but your posts, in general, aren't that eye-opening.

  When someone criticized Davis for getting 20% of his shots blocked, you said "In the 08-09 season, Baby only got 12% of his shots blocked.  That's not great, but it's not abnormally bad.   The difference in the last two years is that in 08-09, 60% of Baby's shots were jumpers and that dropped to 42% last season." I pointed out that 12% of his *inside* shots were blocked in 08-09 and 25% of his *inside* shots were blocked in 09-10, so how many jump shots he took didn't account for all of the jump from 12% to 20%. His percentage of inside shots rose by about 50%, but his percentage of those shots that were blocked rose by over 100%.

   Which, of course, led to your thrilling comment "Uh, there's a huge difference between getting your shot blocked 15% or 12% of the time and getting blocked 25% of the time." Congratulations on figuring that one out.

  Oh, and just for fun, Davis got his jump shots blocked 6% of the time in 08-09 and 9% of the time in 09-10, so he's got a lot of wok to do in that area as well.

Uh, if you'd stop getting so caught up in winning the argument and actually think about what's being said, you'd find that there's often nothing to really argue about.

There's a huge difference between getting blocked 12% of the time and 25% of the time.  Since Baby didn't suddenly become shorter last season, WHY did he get blocked so much more often?  What is the reason for Baby going from a high but normal number of shots blocked to a crazy amount?

I've offered an explanation.  As best I can tell, you haven't.

Mike

  No, I didn't offer an explanation, other than the comment that he doesn't create the space to get his shot off against taller players. I just pointed out that your explanation was incorrect, no matter how many times you try and bolster it with "Uh"s. I'd say part of the problem was that he wasn't in the best of shape after he came back from the broken hand, and part of it is poor shot selection.