So, after Friday’s debacle, I got to thinking what the Cs biggest problem is. I might be going out on a limb here, but I’m saying it’s the back-up at the 4.
I compared the numbers between Green and Baby since the trade and here’s what I came up with offensively.
Baby: 28 mpg 10.7 FGA 4.7 FGM 44%
Green: 23 mpg 8.0 FGA 4.2 FGM 52%
You could argue that Baby rebounds better and takes charges. I would argue that Green plays better defense and helps the offense flow better (aka. Not a black hole). Since this teams biggest issue of late is scoring, I say the guy who helps out on the offensive side is more important. I’d also argue that Baby gets more minutes with the big three, while Green is exclusively a second-unit guy at the moment. Playing green with the big three would necessitate moving Garnett to the 5. Against most teams, I think that’s manageable in small doses, although I admit that’s just my opinion.
In his first game back from his injury, Baby logged 18 minutes, which helps understate his numbers somewhat. In the 8 games since his 18 minute game, he’s exceeded 30 minutes (yes, 30) in 5 of them…including last nights 35 minute 4 for 15 rockfest. Sixth man of the year, he is not. Yet, even Friday night, when Baby fouled out. Doc went to the bench for Kristic, not Green.
I’m not crazy enough to suggest that Doc has some vendetta against Green. But I do think that there’s either A.) a fear of losing Baby by not giving him enough playing time or B.) a loyalty thing because of his hustle and taking charges that is causing him to give more minutes to the lesser talented guy.
FINAL STAT: In their last 10 games, the C’s have broken 90 points twice. (you can't blame that on the Perk trade.) They haven’t broken 100 since March 9th against the defensive juggernaut that is the LA Clippers.
I leave you with this: Does a team that employs Glen Davis for 30-35 minutes per game have a good chance at winning the championship? I don’t think so.