| Arroyo / James Best visual of the night: Mike James getting all that love from his former teammates, both before and after the game. Pistons were tracking him down as he headed to the locker room. You could tell there was a really strong relationship between them. (sniff sniff)
Before the game I would have traded Carlos for Mike in a heartbeat. Last night I shut off the TV thinking Carlos finally GOT IT. Forget the points and assists, his most significant contributions were made without the ball. He boarded, stole, hustled, and generally kept hope alive with sheer desire. He was the whirlwind I've awaited. He became the stick that stirred our reserves drink.
I (We) will continue inspecting his game for flaws, even as they become more faint. As I see it Arroyo still has one more hurdle. When assessing Carlos -vs- Mike last night, ask yourself, which one was home and which was visitor. The answer describes why starters start and reserves sit.
CA is teamed with a unit that suffers the same malady of fading badly in hostile environments. Our bench needs his ability to generate those extra, off the ball plays to raise their overall effectiveness. Otherwise Flipper will look an awful lot like LB4LB with regard to his road rotations.
__________________ Bye Ben...................sigh ................HELLO MAX !!!!! |