Getting back on the court was a good idea. Playing 36 minutes, then 30 minutes in his first two games back was a bad idea.
The fact that Rip came back and played those big minutes, refused to come out of the game when Q went to spell him, AND started those games, just goes to show me how LITTLE he cares about this team. No forward thinking, no care about the flow that had development in his absence. Me, Me, Me. Selfish play, resulting in a longer recovery, and his ultimate value as a top tier NBA shooting guard is falling at about -9.8 m/s.
Rip's always been one to drink his own kool-aid. All that best-conditioned-athlete-in-the-league stuff. Yeah, right Rip.
Players want to play. It is the coach's and trainer's job to limit them to the appropriate amount. Q shouldn't be letting Rip (who was hopped up on addreneline) tell him how many minutes he is going to be on the court. If Q limited him and Rip complained, then I'd blame Rip for being an AI. But in this case, I'm blaming Q for being a MC.
I'm tellin' you...his wife...do you really think that Rip actually wanted to play those minutes? :girl_devil:
I feel as though the "Players want to Play" argument loses a little traction when you are paying someone professional athlete wages. And the word professional is key right there. Sure in high school, when players are trying to get scholarships, in college when players are trying to make a mark and get drafted, I agree. But when you are a professional athlete, and your one job is to produce and be part of a "team", you have to use judgement. MOST NBA players are adults, (Rip is most certainly one of them) and they should know how to treat their bodies. Playing 36 minutes in your first game back, is not it.
It's also possible that Rip cares TOO much. He loves the team so much that he rushed his recovery, bravely offered to play heavy minutes, and was wounded while trying to carry the Pistons to victory.
And it's not that we weren't all begging for him to comeback..as he was sorely missed, but most of us did question the number of minutes played in the first game and sure enough it came back to bite us. Most of us would have been happy to see him sit out with probably yesterday being the first game back.,,,with a 20 minutes play time at max. The lesson learn from this experience would be to keep Bengo in street clothes until after the first year.
I agree with Dre. I dont disagree with Rip coming back, and I'm glad he was anxious to come back, but he has to use better judgement. I'm sure T-Mac is upset about getting 10 minutes a game, but he realizes he needs to ease back into it...Now I realize the injuries are different, but does that change how it is handled by the coach and admin? I dont think so. It's a leadership issue. Both from the player perspective and coaching.
All things considered, there is one thing that keeps cropping up in the losses - more so the bad ones like this. Lots of turnovers, little assists. (state the obvious though I suppose) Even despite the limited roster ATM, when there is good ball movement, they compete.
It looks impossible to get ball movement against LA in the first half when they were really trying on defense. Every time our guards gave the ball to the other 3 guys, it got ugly fast. Good defensive teams will make you look silly.
If we were capable of being aggressive in the first quarter and matching LA's A-game, we would not have the record we have. We couldn't do it because we are flat out not good enough. Sir.
There is at least one upset in the NBA every other night.(tonight the Blazers beat the Mavs in Dallas), .which means a bad team like the Pistons can be on top of their game for one night and surprise a team like the Lakers who were ending their east coast trip and were caught up in a snow storm and only got a few hours of sleep. Instead of taking advantage, it appeared we were the team that didn't get any sleep the night before...
I see it as a classic example of a rookie head coach. Players are not always going to admit or know when it's time to come out. Live and learn
