All I can say is "Where has this been?"
This was not a perfect game. We played from behind the entire game, and having to come back from 8 points down in the fourth quarter is not something you want to count on, but tonight it worked. Why did it work tonight and not during the Knicks game?
Nate McMillan wasn't here. Don't read that as me blaming him either. I'm blaming the diva players (Felton/Crawford) for being little seventeen year-old high school girls, whining to their principal about their teacher teaching differently than they want to learn.
Nate did more with less night in and night out. More than six years here, he created magic out of nothing. Even this season we had some big wins with him at the helm. Oh, Lakers are coming to town, how will we win without Brandon Roy and Greg Oden (or Przybilla at the time)? Get me a bucket, a paintbrush and ten pounds of salt. Victory.
And yet, here we are left without him, and these guys pull a victory out of their asses. They worked hard. Best thing about it tonight was old school scrap. Rebounds, passing and willpower. And an emotional letdown from the Bulls after beating Miami. Their lull and our will.
Batum was there tonight. Not his best offensive game points-wise, but he created. Nolan Smith came in and showed the point guard we pay the money to how to earn it. Then Felton went back in and turned the ball over immediately. Babbitt. Didn't shoot the ball like he can, but rebounded like a champ. Sad to see the young guns getting loads of time without seeing The Lankmaster CJ in there too.
Big Country not backing down from BOOzer. Proud of Joel for not taking any crap from the crap that is Carlos. Even while Chi-towns announcers were just dogging on him all night for being old, broken, slow and fat. Douches.
It was great to get a win. A good one. Not flawless, but deserved. Teams this season are now 4-0 on the game following their head coach being fired. I just don't understand the cost. The ends don't justify the means to me. Video Only isn't going to coach his way into the playoffs. If we get in, it will be because we step up and play the game we are capable of. The game we were capable of with McMillan, but never gave.
It's frustrating to see that happen, the distinctly different variations of a great group of players. And what is even more disturbing to me is the pull that two first year (with the team) players, with expiring contracts, were able to pull for a release of the Captain. They should be gone, because they were the ones not performing. They were the ones not living up to their contracts, not doing their jobs. McMillan had to try to coach around them, but they were where the money went, and both kind of were the backcourt for the team. Two Kardashians playing the same position, it's hard to work around that. If not one, then the other.
In all honesty, check the blog, he should've benched the eff out of Felton. Elton. He could have played Nolan much more. He tried with Elliot until he got hurt, and it was an awesome move. But, I know that while that would've been a bold move, and the right move, Nate would have been fired earlier, in all likelihood. And I don't know why that is.
Trading Felton and/or Crawford would've brought a a good result also. Maybe different, maybe similar, but a good one. Better, because we'd still have the heart of the team in McMillan and we'd have successfully removed the tumor that is Felton. We would not have got much for Felton, probably, but considering who came over in the deals for Camby and Wallace, we couldn't have done much worse.
I was assured on the message boards that Paul Allen knows what he's doing. Fine, perhaps he does. I mean, by definition he HAS to, because he is doing it. He may not know the consequences though. He isn't the coach in the locker room, he isn't creating wins. I feel he should have been more vocal with McMillan, asking questions or asserting his plan for the team. He didn't even tell McMillan he was fired. They didn't talk it over, just axed and made moves with an interim GM. And it is too bad.
Money isn't basketball, Paul.
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