As I sit here an just before the tip-off of the Hornets and Clippers, I can’t help but feel like there are more questions about this team than before the season started. The turtle slow start that we have witnessed has already caused me to start questioning many of the decisions thus far.
We knew that the team may have some struggles adjusting to one another’s play style and pace, but that seems to have been dealt with so far, at least in the first three quarters of games. The slow pace of the team’s offense is based off Al Jefferson down low, but the problem with that is you need great outside shooting. The reality is that guys like Kemba, Lance, and MKG are all much better on the move, yet this team never gets out in transition. We see over and over, they dribble the air out of the ball, pass once, and drop it down to Al in the post. He then gets doubled and forces a shot, or kicks it out to a shooter who misses. I understand Al has a ton of value in the post, but relying on one player so heavily leads to others standing and watching. Talk about a team motion killer.
The other problem we’re having is closing out games. We seem to get a big lead but fall flat in the fourth quarter. The games versus Indiana and Orlando were great opportunities to get wins against less talented teams. From everything I have ever heard about basketball, these fall squarely on Coach Clifford. His late game play calling is very suspect on offense and his substitutions have been very strange at times. I am not yet willing to call for a change, but it is something that I will be watching very closely to see how he adjusts.
My other question is how this team will ultimately fit together. The roster appears to have a few glaring holes. It’s not a lack of talent, but some of the pieces don’t seem to fit together. The second unit guards both struggle on defense, but can shoot. Our bench has bigs that either play good defense or good offense, but aside from Cody Zeller, none do both.
On a positive note, some of this seasons disappointment can be attributed to minor injuries, most notably to MKG, who should be at full strength again soon. We have also seen improvement from Cody Zeller. Bismack Biyombo appears to be excelling at what we need from him in his limited minutes.
While we still have a long way to go in the season, the team must turn it around soon. This year’s eastern conference is much stronger, and barely getting to .500 may not cut it this season if we want to return to the playoffs.
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