Posted by tomverve:
I don't think D lost us this game. The D wasn't airtight, but nonetheless Earl Watson played over his head and Allen and Lewis hit a bunch of tough, well contested shots in the 4th.
The offense in this game is what was subpar. Because Curry is such a poor passer, immediate double teams basically neutralize his presence on offense. Compound that with the absence of Jamal's jumper and quickness (compared to slugs like Q and Francis), the absence of Lee's offensive rebounding, and the absence of Frye's basketball spirit, and basically we are left with Marbury and not much else on O. The poor FT shooting hurt, but it wasn't like a freak accident or anything-- the two guys who hurt us at the line were Curry and Jeffries, who've both struggled from the line all season.
Both teams average 99-100 ppg and thats what both teams scored, so it's hard to argue it's either/or on the offensive or defensive end.
However, it's hard to argue that allowing the Sonics 52% FG and 54% 3PT is acceptable.
Either way, this team can't be counted on on either end of the court until they can exhibit more consistent fire from game to game and quarter to quarter. I think Seattle appeared to "want it" more earlier in the game and that shows up in several aspects of the game. We really don't have many guys who exhibit a killer spirit and/or who understand their roles and carry it out with zeal. The reason it appears to be an offensive issue is that is the area where this team typically displays passion.
WHo are our pacesetters? Marbury when he's allowed to be Starbury, but not really as a distributor. Crawford does when he's hot, otherwise he floats. Lee does always and that's why he's our primary pacesetter. And Curry did for that one stretch, but he's dropped off considerably since around the all-star break. 3 of those 4 guys do their thing primarily on offense, so that is where we expect to see them show up and we notice when they don't. Poor D almost flies under the radar because we expect so little of it.
So Jamal is out for the season but we'll get a boost when Lee is back. The question appears to be whether Marbury and Curry can integrate their game. I
have seen Marbury set Curry up for some nice feeds but they are usually dish-offs from penetrations or within a motion system. I think we need to get back to that style of play. It's the only way to keep the defense from catching us in a zone or constantly doubling Curry.
If we can do that successfully maybe we can get our average above 100 ppg and stay ahead of our poor D. Otherwise we're gonna have to work a little harder to keep the opponent from shooting over 50%. I don't really care which side of the court our killer spirit shows up, but either way we need more than one guy at a time playing his heart out.
