misterearl wrote:Fix The Backcourt And Get Shump HealthyThis was not the sort of game in which there is anyone in particular to "blame" for a loss — the Heat were better, in spite of their own lackadaisical tendencies that seem destined to bite them sometime over the next month — but if you're able to avoid tears when J.R. Smith signs with another team this off-season, this game will be a pretty solid reason why. He was the worst J.R. Smith he could be all game, turning the ball over repeatedly and missing random terrible shots every time he was afforded the slightest opportunity. We have grown to enjoy Smith's shenanigans this season, but this is why you can't count on a guy like Smith: If he is your second-best scoring option, you're doomed. Not that anyone else helped out much. Amar'e Stoudemire was inconsistent, Steve Novak was a non-factor again, and, most disturbingly, Tyson Chandler pretty much sleepwalked through the entire game, failing to help out on drives to the basket and repeatedly being out-muscled on rebounds. Honestly: He just looked exhausted. The whole team did. When your emotional leader has nothing left in the tank, you know the rest of the team is toast. (Landry Fields showed some fire late, but hey: He's young.) Carmelo Anthony did what he could, scoring 36 points, but the whole second half was basically Carmelo dribbling for 21 seconds and then throwing up a crazy shot. Some of them went in, but this is not a solid long-term plan, to say the least. The question remains, though: Is that what Carmelo wants his team to be? Sometimes we worry.- Will Leitch, NYMagazine
You add a pure pg to this team (Healthy Lin?) and there would be no need for Melo to create his own shots all the time. Melo didn't pound the rock as much when Billups joined the Nuggs....
