Daily Links 1/22

Intrigue—Stoudamire—Why didn’t Rondo play in the second half, except for first few minutes. Why was Allen bring up the ball at times. It was a chance to see how the C’s handled pressure without Rondo and to get Eddie House to where he’s the best, spotting up in the corner. Several times, Allen was pressured and got the ball up the court with the pass. It quickly ended in an open House’s hand who hit a couple of three’s. Was this a test to determine whether or not they need Stoudamire? My own preference is that he not come here, but I’m usually wrong, which means he’s probably coming at a minimal salary.

Good to see Gomes playing awesome lately. I was soooo stoked when I found out he was included in the trade. Unfortunately, he looks to be playing himself out of our price range. My guess is he signs back with you guys this off-season. Sigh.

These are the kind of games that a visiting team can easily lose with lack of focus. The Knicks are horrible but had been playing their best ball of the season, for what that’s worth. The Cs never let up and I really think that’s significant. Again, we didn’t beat the Spurs but we dominated a team on the road that had been playing relatively well.

After the Knicks game Comcast ran a “Beyond The Glory” show on Kg. It was done while he was on the T’Woves and gave some insight to the person. It also showed that earlier in his career he really attacked the basket, but these were just cameo shots. What was interesting was that his mother wouldn’t let him play basketball because she wanted him to concentrate on his studies. He joined the HS team and became a state/national star and his mother didn’t know he was playing. She found out by accident, went to a game, scared the hell out him and then saw that this was meant to be. It told about some hard times he had in his hometown and his mother moved him and his sisters to Chicago. He had some great influences in his hometown coach who seemed to stress the fundamentals and a coach he met in Chicago. The problem in his hometown was racial, where he was falsely accused in a fight incident. He could have gone to jail for a long time and this forced the move to Chicago where he also had a rough time because of family health issues. He also ran into racial issues where he went to school in Chicago . He was as intense a player as a kid as he is now. That hasn’t changed. I’m really glad I saw it. One of the reasons he went pro from high school is that he couldn’t pass the SAT’s and the colleges wouldn’t take him. He finally did pass, but the decision was already made. Just glad he’s here now.

No offense to Gomes, Wally, West, but these guys have a tendancy to put up a good game or two followed by 3 or 4 mediocre games. Just like Perk verse Knicks, I don’t foresee Perk getting 16 points, let alone 24 in the near future.

That’s the difference between the solid players and the bench role guys, solid NBA players normally get it done night in and night out for much of the season.

bceltfan, I agree with you about consistency, but I would argue about the definition or context of consistency. With Perk, scoring comes as a by-product of what the defense is doing. No plays are called for him. Thus his scoring stat will not be the same every game. I also think his role in rebounding also comes from how the game is going. If he needs to pickup another player’s man, which he often does, he won’t be in a position to rebound. Perk’s consistency should be measured by how he plays defense and if he stay’s within his role offensively. These can’t be determined by stats. To me Perk has been consistent all year.

I should have added to the above that I’m using Perk as an example. I don’t know what roles the other guys you mention have.