Countdown To Camp: 5 Days To Media Day
All this week I'll be counting down the days till camp with questions that need to be answered sometime during camp. (Also See: 9 Days | 8 Days | 7 Days | 6 Days)
Rondo is the undisputed starter who took a huge step last year and seems poised to take "the leap" this year. But he can't play the whole game and we do need a backup point guard to run the offense when he's not in the game. Currently the team doesn't have another prototypical pass-first point under contract. Some would say that if the team signs Sam Cassell they still won't. However, if and when Sam is signed, the decision will still be up to Doc on who to use first off the bench at the point.
There's an outside chance Gabe Pruitt could come in and win the job over everyone else. However, I don't think anyone expects that to happen, least of all the team. Otherwise why would they resign both House and Cassell? So I think it boils down to a competition between those two.
I've made it clear that I'm not a huge fan of bringing Sam back. House seemed to energize the crowd and stepped up in the Finals when the team needed him most. However, I don't think this contest is as lopsided as our last impressions may make it seem.
Consider if you will that the team was so unsure about the point position that they went out and picked up Cassell during mid season. I was all for the move at the time and I don't regret it one bit. The team needed a veteran point to control the tempo and provide a steady hand to the second unit. Doc sure seemed more comfortable with Sam for much of the playoffs. If you look at the game logs, you'll see just how little Eddie played before game 3 of the Finals.
Of course I was ready to strangle Shoot-First-Sam well before Doc shifted gears and let Eddie torch the Lakers. So that's what I remember most about last year. However, I'm willing to keep an open mind.
With a full training camp and preseason to work with the team, we can hope that Sam will understand the offense better and look for his shot a little less (or at least not until he's looked in the general direction of whichever star is out there with him). So at least some of his faults are curable. Eddie will forever be a shooting guard, no matter how long you try to shoehorn him into the point spot. If our offense can work with that or if the matchups allow for it, then great. Otherwise, we'll need someone that can initiate the offense.
So who do you think will end up being out backup point guard?