We are halfway through the season and I'm not sure we know exactly what we have with this team. It feels like we've had two seasons already. One perfect one (27-2) and one pathetic one (the recent slide).
Thankfully we've turned things around lately and we might be headed in the right direction. I compared these Toronto and New Jersey games to free throws and layups to get a shooter back in rhythm. So far so good. The Raptors games were the free throws (one of which bounced around the rim before going in) and so far we've had one layup against the Nets.
So there's hope we can put the slide behind us and get back to a Championship pace. Hey, don't look now, but we still have a shot at the Bulls record. All we have to do is win all the rest of the games this year.
Here are some more bullet points to start your day.
- Loved listening to Wyc in the 2nd quarter last night. He's not shy about his opinion is he? He wants Danny to improve the roster. Specifically he's hoping for some "beef" to match up with the Cavs and probably another guard too. I don't think this is a matter of him telling Danny how to do his job. I think this is more a case where he has an idea of what Danny is looking for and it matches what he sees as needs as a fan of the team.
- For those subscribing to the "showcase" theory, it was a good night for showing off Big Baby. As Justin Poulin pointed out in his podcap, Baby was even out on the floor for a little bit of garbage time (Project O'Bryant only saw 5 minutes of court time). Side note: Is Big Baby the new Tony Allen? He's shows signs of brilliance intersperced with head scratching bouts of mistake prone basketball. Love the effort, but I'd like to see more consistency.
- Great to see Bill Walker get some run. However, if you believe that Baby is being showcased, is it safe to assume that Bill Walker got extended garbage time minutes because he's one of the few young tradable chips we have? (Giddens didn't see the floor) Just asking. Don't shoot me.
- Rondo had 11 points (5-9 FGs), 12 assists, 7 boards, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. Harris had 17 points (5-9 FGs), 3 assists, 2 boards, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. They go at it again on Saturday, but Rondo is unfazed.
- The team has two full days off before visiting New Jersey this weekend. I suggest at least one day of absolute couch potato vegging. Do nothing all day. That will be very hard for guys like Pierce and KG who seem to thrive on working out. Maybe take another day to get in a good practice and work on some things that have been slipping. In particular I'm sure Tom Thibodeau has some words for the guys on rotations and responsibilities.
We're halfway through the year. A little much-needed rest before one more game against the Nets (hopefully another layup) and then the schedule starts heating up with games against the Suns, Heat, and Magic next week. That stretch will tell us if the team has truely turned a corner or if they were just beating up on the bad teams this week.