I'm not to the point that I'm calling for Westphal's head or thinking that this entire season is going to be a waste, but I will admit to being quite disappointed in the season thus far.
Here were my expectations coming in:
1.) Stability
In theory we finally had a returning coach who actually qualifies as a coach in Westphal. After a full season with these young guys, he'd be able to play them to their strengths so they can succeed to the best of their abiliies, while hopefully, not putting them out there for their biggest weaknesses to be exposed.
2.) Growth
We have the makings of a superstar in Tyreke, and good young talent in Casspi, Donte, & JT.
After watching these young guys play we all should have a good feel for what their games are about, and what they can do to help a team win.
With a stable coach and system, we should be taking those glimpses of talent which we witnessed last year, and see it blossom and become more consistent.
We knew that Tyreke would be working on his jump-shot, and the expectation was that all of the young guys would be working hard to fill in the holes of their game.
3.) Improved Talent
We greatly increased our talent from last year by adding Cousins, Dalembert, & Whiteside. Our biggest weakness last year was interior defense, and we secured one of the best in the NBA in Dalembert.
We also secured a potential low-post monster who could take a lot of the scoring pressure off of Tyreke and allow him to get easier points while continuing to hone his over-all game. Finally we added a potentially elite shot-blocking talent and rim protector in Whiteside.
4.) Improved Chemistry
You can only improve chemistry by playing together. I had expected that since Westphal had a full year under him, that we'd see consistent rotations, because you're never going to be an elite team until you've had the chance to play a great deal together, and the more consistent that playing is, the easier for chemistry to develop on the court.
And no matter the talent, you just aren't going to be able to beat good teams, until you've become a good team yourself, and that doesn't happen by accident.
So those were my expectations going into this year. I expected to see our young talent learn and grow together, develop chemistry, and begin to look like a team.
So far, these expectations are not remotely being met, and as much as I feel that Westphal is a good coach for this team, I'm putting most of the blame on him at this time.
I think a lot of it has to do with what's been going on with Donte and JT. I have no idea what happened with Donte. I keep hearing reports about his weight gain, and whether it was muscle or fat, or whether he was trying to improve his body to help with the season or not.
I don't know what to believe. With that said, Donte was working hard in Summer League, so it's not as if he dropped off the map. It's the coaching staff's job to make certain that their players know what is expected of them coming into the new season. There was ample time for these discussions to take place with most of the team (as most were there during summer league, even if they weren't playing), but that appears to not have taken place.
According to Westphal, JT came into camp in great shape. He hasn't been remotely consistent, but he also hasn't been put into place where he can be consistent. I don't know how you can ask someone to play Center one game, then SF the next game, and then criticize them for not being consistent in their play.
JT isn't an all-star, but he can be a very solid big-man for you. And I mean big-man, not SF.
So the stability that I had hoped would be present just isn't here. I don't know why Westphal starts the players he starts, I don't know why he decides to bring certain players off the bench, how he determines the minutes, the rotations, or anything.
Today's rotations make no sense, if you look at it from the perspective of a young team which has to learn and grow together to become a good team.
And because there doesn't seem to be much stability, it's impacting team chemistry, as well as the growth and development of our young players. We've increased our talent, but don't seem to be doing a good job of utilizing it.
At this point in time, I want to see Westphal throw all the young guys into the fire, play them consistently, let them get burned, and see what develops. I wanted to see Donte and JT grow, and I wanted to see Whiteside at least get a couple of minutes a game.
I'd love to see a line-up with Tyreke, Cousins, Greene, and Whiteside. Put in Garcia or Beno at the SG, and play that line-up for a bit.
There just seems to be sooo much potential on this team, and I haven't seen any of it extracted so far this season, and that's what's been the most frustrating.
I haven't missed a single game in years, and I'm not going to let this slow start sway me to miss a game. With the potential we have, this should be some of the most exciting times in a team's development.
At this point in time, I don't really care about wins. I just want to see something which shows that this group of basketball players are being put into a position to slowly become a team.
If 30 games in I'm not seeing that, a lot of the blame is going to have to rest on Westphal, as Petrie has done his job in bringing in talent.