You guys do realize that we have Jason Thompson and Carl Landry signed for the next 4 years making more money than it would have cost us to keep Tyreke, right? And Landry hasn't played a game this season and Thompson didn't score even one point in 27 minutes tonight. Because rebuilding teams can of course afford middling role-players, just not 24 year old former rookies of the year with a couple holes in their game.
Enough of that though, I'm trying to move on. We have some serious issues right now. I can only hope Marcus is being showcased because all he needs is to see a couple shots go in and the shooting never stops. That guy seriously thinks every shot that leaves his hands is a good one. Why did Rudy Gay play 39 minutes? He was the worst player out there for us tonight. At some point you have to cut your losses and just put the guy on the bench. Tyreke was just blowing by him like he was standing still (usually because he was standing still). You could see the tide turning in the fourth quarter. Tyreke and Holiday were basically free to do whatever they wanted and once they realized that, we didn't stand much of a chance.
I feel sorry for Malone right now. He's in a tough situation with this roster. It's not the team he inherited when he got the job or the team he started the season with. He's got no pure point guards right now, no depth at PF, both of our newly acquired SFs seem to be in a funk, McLemore is afraid to shoot and Thornton just keeps on shooting no matter what. It's a mess, and you could see DeMarcus getting frustrated with his teammates after two stinkers in a row (yes, we managed to win that Orlando game regardless but it was still a mess down the stretch). Gay needs to accept that this isn't his team and everyone wins if he takes smart shots within the flow of the offense rather than forcing things. I thought he had accepted that, but apparently he forgot. Rudy Gay and Marcus Thornton shouldn't be on the floor together. Nobody else gets the ball when they are. IT as well when he goes into fourth quarter hero-mode.
Yes we've scored a lot of points with this new lineup but the defense has gone from bad to abysmal and that's not how young teams get better. Junk the offense, start with the five guys who will play defense the hardest, and go from there. Even if that's Ray McCallum/Ben McLemore/Quincy Acy/Jason Thompson/DeMarcus Cousins. That would send a message wouldn't it?