Missed the game last night... but...

[DroopyDawg]

I read the gameday thread, and it seemed as though the game took fans thru a roller coaster of emotions. I know that the gameday posts can be filled with knee-jerk reactions and are generally filled with emotion, but some of the comments were ridiculous (as usual). Some People seem to forget that this is a VERY young team that's short on talent and are FAR from a "finished product".

While our guys do play hard...

Vasquez is not our long-term answer at PG...
Eric Gordon hasn't played a minute this season, and Rivers is still learning how to be a pro...
We have no starting-caliber SF...
AD is a rookie that's learning how to play NBA basketball...
Lopez is may/may not be a starting NBA center...

Aside from Ryan Anderson... our team is filled with back-up players and rookies... I'm not sure what expectations some of you have for this team.

Monty is doing the best he can with the talent (or lack of) that he has. People question his rotation.... WHAT ROTATION? HE HAS NONE! He's trying to figure out the best mix to make the team competitive.

This will be a painful season to watch, but its all a part of this team's growth and development. You can look at last night's game as "just another Hornets loss" but you can also look at it as a learning experience. They were down big on the road against a real good team, and had a chance to win. With a better decision here or there we win that game.

Patience folks... this team needs your patience. We have alot of money to spend in the next offseason, so lets wait to see the finished product before you dump on them (like folks did in the gameday thread).

[Inner_GI]

Monty's offense is terrible. We ISO 50% of the time down the floor, and we don't have any players able to effectively run ISO. The other 50% of the time it seems like we run 3 or 4 PnR, but our guards can't get around the double team, so we just dribble out the clock until we throw it to the SF (which all suck on offense) and they hoist up this atrocious shot or commit a turnover.

This offense would be fine with a PG the caliber of Chris Paul, but with Vasquez and Roberts... not so much. It's just painful to watch, and most people here would like to see some adjustments.

[Ceedee M]

I'm the opposite. I think this team's major problem is defense. What are we... 23 games into the season and I haven't seen any major improvements on defense - zone or perimeter. This team has to shoot at a high percentage to even be in some of these games. That is not Monty's philosophy at all, and I can see why...it hasn't resulted in any wins.

[DroopyDawg]

Monty's offense is terrible. We ISO 50% of the time down the floor, and we don't have any players able to effectively run ISO. The other 50% of the time it seems like we run 3 or 4 PnR, but our guards can't get around the double team, so we just dribble out the clock until we throw it to the SF (which all suck on offense) and they hoist up this atrocious shot or commit a turnover.

This offense would be fine with a PG the caliber of Chris Paul, but with Vasquez and Roberts... not so much. It's just painful to watch, and most people here would like to see some adjustments.

Well... what would you suggest? We're going to be an ISO/PnR offense eventually but we don't have the personnel... so what should we run? Princeton offense? The dude is doing the best with what he's got. Were there any players available with CP3-type skills to run his offense? Remember he drafted Rivers to run the point, but Rivers is playing the 2 out of necessity. Not making excuses for the guy but I mean the dude doesn't have the p[layers to run his offense but he's doing what he can.

[DroopyDawg]

I'm the opposite. I think this team's major problem is defense. What are we... 23 games into the season and I haven't seen any major improvements on defense - zone or perimeter. This team has to shoot at a high percentage to even be in some of these games. That is not Monty's philosophy at all, and I can see why...it hasn't resulted in any wins.

I'm disappointed in the defensive play as well. We played much better defense last season even though we lost a ton of games. But again... we had a huge roster turnover, and some of the players that was in this system for the last couple seasons are gone now.

Again... this team is NOT completed (personnel-wise). But I agree that I'd like to see better defensive play from this group. We're not gonna magically become the Lakers "Show Time" or start scoring 120 ppg, but effort and defense can be brought on each possession.

[Imnos 2]

I agree with you guys. I was an optimist going into this season. I believed that based off of the competitive fire this team had from game 1 to the last, I would see that this year. And mind you this team if fighting every night. They are playing with great energy, game in and game out. But defensively, far too often they are getting beat to spaces on the floor. Three point shooters are getting wide open looks. Bigs are getting offensive rebounds. And lanes are wide open for the guards and slashers. So I think there are only three holes that need to be filled.

Lopez is a better player than I expected offensively. He can score a little bit. But he kills us with rebounds. He doest have the lift we need to get in there and grab boards. The guy is a 7 footer. He should be averaging at least 8 boards per game. (if an undersized center like Okafor can average 10 and 10 why cant he?) So we need a banger down low. We need a wide body that can block people out and push people off of the block. Hickson and Aldridge were killing us last night down there

GV has had some bright spots. His ability to score and his size as a PG is valuable. But he isnt a true PG. His decision making has been suspect on more than one occasion. He leadership is good, but his court vision and defense could be better. We need a true, all he does is pass and defend type of point guard. We need a guy who can put pressure on the defense, when bring the ball up the court. Far too often, the defense is putting the pressure on him bring the ball up the court. We need a guy who will penetrate and dump it off to Anderson or drop it off to Davis in the post. And on the defensive end we need him to jump passing lanes, cause guys to pick up their dribble and get up in the offensive players grill.

And finally we have no swingman. NONE! Aminu is a backup. Miller is a backup. Mcguire is a backup. We need a dude that can create his own shot if he caught the ball at the three point line. A guy who can get in the post and try to score from mid range on a face up shot or take his athleticism in the paint on a postup. Our three bigs should be long armed guys who can re-direct passes, get hands up on post players and grab boards by committee. Going with the combo player motif we like we need a guy athletic enough to play small forward and big enough to fill in as a power forward. Because he cant be afraid to mix it up for a rebound. Your swing guy should be kinda be like your PG too, in that make you as a defensive player aware of that he can not only score but also pass out to an open man once the D is sucked in.