Opening Day Jitters
The preseason is here and I'm already a bit nervous. From Doc's first draft of a starting lineup to Sebastian Telfair's promise of playoffs, there are little things gnawing at me. That being said, I'm a lot happier this year than I was at the same time last year so things have improved.
In 2005, the question was "Who are we going to get to fill our needs?" This year, it's "Which player are we going to use to fill our needs?" Doc's cupboard is full but is he going to know which ingredients make a winner? Personally, winning is secondary this season for me. I want to focus on seeing our guys improve and gel as a team. That's one reason why the promises of playoffs irks me a bit. While I love to see confidence, I would also like to know that our guys won't let any setbacks get them down. With a team this young, there's nothing wrong with hard-fought losses. My fear is that with too much pressure to make the second season, simple mistakes will be blown out of proportion and the goals of this season may be lost in translation. A cloud of disappointment over errors will get in the way of people learning from their mistakes. I don't want to see young guys lose minutes because they are still learning the game. Our steadiest lineup is probably Theo, Gomes, Wally, Pierce, and West but sticking with them in crunch time will likely hurt the maturation of our more talented youngsters. I'd rather deal with growing pains than squeeze a couple more wins out of a group with a more limited ceiling.
As for the lineup, after the first day of practice, it was reported that the C's first unit looked to be Ratliff, Gomes, Wally, Pierce, and Telfair. While I'm happy to see Bassy in the starting lineup, I think Ratliff might be a mistake. Al Jefferson will benefit from coming off the pine, however I think it is time for King Perk to be thrown into the fire. He seems to be growing into a leader on this team and I'd like to see him get a shot at starting games. He is more than ready and getting him minutes against the best while they're at their best is the only way for him to continue improving. Also, I'd like to see Ratliff and Jefferson in a tandem so Theo can help Big Al on the defensive end. Again, this is where my vision for the season changes the game plan. While Theo's veteran presence might help the first unit in the crunch, I think his working with Big Al during the game will have more of a long term impact. Big Al needs someone to stay on him on the defensive end and point out his errors. I think Theo is perfect for this. I don't mind a Perkins/Jefferson backcourt but I think Big Al will get more out of teaming up with Ratliff.
But, of couse, the key to this season is that Doc choose a path. I'd rather see him take a route that I don't like than keeping changing which direction he wants to head.
