Another loss but not for a lack of effort. The crowd was almost fully into the game and most of the players played hard tonight. Rod Strickland was awesome. The players reacted very well to him. I think the team played harder when he ran the offense. He forced the ball up the court and could see the floor very well. It is not unreasonable to expect him to take over the starting point guard slot within the next week.
With good, there is bad. Stephen Hunter played another horrible game. Outside of one monster block, he sucked. everytime the crowd was ready to truly get into the game, he would do something stupid or nothing at all. You can hear the frustration in the crowd when this guy is on the floor. The Big 'Z' still did not get any minutes tonight. I cannot believe it.
Finally, we end with Tracy McGrady. I don't know if his heart is in the game anymore. He has a few good moments but he is hardly noticeable on the court for the majority of the game. McGrady did drive to the basket more tonight than he has this season. If he would show one ounce of emotion after nailing a big shot or when someone else does something good - the fans would go crazy.
Overall there was a good effort from the team. We are still lacking the energy needed to pull out these close games. The fans are ready to get excited but the players still look a little lost out there on the court. Strickland definitely made the team look better- I hope to see more of this guy.
3 Comments on "Game Notes - Boston"
I think this was their best effort this season and I agree that Rod Strickland made an immediate impact. Trace McGrady is just over the flu and he was being doubled and sometimes tripled teamed. I think that Harvey and Howard need to take up more of the offense and that will free Tracy up more. I agree that Hunter sucked and I expect him and DeClerq to be traded come December.
I agree, McGrady was still feeling the flu in the game. He was dumb to foul out though, because Orlando maybe wins with him out there the last three minutes (the Celtics have had trouble closing games). And isn't Tyronn Lue one of the best players on the Magic these days? You seem eager to take him out of the lineup in favor of Strickland.
If you have watched Orlando games this year, Lue has been himself. Up and down, disappearing at times. He would be a great back pg. The team responded a lot better with Strickland on the floor.