Rick Adelman has to have the most peculiar head coaching role in basketball. He has a roster stocked with capable athletes extending twelve-deep. He has no discernible stars or even go-to options. And he faces the dubious challenge of attempting to win while his management overhauls personnel with an eye towards the future.
Head coaching is no simple feat. It requires understanding of the human psyche and of course the obvious aspects of basketball strategy. Fans and journalists–and whatever the hell I’m supposed to be in this new age of media–scream all day about personnel, but it’s not as simple as the discourse would suggest. A basketball team is a unit and variation from an established norm can disrupt the machine. My whole day gets thrown off if I eat breakfast at an odd hour. Changing a rotation is easier said than done, especially when a team that started something like 3-10 finally seems to be clicking. One would suspect that Rick is secretly grateful that the torturous Yao saga is finally over.
Which brings me to my topic for the day: Unleash T-Will. I know the team is winning (I guess, in the grand scheme of that awful start.) I know how hard it is to work players in, especially with this roster. But watching these three most recent losses, it has become abundantly clear that staying the exact course will not suffice. Aside from the defensive struggles, the club looks discombobulated offensively in the trying moments with no one upon whom to turn. To say this team needs a star has so far become cliche that it need not be mentioned.
Terrence Williams will never win an MVP. He’ll likely never make the All-NBA 1st team or lead the league in scoring. But from what I saw in his brief stint in Portland last night, he can be as good as Tracy McGrady was in his last year with the team. That alone–18ppg, 40% shooting, with 7 asp and playmaking–would be a vast improvement over anything this team possesses. This team just needs some calming influence to provide direction. Aaron Brooks can only create for himself and Kyle Lowry can create for others. Williams is atrocious as a shooter, but at least gives you hope for a dynamic threat.
I hope Rick unleashes T-Will soon during this tough January stretch. This current group can outgun the stepsisters of the league but as we’re seeing, they just don’t have enough against quality opponents.
