First note of the day has to be a big thank you for all the posts in yesterday’s “Rotation Frustration†column. As we continue to get this thing off the ground participation is the key and I really appreciate all the great discussion going on.
Today’s articles preview this afternoon’s game against Memphis and also come back to the heart of yesterday’s rotation article. The method of handling rotation issues by Weiss early in the season is already causing friction.
Percy Allen of the Seattle Times has an article about the three players who passed up long term contracts in favor of one year deals. Flip Murray, Vladi Radmanovic, and Reggie Evans are all starting to show concern over their situations and this situation has the potential to get ugly really fast. Here’s the concerning quote to me:
"If he's playing great defense and he's doing the rebounding, then his minutes might be extended a little longer," Weiss said. "It's got to be a feel thing. How the game is going. How the other guys are that are playing with him. I've definitely got a logjam at that position."
It’s got to be a feel thing? SCARY
I am against tinkering with a rotation on a “feel†basis and I thought Weiss was also. A set rotation helps you dictate the tempo of a game rather than reacting to the temp set by your opposition. If you insert players by feel it never allows people to get comfortable.
The Tacoma News Tribune’s Frank Hughes puts out a similar article about the same situation. This one with star Ray Allen advocating a set rotation and Weiss stating that he’d like to get there but “we are still in a state of flux.â€
Both good articles, both are highlighting a situation that has the potential to get ugly in a hurry. I said in my article yesterday that Weiss had achieved his first failure of the season with this mess. He also has his first opportunity to show what he’s all about and control this situation. How this situation gets handled will likely be very indicative of Weiss abilities as a head coach.