[TimesPicayune] With addition of Scott, players become focus
http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1086246177183560.xml
With addition of Scott, players become focus
Thursday, June 03, 2004
John DeShazier
Now that the Hornets players have a coach they can take
seriously, the onus shifts to them.
They're capable of better-than-average play. We know that,
because we've seen it. What they were lacking was a leader
who could demand it routinely, because even veteran players
sometimes need to be pushed, preferably by a coach they
believe has as good of a feel for the situation as they do.
The convenient excuse for Tim Floyd defenders is to blame
his undoing totally on injuries, though even Floyd said
injuries wouldn't be used as an excuse before he began to
do just that.
But his dismissal primarily, and perhaps wholly, was about
the effort he was unable to bring out in his players.
Simply, the Hornets' effort was too inconsistent, lacking
when it was most needed. Which explains the Hornets' tumble
to a No. 5 playoff seed in the weak-as-water Eastern
Conference.
The team had the ability to play to the level of the Pacers
and Pistons (6-2 against them), who faced off in the
conference finals, and the inability to master the likes of
the lottery-bound Bulls, Hawks, Raptors and Cavaliers, who
were a combined 10-6 against New Orleans.
The effort level that allowed eight players to go to San
Antonio and beat the defending NBA champions would've gotten
the Hornets by the Knicks. Instead, a weak effort led to a
loss at home to New York in the second-to-last game of the
season, with the Knicks playing backups most of the second
half.
The fight that helped New Orleans fend off the Pacers and
Pistons would have been enough to ward off the Cavaliers
during a 25-point Cleveland comeback in February. But it
wasn't there.
Byron Scott was hired to make sure those things don't happen
again -- at least, not with the regularity with which they
happened last season.
There are going to be stinkers. In an 82-game regular season,
it happens.
But those nights must be minimized to such an extent that
they can be counted on one hand. The occasions when the
Hornets' effort legitimately can be questioned, inside and
outside the locker room, must be cut drastically, because
the chances of being embarrassed after a lapse in focus
increases significantly in the West.
The first step to decreasing that possibility came with the
hiring of Scott, a coach who seems to know what he's doing
(two Finals appearances with the Nets) and who has said that,
though he's open to players' opinions, he isn't going to be
their doormat.
The second step belongs to whichever combination of players
comprises the Hornets' roster next season. Now that they have
a coach they can respect, their allegiance and effort must
follow.
Everybody has a clearly defined role. All each member has to
do is play it.
. . . . . . .
John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com
or (504) 826-3410.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 218.166.82.198
Pelicans 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
