Quote Originally Posted by Kstat

What bugs me more is that some idiots are going to put this on Rip or Gordon or V, or some other stupid shit, because god forbid anybody says anything negative about Jerebko. Apparently he has to start, consequences be dammed. He got pummeled like a $2 whore against Al Harrington and Jared Jeffries. Come the fuck on.
Pummeled by Harrington and Jeffries? Were we watching the same game? We lost because no one could contain David Lee or guard the 3 point line. Jeffries was a pest on D, but this is not Jerebko's fault. Jonas was not a stand-out, but to single him out is ridiculous. He's one of the few that has shown a pulse lately.

It doesn't help that Rip is a black-hole on offense. People complain about Rodney taking 17 shots a game with no one else in the lineup, but it's no problem when Rip bricks till his heart is content (nearly all from 20+ feet out) with everyone back. At least when Rodney misses shots (drives) there's a chance for a put-back with the collapsed D. Continuously chucking from the perimeter puts your defense in a bad spot.

As for Ben Wallace not playing a lot... To be fair, he was getting torched by Lee when he was in (same as against Bosh and West recently). I'm sure the word has come down to go easy on his minutes. He has already fallen off noticeably since the beginning of the year. At this pace, he won't be able to play by the all-star break.

I do agree that Kuester cannot afford to go to small-ball. They were winning before because Jonas is a very good rebounder/defender at the 3. At the 4, he's a bit undersized, and seems to be more foul prone Now, they're subbing guys that hustle/rebound for Rip and Tayshaun, who do not. Obviously these areas are going to take a hit.

At this point, Rip needs to go. He's the 3rd best SG on this team at the moment, and he acts like he thinks he's Kobe Bryant. The guys who feel "entitled" need to be removed, and the roster rebalanced so that Kuester doesn't feel forced into weird lineups just to keep the prima-donnas happy.