Personally, I think all 1-11 teams should throw at least one (makeable) self toss off the glass alley-oop per game on the fastbreak, especially at home. Yet for some reason, Flip Saunders disagrees and seems more concerned with Javale McGee doing exactly against Houston on MLK Day, than the fact that the team is freakin’ 1-11.
I get it, McGee disrespected the holy name of James Naismith, Bobby Knight and blah, blah, blah by pulling that showtime stunt. But why sit the starting center to teach him a lesson for nearly an entire quarter in a close-ish game, at a time when you need wins desperately because you didn’t like the way he scored you a basket.
McGee said of the situation.
“Apparently, if you get a fast break and you throw it off the backboard in the third quarter and you’re 1-11, you’re not supposed to do stuff like that,” I felt like I was trying to get the team hyped and trying to make a good play, so I felt like we did that, and we went on a run from there.”
When you’re a 1-11 team, do you need to win the right way too? Hell naw, you just need wins because “moral wins” are only a luxury good winning teams can afford.
When McGee self-lobbed, he actually cut the Rockets’ lead to four early in the third quarter before he was benched. So why sit him? Would you sit a guy for flopping on a charge if you got the ball back too? I’m not saying sitting McGee cost the Wizards a win. I’m just saying he gave them the best chance of staying out of the loss column as your starting center and he needs to play regardless. Fans don’t pay money to see a coach discipline a player. They pay to see wins. Call me crazy.
