Just a short Gilas postmortem. It’s ironic that for a country that imitates the NBA so much, Gilas lacked offense, shooting, and a true “alpha” aside from Justin Brownlee.
New Zealand had the obvious strategy: lock down Justin Brownlee, and let the other guys kill us. They almost did, and if a couple of shots went in, the Gilas review would be much different.
That’s the key..shots did not go in. Shooting has always been a weakness, and perhaps we should ask the right question: “What does Gilas need” instead of “Who does Gilas need.”
It would not be productive to talk about replacing the coach since the SBP are set on Tim Cone. The defense is impressive, except against Australia where they did not seem to scout the opponents that well (Australia wisely deploying their Team B, enough to do the job).
Cone and his staff can make great defensive sets, and AJ Edu just developed into the beast inside that we wanted our naturalized player to be (at least defensively). He’s the true bonus of the team.
But offense, specifically shooting and having an alpha player aside from Brownlee. That’s what they need. They could get any player on board defensively, but our shots have to go in.
The Brownlee off-night is a precursor to the post Brownlee era. Our players need to grow up and take over his role. They can’t just wait and rely on the next naturalized player because “Kabayan” Brownlee is one of a kind.
Even the 2008 Team USA Redeem Team needed to recruit Kobe Bryant. We need our version of that.
Beasts of the East
The easy concession is that the next NBA champion will come from the Western Conference. However, the East could produce contenders worthy of a second look. After the trade deadline, the four top teams of the East have been laser focused, performing better collectively than their Western counterparts.
The contrast of the teams is interesting. The Detroit Pistons are intriguing, with an attitude comparable to the original Bad Boys, and a composition similar to the 2004 champion Pistons. They have been driven to prove that they are a real contender, not just a fluke as some have dismissed.
Cade Cunningham is now one of the best American players alive, and he has a solid crew around him. Built on the second-best defense in the league, next only to the defending champions, OKC Thunder, the Pistons make sure every game is a grind for their opponents. That’s playoff level defense, and they have already applied it successfully in the regular season.
The New York Knicks were supposed to be next in line, but there are real questions with the team. They feel like they were good enough last season, especially with the Indiana Pacers out of the way this year. That’s why they prudently held onto their core despite the real temptations of trade opportunities. The big question for them: are they still good enough to come out of the East?
Disappearing and Appearing
Speaking of big questions, the next two contenders have questions about showing up. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, will James Harden finally show up all the way through the playoffs? He has historically disappeared when it mattered the most, and that is why he is title-less.
Will he and Donovan Mitchell get it together? They have been jelled surprisingly well with hardly any prep time (which solidifies the argument that talent solves everything). But will this continue to work in the playoffs when opposing coaches extensively break them down?
Speaking of presence, for the Boston Celtics, this season reminds of 1994 when Michael Jordan suddenly retired, and Scottie Pippen emerged as an MVP-level franchise player on his own.
Jaylen Brown is a legitimate MVP candidate now, and this supposed to be “throwaway season” has them contending. Will Jayson Tatum’’s presence help them, or will it disrupt their chemistry?
I definitely think Tatum will be a great addition. Brown and Tatum aren’t strangers. But how will his return affect their rotation?
It’s an intriguing cast, and the drama in the East is worth watching.