Reed was playing great offensively and the team was trying to catch up throughout the game. If he was benched at all in the 4th quarter people would have complained that he was pulled while he was on fire and carrying us. And Reed's minutes have been gradually increasing throughout the season, he's averaged 30mpg in the past ten games. He should be expected to handle big minutes at this point, the minutes everyone are begging him to get. Reed was fourth on the team in minutes last night and played throughout the clutch. That's not sabotage, that's finally a sign of trust.
I told my son as we watched with about 6 mins to go, that Ime should give reed a couple of minutes rest here, to refresh his reserves, as players get more tired. I just don't think Ime is a details guy, he is more of a game watcher, rather than a Have a plan guy....and I think he is consistently outcoached......he needs to go for the good of the entire organization. DD
I’m not disputing that. Reed has playing much better defense lately. It could be a number of factors that contributed to his poor play in that regard last night. It could be that he was tired, it could be matchup issues, it could be focus when he is being relied on so heavily on the offensive side of the ball. I think a better coach would be able to manage Reed’s minutes and matchups better.
And a player that didn't hit a shot coming off an injury still got more minutes. Ime just said on the radio that DFS will get minutes tonight.
He actually ended up pump faking, stepping in, and hitting Amen in the corner to clank a three. So yeah, I'd say he deserves the blame here. His decision making flowchart should have terminated as soon as he saw a wide open Reed. I could see an argument for shooting it himself, but Santos was closing out hard and it would have been highly contested. 100% of the time, that ball should be going to Reed.
I think Ime would have played Reed limited minutes, more than last year, sure, but not enough for him to really shine and as we've seen, this affects how Reed plays. If he doesn't have the confidence of the team (coach/teammates) behind him, he plays passive and a little cautious, which hinders his game, which would have made him look worse in those minutes. It's all a hypothetical to be sure, maybe the org would push Ime to give Reed 20mpg, I can't say of course I'm just someone on the internet... But I feel like Reed would have been undervalued and then eventually traded as an asset to some other team and would have broken out there. Now though I think it's going to get harder and harder to not play him moving forward and hopefully next year we see a lot of FVV/Reed lineups and next season we will always have a PG on the court and hopefully can get some kind of offensive consistency.
If Reed is going to play more than 32 mpg, his minutes need to be spaced out better to preserve his energy in late game situations.
Reed, Amen, and KD. Trade everyone else for parts that fit around those guys. Amen's ability to morph into any position makes roster construction a lot easier. One more shooter that can come off screens and a dedicated big (Clingan) that can set those screens. Our most important young guy literally may have come at the tail end of the rebuild and from a James Harden pick. Oh yeah. Fire Ime.
Good observation DD. I get upset when he fails to call TOs before another team gets momentum. I've noticed he's done it a bit more frequently in last few games, but he's not a strategist at all.
Agree just not with the KD thing, he's 37, eventually he's going to hit that cliff and become washed, could be next season. I hope its not, but realistically we can't assume he's going to play at an all-star level for much longer and if he does he'll be doing something unprecedented because even Lebron has fallen off a cliff...just that 50% of what Lebron was in his prime is still better than most of the league...and I guess that will be true of KD too but one wonders if his ego will take a smaller role as he ages. I do think Amen and Reed are our best prospects. Amen is just all on the other side of the ball, Amen's defense is special and his utility, while Reed's potential is all offensive. I really think it's more about finding who that other member of the young core is. Alpi, Jabari, or Tari... Hopefully Jabari was just a bit rusty last night, he was playing extremely well for the past month or so.
I would replace Durant with Jabari. As great as Durant has been he is a bad fit and a crutch for our sh@t coach. Regroup around these three and target 2028 as our breakout year after Ime and FVV are gone
•…He’s expanding his game and good to see him take this jump in his 2nd year and something we’ll need. A different look for us. Adds another dimension. Handling, PnR, starting to make those reads, great to see him take the step he’s taken. •(Thriving in bench role v. being inserted in starting lineup) Reed is great in both roles. He’s started at times and come off the bench a majority of the time. He’s good in both. … We’ve had a rotating 5th starter most of the year. Still trying to zero in what will work best for us going into the playoffs. Reed is definitely in consideration for that. Steven at times, Josh earlier in the year, Tari…based on what you need, defensively or offensively, it’s good to have those options. •(Your fan base has been frankly fixated on why Reed doesn’t start. My (Matt Thomas) philosophy has been it’s about who finishes. My number one argument has been I love a sixth man. Scoring 15-17 a game is needed. You just don’t have the length of your bench with injuries. You still get questions on occasion. What is your response?) People see the scoring and highlight plays and get fixated with that but there’s balance to a team. Whether you’re looking at it from a defensive standpoint or offensive standpoint, you lose certain things with Fred being out and Dillon being gone so you want to replace that and maintain your identity. Fred being gone and our two main handlers being out there together to start, Amen & Reed, it’s easier to stagger those guys. Definitely a consideration. I take it to a guy like Manu Ginobili who I’ve been around, played with, coached. Whether it’s Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams, all those guys are valuable for that specific reason. Reed is fine with whatever. If Reed was as concerned as the rest of the world, I don’t think he’d be where he’s at right now. We’ll look at everything. Since I’ve been here, whoever finishes and playing well will be in there at the end and that’s more important to us.
