Everything I said bad about Lillard showed up last night. He would not neutralize the point guard while on defense. He may have scored 26, but he gave up 40 or more through sloppy play. He would not get down court to stop fast breaks, making others runs their legs off trying to do it, and he would not give up the rock for anyone else to get better shots. He's a selfish player, no matter what anyone says. They were flat, because he was in the lineup, and choking the life out of the other players with him on the floor.
Giannis is a great player, but as indicated, he's at an age now where his style of play is going to get him injured way too often to be counted on in an 82 game run, and the playoffs. Time to trade him away, as well as Lillard.
Keep the guys on the team who have shown they have the heart to play both ends of the floor, and play for "team," not individual stats. It's time to start the rebuild, and let's hope they fire the entire coaching staff and front office. It's time to get rid of all of them, and change the culture on the team. But, I'd be very careful not to jettison the players who have shown they put team and community first, because they are the support cast that will create the framework for the new stars to come in, and do their thing. With high draft picks for the next few years, and not a handful of retreads off someone's roster is the way to go. Use cap room to bring in a couple of stars in the making, and turn them into the type of leaders that wins games.
But, I fear that will never happen. I'm not certain ownership is willing to take that plunge. I think they're going to keep on spinning their wheels, and will, as long as the attendance at games is high.
