and that's Kirk...at least on D. Dude does some really DUMB stuff. Derrick is coasting and it's pissing me off. He plays hard for 3 games then takes 3 games off. And the whole team is going half speed like it's the thing to do.

Maybe Dunny was the perfect glue guy for us but still. Injuries never made us suck like this. And granted we are 30-20 but there's slumping and there's flawed.

I'm trying to be patient because I understand if they want to preserve energy for the post season. The elite teams have trended towards trying to win on talent for 65-75% of the season then getting into playoff form for the last 25-30 games in recent years but still...it's not what we're use to and I feel like it's building bad habits.

But back to D-Rose...I really feel like missing 2 seasons (and a post season) really hindered him in one very particular way...development. And he's trying to make up for 2 yrs off by getting it all in THIS season. The insistence on shooting the threes 5-7 times a game, the vet coasting and energy conservation, the turn up in the 4th or at the outset but not the entire game.

If he had been on the court the last 2 years, his 3 would probably be serviceable instead of forced, he'd have a much better gauge on when to use it and would understand that excessive use without being in rhythm/on hinders the O (especially when you're the primary ball handler).

His handle/drives are waaaay more turnover prone than they use to be which says he's not use to NBA traffic anymore AND that the league plays driving lanes a little better so you have to know how to maneuver them. He'd be more comfortable with these without the missed time.

And he RARELY makes an away from the ball play. If Jimmy or Kirk or Aaron has the ball, he'll fade somewhere at the top of the court or on the baselines and just sit there. He rarely cuts, crashes or sets an off ball screen. He should be involved in every play in some way.

And on D, some games he'll fight through picks, chest up on his defenders and play good position D. On these games his rotations on team D are better too. Other games he'll funnel his guy to the middle and expect the bigs to challenge but he doesn't rotate well enough to stop a break down in D and it usually results in a score either from the attacking player or a pass to the big our guys had to rotate off of or an open 3 because of the rotation to cover but Derrick doesn't adjust the D TO recover. I think this is where we miss Dunny most too because his length and IQ covered half of this up.

I feel like he's just trying to make it through the year healthy and to the playoffs. Like he doesn't want ANY injury (jammed thumb, tweaked ankle, general soreness lol) so he avoids a lot of contact. Which I get, but it's still frustrating to watch.

Next year I think he'll be much more comfortable and patient with his game.

As for Kirk, I just think dude is past his max usefulness for us. If we could find a suitable replacement, I'd be all for it but then the question becomes...who?

Here's to hoping my prediction about post-allstar break coming to fruition. But given the effort against Houston after having like 4 days off (hadn't played since Friday), I'm not so sure anymore.