Talk about some signs of life and identity from this team as we close out the season...I think we're starting to see the team Ted talked about. The one that lost a lot of games but nobody wanted to play. There's a lot of credit to hand out here. Flip Saunders is always teaching during the game, and he was out on the court so fast to get Juwan Howard off Javale McGee I thought he was John Wall. Javale McGee has been staying home on defense more consistently while being given more freedom in the post. While that's led to some questionable decisions, he's also been more effective on putbacks, and even showing a few post moves we can live with. In short, he's realizing some of his upside. John Wall is attacking, in more ways than one, showing a refreshed energy, and I think we know who to credit for that.
Much as Jordan Crawford takes some (okay, many) bad shots, he's given new life to this season. Maybe it's an illusion, but as JC has gotten minutes, this team is playing with increased fire in their eyes. We all cringe when he's waving off Wall asking for the ball (something's gotta give there), but there's no denying he forces teams to respond when he's on the floor, and that takes some of the focus off John. John is showing more late game energy, and that's because having JC on the floor lets him keep some gas in the tank.
With Andray Blatche back and Nick Young (hopefully) on the way, we're getting a glimpse of what Flip is going to be working with come training camp next season. We want to see Andray and Javale coexist peacefully, or Flip to adjust the rotation to maximize their strengths. We want Yi Jianlian at the end of the bench...or not. You know, whatever. We want Kevin Seraphin on the floor. We want Othyus Jeffers, period(.) And we want pizza, because the hostages are hungry. But every list starts out with item number one, what's yours?