Summer Session 08' - Game #5

Dissapointing Effort Leads to First Loss of Season...

*Sigh*...where do I start? I am warning you now that this could be the longest entry I have ever written because I have a lot to say it could take awhile. For starters I probably should give credit to "Team Rock" for implementing a solid gameplan to control the tempo and slow it down to a snails pace. They took the air out of the ball all game long up until about 4 minutes to go in the game. They did what they had to do to get the job done and played hard from the moment the game started until the final horn sounded. They made shots, we did not. They rebounded, we did not. So now they control their own destiny and have the inside track on the number one seed going into the playoffs with only a handful of games remaining in the regular season.

I guess I am now going to list off a few things that I know and a few things I do not know before moving on to the regularly scheduled portion of the entry.

Things I know:
A.H. is horrible at evaluating talent
Our team's passion and desire is questionable
G.C. has been terribly inconsistent so far
We need to start playing like an "elite" team is supposed to
We are better than we are playing right now

Things I don't know:
Why all the sudden half the team waits until a minute before tip off to arrive for the game
Why we struggle so mightily during the first 5-10 minutes of each game
Why our court awareness is so poor at times
Why the passion to play defense is absent to so many players

I have more I could list under both categories but I think I should move on to the remainder of the post.

You probably think I am going overboard but it pains me to lose to a team that we should beat. If we lose to a team who outplays us and beats us straight up, I have no problem with that because we gave our best effort. But to go out and lay an egg for the first 15 minutes of the game and allow them to take control of the game is unacceptable to me. Truly, it is only one game and at the end of the day we can still recover from this loss. I just feel like we failed as a team and my team failed me during key points of the game. Being the "coach" as some like to think I am is a double-edged sword. On one hand I like the role of leader on the team because I feel like I am prepared each week to go against the opponent with full knowledge of what we need to do to win. The correct line-ups and substitution patterns etc...diving after loose balls, taking charges, getting the team that emotional lift when we need one. On the other hand if that is the role people expect of me then let me do what I do and listen to what I have to say. Otherwise, it will not work out, if i tell you to go in the game for so and so, do it. There is a reason I am telling you to do so....if I start yelling and getting excited after a big play , ride the wave and get invested emotionally with me. We are all adults, and certainly I am one of the least gifted players on the team so the role of "coach" works for me and has worked for me my whole career. I will never lead our team in scoring or rebounds or steals but I will be the most prepared player week in and week out.

Well that is it...Im mentally exhausted at this point thinking of all things we could have done and should have done to win the game. I take the blame for not adjusting until it was too late. "Beltway Ballers" are tied with us for 2nd and we play them next week. We need to rebound with a solid effort and get the victory or else we could be watching ourselves slide down the divisional rankings. Until the next episode....