I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as stupid and stubborn at the association level as Alec Burks, point guard.

Thibodeau is and has been a clear and present danger to the careers of Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley.

JK47: In that very strange way, I do believe that Elf was kind of the linchpin of last year’s team. Yes, he stunk, but at least he stunk in a way that allowed off-ball players to play in off-ball roles. This year that is gone, and since Miles McBride doesn’t have the “veteran” label like Elf, Thibs’ solution is to just go ahead and keep jamming the square pegs into the round holes.

That’s part of if for sure. But if you combine Elf and Bullock, and have Randle, RJ and either Mitch or Nerlens, your team has a defensive identity. Even when you’re missing shots, you can stay in games. Combine that with a legit closer in Rose and you have an ability to score when the offense starts grinding its gears.

Instead, we have a) guys who can’t keep the other team from going on massive 4th quarter runs and have to go basket for basket so if you are cold, leads melt away like butter on a hot frying pan; b) no 2-headed rim protection to give you 12 fouls and neutralize bigs like Nurkic; c) no defensive rebounding to end our opponent’s possessions; d) guys playing roles they aren’t suited for, which gets worse as the pressure rises when opponents go on late runs; All of these things can lay dormant for 3 quarters and then explode in a team’s face, and there isn’t much a coach can do about it. Macri has been saying as much.

So since this team is virtually uncoachable in a winning sense until Rose comes back (too late!) and Noel and Mitch are both healthy (don’t hold your breath) just throw in the towel and play the kids.

It’s valid to criticize the FO and Thibs, they deserve it. That said, not sure another coach makes much of a difference in Ws and Ls given the above circumstances. You’re not winning in this league without any of elite athleticism, rim protection, shooting and PG play. So given that we clearly suck, play the fucking kids already.

That’s fine if you’re at a spot on the win curve where it makes sense, but we are not at that spot. And there will never come a day when Thibs gives up his Taj Gibson security blanket and takes the training wheels of Obi Toppin, or gives some meaningful minutes to Miles McBride to see what he can do.

Another problem is that he plays players out of position and destroys their value, notably PG Alec Burks and PG Isaiah Quickley. That was the secret hidden value of Elfrid Payton: you had all the suck contained in one player, and everybody else was at least playing their proper roles. In that very strange way, I do believe that Elf was kind of the linchpin of last year’s team. Yes, he stunk, but at least he stunk in a way that allowed off-ball players to play in off-ball roles. This year that is gone, and since Miles McBride doesn’t have the “veteran” label like Elf, Thibs’ solution is to just go ahead and keep jamming the square pegs into the round holes.

I haven’t even mentioned RJ Barrett’s utterly preventable and also utterly predictable walking boot. Enough already.