Powe played great last night. The only reason that he plays very little minutes is because he is inconsistent. If he can stay consistent, he would be great.
Al,
Another Powe fallacy. How is it determined that Powe is inconsistent when the only consistent thing about Powe is that he's averaged 3.5 minutes a game for the ten playoff games preceding last night. Rivers must be a hell of a coach and all the Powe doubters must be astute basketballers to be able to say Powe is inconsistent with the limited minutes he's been given recently. Yes, I know, he misses rotations and he can't get his shot off against taller opponents blah, blah blah. How will we ever know what he can or cannot do when his butt has remained firmly planted on the bench in recent games to determine whether Powe is consistent or inconsistent?
I agree that Powe is not really inconsistent. I have personally been guilty of throwing that word around, and it just isn't accurate.
Powe is still a young player, and does not have a complete game yet. Because of this, he excels against certain matchups more than others (you could say that about just about any younger player).
IMO, there was good reason for Powe to not be playing against Detroit (we don't need to get into it right now, because we beat it to death during the Detroit series, and I know we disagree on this). But you are right that it isn't inconsistency, which generally infers that he does not play the same way every game. Powe does play the same way almost all the time. The difference is some teams are better at minimizing the way he plays than others.
Na', he has been inconsistent. During all the playoffs, he has rarely had two games in a row in which he at the least played decently, then you add the abundance of missed rotations, and you simply couldn't rationalize putting him on the floor. He simply stopped doing the things he does well, like rebounding. He came in with a lack of energy and focus needed for this stage. In a sense, I think he wasn't ready to play playoff basketball, particularly when through most games he's matched-up with more skilled players for the most part than in the regular season. Many of his deficiencies, like being smaller than others, were exploited big time, and his lack of hustle at times showed... at least to me. How can you tell? When he wasn't getting to the lose balls and his rebounding rate was simply poor.
This is not a points per game thing, or rebounds per game thing... it's about doing your job in the minutes they give you. That's playoff basketball, and the role of the bench in it. If you don't show up early, how can he keep going to you when you rarely take advantage of the opportunities and confidence given to you?
Just compare the first game he had against the Lakers with most of the games during the playoffs, compare the impact he has had in his minutes, compare the rebound production. That's the Powe we have needed, regardless of the minutes he gets. And I stand by what I've said before, if Powe shows up to play, Doc will play him. If he doesn't, he goes straight to the bench and I'm 100% fine with it. We're in the playoffs, we're in the finals, and this is a second year player in a position were we have had a couple of options to go to instead of him, we can't be patient with him in these critical moments. I'll say this, the Powe that has showed up against the Lakers is a completely different Powe than the one we've seen during the playoffs, and I doubt that he'll eat the bench again. His energy is up, his rebounds are up, his defense has been decent... this formula should keep him on the floor, and Doc will reward him for it.
Topic: Powe needs to play big minutes. (Read 12787 times)