"Playing hard" is one of the catchphrases in sports that we always talk about but is difficult to pin down because metrics don't consistently speak to it and we live in the age of metrics.
I would argue that with our recent Big 3 era, Danny built a roster of guys who "played hard." It started with KG, Paul, and Ray, but it spread throughout the roster. Certainly KGs intensity was the starting block, but I think it's pretty fair to say that across the board those teams loved playing basketball.
A rebuild like we are undergoing now is an even more difficult time to evaluate the "playing hard" quality because there's so much losing involved. I would argue, however, it's never more important to get this evaluation right. Danny needs to be on point with acquiring and keeping players that love playing this game. It's the only way we are going to create a new winning culture for the future.
When I look at the current roster, I see a guy like Sully and worry that Danny isn't focused enough on this quality. Sully strikes me as that guy that we've all played a pick up game with that only plays hard when you're feeding him the ball. Otherwise, he's telling everybody how open he was and not hustling up and down the court or telling you how you were supposed to have his guy on defense...
The fact that Sully played as hard as he did with his dad in the crowd last night makes it even worse. Seriously, dude? You need your dad to be there to play that hard? That means that he could play like that night in and night out and simply is not doing it.
I was hoping the benching the other night would be the start of a new direction, but then I heard Sully saying how he met with CBS and he told him that nothing's changed. He just went with who was hot that night...Ugh.
Overall, I worry because it feels like Sully is a centerpiece of this rebuild, and I just don't he "plays hard." Conversely, I think "playing hard" should be the centerpiece of the rebuild, and when that's not happening, you should sit or be moved. Smart, KO, AB, Zeller...These guys all seem to have a high motor, and I want to see that rewarded. Not playing like your hair is on fire one night and then phoning it in the next.