The actual baskteball questions for Flip Saunders before shootaround this morning were sporadic, at best, but he did say he would set his starting lineup for tonight’s game after the practice and that he was considering returning Earl Boykins to a reserve role after giving him the start earlier this week:
“We’re going to make a decision after shootaround,” said Saunders. “I’d like to keep Earl in a role where we can bring him off the bench. I think he gives us that little extra ‘oomph’ that you need at times.”
But everybody preferred to find out about how the team was dealing with not having Gilbert Arenas: “The difficulty is not only that you’re missing a good player, but just the whole situation, the dynamics of what’s happening, as far as having to talk to people and things like that. Anytime there’s focus away from what you’re trying to do as a team, it’s not conducive for you to be at the top of your game. It’s something we have to fight through.”
Hmm, who did Saunders talk to besides the media?
“We are judged by what we do as far as on the court,” said Saunders. “We’re still a team that has opportunities to have success and through adversity there’s opportunity. As players and as a team we have to embrace the opportunity that’s there. we have to show the people of D.C. that there’s a commitment from us as a team and as an organization. I know how most communities are: if the guys comes out and they play hard and they act and play in a very professional manner, the people will embrace them.”
Saunders said he is approaching things as if Arenas is not coming back this season, and he said he was not a witness to the pregame antics on Tuesday in Philadelphia: “No, I didn’t [see]. I was writing on my board. Did not see it. We’ve come out with a statement. There’s been a statement by the team that dealt with that.”
As for my own witnessing, I saw that Mike Miller used the number one attachment to get rid of his long hair and overheard one person say, “Attention on deck!” when he walked by.
Javaris Crittenton, meanwhile, seems to be the missing man now. He hasn’t been seen around the Verizon Center in a long time, and he didn’t make the Sixers/Cavaliers trip…
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