On 7th January 2009, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Golden State Warriors by 114-106 at Oracle Arena, Oakland. During this game, one could observe how two best veteran coaches of the league were managing minutes for their young players. Regarding maintaining the balance between making the team victorious and the development of young guys, Rudy Tomjanovich commented that it is not possible to serve two masters. He meant that it was identical to balancing on a razor’s edge. If one is not careful, one can fall off on either side.
Sun Yue’s play
The Los Angeles Lakers had some injuries during this game and hence Coach Jackson involved rookie Sun Yue, who is 6 feet 9 inches, in the game for some minutes. However, he was not at ease on the court. During the second quarter, when Sun Yue was sent to the court, there was 5:56 balance time. At this moment, his team was leading by 16 points. Sun Yue was sent back to the bench when there was 2:42 balance time in the second quarter. At this moment, the lead of his team was reduced by 7 points. When the game was over, Sun Yue divulged that he was not comfortable with the system cent per cent, but was almost 60 percent comfortable and this percentage was increasing day by day.
Jackson disclosed that there was a plan for Sun Yue in the minds of the staff. Jackson looks at Sun Yue as a player who is learning to manipulate the offense and to be in a position where his team desires him to be. The team expects Sun Yue to play for some spot minutes at the desired position. Jackson is of the opinion that Sun Yue worked hard and played satisfactorily. When Sun Yue was on the court, things worsened for his team, but he was not completely responsible for it. Sun Yue has practiced a lot. Although, he is not completely ready, he has to play. Some of the expectations regarding his play are to advance the ball, set up the offense and be comfortable in times of more pressure.
Randolph’s play
In the Golden State Warriors team, their Head Coach Don Nelson made rookie Anthony Randolph to play for almost 15 minutes. During this time span, he recorded 3 fouls, 2 rebounds and 8 points. When the game was over, Nelson remarked that he was guiding his guy along the path which Nelson thought was best for Randolph. Nelson’s opinion was that Randolph has to work his way out and he takes things for granted.
Very passionate and knowledgeable followers of basketball sometimes do not realize how the momentum of the game undergoes an alteration when young players who are not comfortable with the system enter the court. Sun Yue ran the floor well and displayed good athleticism. However, there was a dearth of experience and it was obvious that he could not continue on the floor for a long period of time along with a team that was aiming at the NBA(National Basketball Association) title.