Given that Mario Hezonja had five turnovers and only went 1-of-6 on field goal attempts inside the arc, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that this wasn’t one of his better games. In fact, this is the game that finally pushed his turnover total (45) above his assist total (44), leaving him with a negative assist-turnover ratio. I will hold that against him even though I probably shouldn’t, given that, unlike many European players, he was not touted as a superior playmaker before he came over. I love using stats to make players look bad.
At this point it’s harder to attribute Hezonja’s specific in-game struggles to the nebulous concept of being “held down” by his coach. He got nearly thirty minutes in this game despite not being very effective until the very end. Sure, his development might have been stunted those evil bad men in his past who dared to call themselves “coaches’, but his opportunity to succeed has presented itself now. RIGHT NOW. That the trade deadline is looming right as these minutes are getting awarded to Hezonja is, I’m sure, a happy coincidence.