As noted below, Gerald is back. This is unequivocally a good thing. Our offense is better. Our defense is better. We can play VladRad against more limited opponents to hide his defensive shortcomings. Everything is better now.
That said, we're playing for next season. In order to even sniff the playoffs this year, we'll have to go 19-11 the rest of the way. That's a tall order. I count 12 eminently winnable games, 11 games where they'll be long shots, and 7 tossups. They can't lose winnable or tossup games, or else they'll most certainly be on the outside, looking in. To get even a favorable shot at the playoffs, they'll have to beat better teams, both at home and on the road, starting tonight against Big Bad Dwight and the Magic.
-- This time, can we keep Gerald on Hedo for the whole game, including crunch time?
-- Emeka is one of the few guys who requires little to no double team help on Howard. Diop will be a help, but fouls are still at a premium when guarding him.
-- Convince Otis to make this happen: Raymond and Freedom Fries for Pietrus. I might legitimately crap myself in joy if that comes to pass.