It's not just "squeezing blood from a stone" though. We're starting to get big leads in games like we did towards the end of last season. The only difference being that we lack the depth currently to keep the lead in the 4th. I'm of the opinion that, even without the injuries, things would have shaken out between the guards. It was getting closer to that anyway, if you recall, before Rudy went down. That's not to say the roster wasn't overloaded; it was. But it seemed more like the dissonance between coach and player was settling down a little even before Rudy went down.
The connection between late last year and the last ten days when we've really started to lay wood to some teams seems to be familiarity with each other on the court, familiarity with the system on the court, and trust in both directions between player and coach. What I'm saying is that it isn't just raw motivation driving talentless hacks to success. It's quality players, motivated by their coach, accepting of their roles, playing within a system that's solid enough to stand a talent shift of 30% or more towards the end of the bench. I think you can point to Jeff Pendergraph's success and Martell Webster's improvements as signs that the comfort level is rising.
Of course the work isn't done yet; gotta integrate the ingredients back into the lineup as they come back. Maybe there will be less grousing about minutes and roles now that players have survived the shit really hitting the fan as far as injuries go. Maybe a summer trade (we won't make a mid-season trade) to consolidate the lineup will help ease tensions. But you have to look at this success not just as "the players winning in spite of the coach" as many here insist on doing, but as the coach, the GM, and the players each deserving of significant credit in this success.
