Can't get too excited or upset after a single preseason game, BUT a "baseline" for performance is set. Do the good things done by the team or individuals continue, and are the negatives addressed by coaches and players so they gradually disappear?
I only saw the end of the first half and most of the second, so my comments might not address certain things which happened when I was not watching.
Some guys looked like they did last year in terms of ball movement. They tried something, and if it didn't work they would pass off and then just stand there. J.R. and Hardaway did this a number of times. These are two guys who really have to buy into the system and learn to move without the ball in order to get into a position to score.
I usually give younger guys who have shown promise but have a bad game a break early in preseason. Larkin and Early both looked tentative and played with limited confidence- but I expect both to find some kind of comfort zone in this system at some point. Larkin, especially, should benefit from an offense that is supposed to reward off the ball movement.
Rookies who look good in one early preseason game have to be evaluated with a grain of salt, but Wear really did look like he belonged. Not sure if he can bang as a PF or is quick enough to play the 3, but you know that Jackson and Fisher were impressed, and I expect they will expand his role a bit to see if what he did vs Boston is what he can give them on a consistent basis.
Liked Acy on D, but he has an awkward shot. He has to hit that midrange shot to get any real minutes. Hit his free throws with no issue, so it might simply be a matter of finding a groove.
Calderon looked fine all around to me, and his shot is already there, it would seem. I hope that he can take more of a commanding role in terms of directing the offense.
Bargnani looked like he wanted to rebound, which is amazing.
Outlaw should go back to his hideout and stay there. He is supposed to be a good guy, and I hope he is better than what I have seen over the recent years and yesterday, but the guy seems to have no confidence as a player at this point, and actually seems like more of a "project" than younger players like Wear and Early.
Dalembert had his moments. The guy looks more than serviceable, even if he is not a long term solution at center.
Team D was pretty weak at times, which is something to be concerned about. Boston hit 50% from the 3- which is an aberration, IMO, but they were still too open at times. Do Sullinger and Olynyk hit 6/8 from downtown on a regular basis? Sullinger is 27% lifetime. If they shoot like this next game I might think differently, but right now I let a guy like Sullinger take the 3.
Hopefully the bad things disappear and the good things continue, but we will see.
EnySpree: Can we agree to agree not to mention Phil Jackson and triangle for the rest of our lives?
10/9/2014 8:15 AM
