Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 12, 2005 19:19:19 GMT -5
Few observations that came out of the loss to the Spurs:
--Delonte is currently slowing down the starting unit. He's playing very deliberately and that sets the tempo early on. It was noticeably different once Dickau came in. He pushed the balll quicker up the floor and moved at a quicker pace. By doing this, the tempo was more brisk and Ricky was able to get into a better groove.
--Another thing about Delonte, once he starts becoming more offensive minded, watch out. Teams aren't honoring Delonte's offense and they leave him open a lot. He gets quite a bit of open looks, but hardly looks to take it. Once he does, the starting unit will be more dangerous.
--Big Al Jefferson is truly incredible. Not much else I can use to describe him, because his game is just so unwordly. Scores at ease and rebounds at ease. He's the quickest rebounder in the NBA, meaning that he snatches rebounds out of thin air quicker than anyone else. One minute, the ball is up in the air, and next thing you know, Jefferson has gobbled it up and already initiated the fast break by dashing toward our end of the floor. He's also getting better with his post footwork and counter moves when defenses are in his way. He's using pump fakes more effectively and his touch around the rim is incredible. He's scores effectively out of his comfort zone, which is an early sign that he's going to be a big time scorer. He's looking a lot more comfortable out there and he's still playing with a lot of fire in his belly--just more under control. He's good at being at the right spot on the floor to receive entry passes. This enables him to get a lot of scoring opportunities.
--Gomes is going to continue getting playing time, and he's going to start putting up some numbers. Truly a garbage player who can bail us out when our plays are broken.
--Scalabrine is becoming more productive game by game. He's not putting up solid numbers yet, but he will eventually. The first thing he's done is reduce his turnovers--which he's done by dribbling the ball less and trying to play under control. He could turn out to be a terrific kickout option on penetrations, and he's showing a knack for coming up with tough offensive rebounds and knocking the ball loose to keep plays alive.
--Orien Greene is our best PG running the pick and roll. We aren't utilizing this play with him directing it nearly as often as we should. After he gets the pick, Orien has the vision to either pass the ball off or keep heading towards the rim. And he's showing the knack of scoring once he gets into the middle of the paint. He and Big Al are going to make a terrific pick and roll tandem because Jefferson is good at rolling after the pick. I can't wait for this to develop more.
--Raef and Blount are nice players, but not impactful enough. They can't get tough rebounds regularly and we can only rely on them to come up with rebounds that they should come up with. And defensively, they don't make much of a difference. They don't alter or block nearly enough shots as we need them too. Blount is a solid scoring option for us and Raef is a good "system" player, but they don't make enough of an impact for us to compete with really good starting 5's.
--Delonte is currently slowing down the starting unit. He's playing very deliberately and that sets the tempo early on. It was noticeably different once Dickau came in. He pushed the balll quicker up the floor and moved at a quicker pace. By doing this, the tempo was more brisk and Ricky was able to get into a better groove.
--Another thing about Delonte, once he starts becoming more offensive minded, watch out. Teams aren't honoring Delonte's offense and they leave him open a lot. He gets quite a bit of open looks, but hardly looks to take it. Once he does, the starting unit will be more dangerous.
--Big Al Jefferson is truly incredible. Not much else I can use to describe him, because his game is just so unwordly. Scores at ease and rebounds at ease. He's the quickest rebounder in the NBA, meaning that he snatches rebounds out of thin air quicker than anyone else. One minute, the ball is up in the air, and next thing you know, Jefferson has gobbled it up and already initiated the fast break by dashing toward our end of the floor. He's also getting better with his post footwork and counter moves when defenses are in his way. He's using pump fakes more effectively and his touch around the rim is incredible. He's scores effectively out of his comfort zone, which is an early sign that he's going to be a big time scorer. He's looking a lot more comfortable out there and he's still playing with a lot of fire in his belly--just more under control. He's good at being at the right spot on the floor to receive entry passes. This enables him to get a lot of scoring opportunities.
--Gomes is going to continue getting playing time, and he's going to start putting up some numbers. Truly a garbage player who can bail us out when our plays are broken.
--Scalabrine is becoming more productive game by game. He's not putting up solid numbers yet, but he will eventually. The first thing he's done is reduce his turnovers--which he's done by dribbling the ball less and trying to play under control. He could turn out to be a terrific kickout option on penetrations, and he's showing a knack for coming up with tough offensive rebounds and knocking the ball loose to keep plays alive.
--Orien Greene is our best PG running the pick and roll. We aren't utilizing this play with him directing it nearly as often as we should. After he gets the pick, Orien has the vision to either pass the ball off or keep heading towards the rim. And he's showing the knack of scoring once he gets into the middle of the paint. He and Big Al are going to make a terrific pick and roll tandem because Jefferson is good at rolling after the pick. I can't wait for this to develop more.
--Raef and Blount are nice players, but not impactful enough. They can't get tough rebounds regularly and we can only rely on them to come up with rebounds that they should come up with. And defensively, they don't make much of a difference. They don't alter or block nearly enough shots as we need them too. Blount is a solid scoring option for us and Raef is a good "system" player, but they don't make enough of an impact for us to compete with really good starting 5's.
