(1) Was impressed how the team didn't fold late in the game and in overtime, especially without Vince. I believe that last year they lost most if not all their preseason games. (2) Devin Harris looks great. (3) CDR looked fantastic. Ryan Anderson looked like he will contribute as well. (4) Josh Boone was active around the basket, and showed off a ten-foot jump shot. You go, Josh! (5) Hassell and Ager were awful. I didn't see much from Swift that impressed me, either. (6) Gill was decent, if unspectacular. He made some big baskets late in the game. (7) Same with Simmons. He didn't look good early, but I'll withhold judgment.
What today did was open up the competition at the #3. With CDR playing as well as he did--a Heat beat reporter described his scoring as "almost effortless"--and with Ryan Anderson showing his range and his aggressiveness and with Hayes still hurt, the #3 spot looks more wide open...and possibly a stronger position that thought. Of course, they're rookies and of course we haven't seen Yi, another candidate for the #3...but I have to think things are no what we thought they would be. Boone also put on some weight and it showed. He was able to barrel in for the putback dunk at the end. No Hodge?
I suspect that Hodge will play in London, and that Gill won't. You got a glimpse of how good a rebounder Ryan is. He is slim and looks like he should be pushed aside, but he has that "knack" of knowing which way the ball is likely to bounce. I'm telling you, he will be closer to KVH than Nachbar--and remember KVH was a heck of a player in his prime (although he had his flaws).
Devin and CDR were great, Ryan was solid, and Gill looked pretty good today. Sean on the other hand was playing way way too hyper. I'm glad the first game is out of the way and we took it to OT with our third unit. We have a pretty deep squad, there's no reason we can't run our opponents all night.
The Heat bigs are small, I wanna see what Josh and Ryan do against a bigger and better frontcourt. Damn it feels good writing that about another team's frontcourt.
I'm excited to see Swift's aggression on both ends. He's challenging shots, meeting defenders, and going for boards. Offensively, don't expect much if he's the focal point on offense. They didn't go to CDR the 1st half (with the 2nd unit), they went to Swift. If he's playing alongside unit with more capable scorers/willing passers...I'm sure his aggression will payoff. Boone was solid as usual. Making the right moves, being at the right spots....he too, will contribute along better playmakers. That jumper also got me excited. If that J is legit, I expect major minutes and a starting role. With Devin, I hope the TO's are just a part of the rust or else we're in trouble. But great pass to Swat, although he couldn't catch it. As a scorer, I expected nothing less. I'm really counting on him to be All-Star-like material. I also want to see Brook. If CDR is capable of that kind of performance at #40, I want to see what our #1 can do.
Brook is just huge. It's not just that he's tall. He has the prototypical "NBA body." He has filled out, has wide shoulders, big arms, big hands. Tree-like legs. He is still learning, though. He should be able to just dominate many opposing centers physically and instead he settles for lower-percentage shots. Also, defensively, he doesn't position himself well in the pick-and-roll. That can be fixed pretty quickly, if it hasn't already.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/photo?s...21f2-getty-82176152nb018_nets_heat&prov=getty who the heck is Omar Bartlett #51?
All I know is that the two rookies who played--Anderson and CDR--played very well, particularly for their first game, overseas, in front of 15,000 fans and the one young veteran who played--Boone--stepped up big time. Swift, Hassell, Ager, Gill will either not be on the team or sporting some fine clothes.
Agree on the first 3, but I thought Gill did reasonably well. He had a couple turnovers, but not nearly as many as Devin, and he played decent defense and hit a couple of shots. As PG insurance, I think he makes the team, perhaps with a contract that is not guaranteed for the whole season.
Gill could beat out Ager and Hodge for the last spot on the roster. He wasn't terrible. He didn't get rattled, was deliberate, and exhibited a good shot that he wasn't afraid to take. I can't envision them cutting Swift or Hassell. How could they get rid of them? I agree that if everyone is healthy, they will likely be the ones who are inactive. Of course, we have yet to see Dooling, Hayes, and Najera play.
Swift is being showcased. Hopefully somone will take him. I would like to see Collins comeback and just be that 3rd center that helps the bigs. Hopefully David Harrison will do something stupid and they'll come calling. That second unit was pretty miserable with Ager, Hassell and Swift. Gill had a great audition for that 3rd pg spot. Will be interesting to see how Hodge performs next. Devin and Boone looked rusty at first, but seemed to shake it off over time. For the next game I think Yi will take Ryan's minutes. Brook will take Swift's minutes (unless they are desperately showcasing him... in which case he'll take Boone's minutes). Hodge will get Gill's minutes. Dooling will take Ager's minutes. And if healthy Najera will take Hassell's minutes. These injuries are obnoxious. Najera and Dooling will be a big part of the rotation so I hope they can start getting involved. One thing is for certain... someone up front needs to go. Too many bodies.
Not worried right now since it is Preseason, but there is a concern. Harris needs to work on these abilities.
Sean looked like he actually knew where he needed to be. He didn't jump at everything and I didn't see him fouling that much either. I only saw bits of the first and all of the second so he could have sucked it up at the start lol.
Those who think Devin can't pass, review his games with the Nets last season. He may not be the second coming of John Stockton but he's a good playmaker. I was surprised at how well he ran pick and rolls with Boone last season and how quickly and easily he was able to find RJ and Vince for alleyoops when they cut baseline from the weakside. His performance as a playmaker yesterday was terrible, I admit, but it's the first preseason game with an entirely new team and a new offense. Be patient.
