Probably the most promising defensive team we've had in many years. This team is very long and athletic, with a few guys that actually take pride in it. I think we are still going to suck this year, but the future looks very bright!
I say there's no way that CJ doesn't start the rest of the season. There's no reason why he shouldn't. Something tells me gerald Henderson is going to be trade bait.
Agreed CJ starts. Obviously Dame too. You can tell who I'd bring off the bench. But if all the guys play ~25min a night doesn't really matter much who starts. I was glad to see all the 9 guys play who played last night. Crabbe will have better games. We will unfortunately have an injury so Hendo could be exactly what we need when that time comes. Don't think he has trade value until he plays.
CJ should get 30-35 Mins a game. If Crabbe continues to look like he did last night, he'll be involved in a trade too. He looked horrible on D.
I'd be fine with that and give Harkless the backup SG minutes. Mo got a few at the '2' last night where he was on the floor at the same time as Aminu with CJ at PG. That give a lot of length on the wings, disrupts the other teams offense and gets in passing lanes.
Yes, and how about those big threes. Harkless didn't have big numbers last night, but played some nice defense and hit two really important shots. On defense, I love seeing the active hands all over the place. On drives, in passing lanes, it's like The Gauntlet.
The way this team is built is for almost complete interchangeability. I think we will continue to see this when Henderson comes back. He is better than Crabbe, and I don't think it's close.
This is absolutely what I loved the most. We scrambled more, pressured and actually rebound with more efficiency. I guess it helps when you have bigs committed and fast enough to recover.
Yep. CJ is the backup PG because he can make any shot Dame can make, and basically plays the same game Dame does. Mason and Ed Davis play similarly, as do Harkless, Crabbe, and Aminu (to varying degrees). Meyers is the unicorn, which is why he starts, but Vonleh has a shot out there too.
The upgrade in defense was quite noticeable. Our front line appears to have quicker feet this year. The reaction time is better. It will be interesting to see what happens during the "few" games where the opposing bigs try to pound it down low. But against most opponents, I think our upgrade in lateral quickness is more beneficial.
