Now that it's one week away from lacing them up for real, we can look back at this preseason with a giant ho, hum. In several games when the starting five was on the floor together with some conviction, we played nicely. These moments were few and far between. Baron seemed to be turning it on and off, resting a sore hamstring. When he put the effort out there it was night and day. J-Rich was encouraging with his ball handling skills, and I'm sure he'll provide his normal strong play. The backcourt is our obvious strong point, so health is the main key. I believe the health issue was driving the preseason. The minutes for the main 6 or 7 guys should drastically increase, and then the true guage will become apparant. Murphy had some very rough spots, but also some very encouraging moments in the paint. As our main rebounder we need him desperatly. The Phoenix game was deceiving because of the amount of long rebounds, due to the amount of long jumpers they take. As he gets more comfortable with the season in progress, he'll shoot the ball much better. Foyle needs to realize how important it is for him to not foul out of the first half. His defense really sets the tone for our fast breaking style that this team excells at. Without him in there the half court set is giving us trouble. Biedrins might have impressed the most in the preseason, solidifying his spot in the rotation. The game Taft played against the Suns was something for us all to look for in the future. He was strong, moving people, finished inside, and proved that if he's on the floor with the starters, he can make things happen. I don't know what to think about Dunleavy. He makes good plays, and sometimes is our best shooter, but his disappearing is bothersome. Pietrus' preseason was very disappointing. Very few moments of his dominant play. His defense was good and he should be very valuable as the season goes on. Zarko took some steps backward and might find himself out of the rotation when the season begins. What's up with Fisher? His dribble, dribble, dribble, then shoot, is more than I can take. It almost seems like he's trying to efff things up. No doubt he's our best free throw shooter, and we need that but, he's just no-good at running an offense. Give me the youngsters. Miles can run an offense, and Ellis can score. Let them learn now instead of at the end of the season. Ike Diogu has alot to show us and we need the inside presence in order to make the strong move for a playoff push. I'm hopeful he'll provide this inside toughness, it's just how soon can he get in there. Overall, winning more games than we lose, should be the goal short term. Until we go on a major run of wins or if its clear we're in the playoff hunt, the talk of playoffs is fun but not realistic. This team has not proven at any time that they can win without Baron in the lineup. There will be games where Baron will be banged up, so it's imperative that the team shows itself, and Baron that it's not ALL on his shoulders.
The main plus I saw in preseason is Biedrens playing well without too many fouls. Taft has a lot to learn but now looks a safe bet to at worst justify the pick. Fisher has not been reading forums or he'd have shown up more playmaker-less gunner. The Dunleavy-Pietrus-Zarko contest for SF minutes is on hold. Dunleavy is great vs SOME matchups,poor vs others. Pietrus is a bit weary from Euro-ball and I hope he gets his zoom back,it's important. Zarko may just be a mid-late season guy,his preseason had some lows with a few good stretches. Miles,Monta can win minutes by being playmakers. After missing a lot of pre-season,Foyle and Diogu have the opportunity to make a very noticable impact when they return. Our in the paint play was off. I'm concerned about the tendency to shoot and miss so many 3's in the pre. The Warriors should have been wouking on moving the ball as a TEAM,on attacking the rim,penetrating,scoring in traffic. Firing 3's is a bit of a cop-out,You can launch 3's in an empty gym all summer.
Wednesday folks! Please, God, don't let us get embarassed by Atlanta. There's plenty of forwards on that team that can go off on Murphy or Dunleavy at will for career highs. I do see one plus, though: If Joe Johnson plays point guard, we send out the Pietrus and play Dunleavy at point guard. Don't f--- with the Pietrus. Sorry, I'm imitating stuff from the movie, The Big Lebowski.
