So we've had three preseason games to digest some new information. Some thoughts that I've had so far: CJ is legit. I still have doubts about starting him because I love using him off the bench ala Jamal Crawford, but the guy can flat out score. He is definitely 6th man of the year material. Aminu is going to be fine as our starting small forward, but we need to stop pretending he's Batum. He's not a play maker. He's more of your usual athletic wing that can slash and defend. I like the signing though. Our bigs are tough and can rebound like crazy, but scoring will be hard to come by. I'm glad we have Leonard because Vonleh is still developing and Davis/Plumlee can't score from outside of five feet of the basket. Crabbe is ready to contribute. I doubt he'll drop 20 every night, but he is showing growth and he's ready for a regular spot in the rotation. Depending on what happens with Hendo, I would be perfectly fine starting Crabbe and bringing CJ off the bench as a super sub. I think this team has the talent to surprise a lot of people, but youth and a lack of consistency is going to make it hard to win games. I still think we're going to be one of the bottom 5 in the league, which I'm fine with.
The inconsistency will kill us some nights, but it was cool to see us battle without Dame. We'd be 2-1 if Bellianelli didn't have his one Massive game a month against us, or if Dame played the other night. I feel like any night could be our night, and also that we won't get blown out too much. Scrappy. We're scrappy. I love these kiddos.
That's really all I can ask for. As long as they work hard and we develop the young guys, I really don't care much about wins. My hopes for this season are: 1. CJ takes that next step and becomes a consistent contributor (averages 15 ppg-ish) 2. Play Crabbe, Vonleh, Harkless, and Meyers as much as possible to see what we've got on our hands. 3. Let Aminu, Plumlee, and Davis show whether they're more than just average role players. I'm really hoping to see some of these young guys take a step forward. We need to get a better idea of who we should be devoting our time developing. It's going to be hard to give each guy an equal look, so we need them to distinguish themselves. CJ really looks ready to prove he was worth that pick. I would like to see similar evidence of progress from guys like Meyers, Crabbe, Harkless, and Vonleh. I would love to have a clear plan by the end of this season so Neil can draft one star and hopefully use some cap space to sign one or two contributors.
The reason CJ is playing so well is that he's grown 2 inches http://forwardcenter.net/shorthanded-blazers-hold-their-own-in-loss-to-kings/
Team looks way better than expected, and nearly every one of the young guys has shown improvement. Still don't think it translates to playoffs or anything. I'll up my prediction from about 28 wins to 35. I would hate to be out of contention for a top 5 pick however.
I like that we seem to have better depth 1 through 10, and that the chemistry seems really good despite all the changes. But far and away what I like best is that this team wants to run...and then run some more. It seems like they're off to the races from the initial tip off until the final buzzer. Yes, it can get sloppy but win or lose, that's fun stuff to watch. There's a lot of upside to this team as currently constructed. I can only imagine how good we could be with the addition of one or two key pieces. And that is what this season should be all about.....seeing what pieces are going to work and where exactly we need help. The playoffs are secondary for the time being.
Everything has happened exactly the way I thought it would. In all seriousness, I have been pleasantly surprised by Crabbe, Frazier, and Harkless, and mildly disappointed by Plumlee. I think the preseason consensus of Connaughton, Montero, and Alexander all being non-playing projects seems supported by the evidence. I think the biggest shift in my thinking is the idea that Crabbe and Harkless could be pushing the unfortunately-injured Henderson out of the rotation.
Dame/CJ Crabbe/Henderson Aminu/Harkless Leonard/Vonleh Plumlee//Davis I think this is the rotation to start and Connaughton has to beat Harkless to get in the rotation..Alexander has to beat Vonleh...Frazier isn't beating anyone nor is Montero
Yeah... Plumlee has been outplayed by Davis. I was not expecting that. Right now I would actually consider putting Davis ahead of Plumlee in the depth chart.
CJ isn't only going to get backup PG minutes. That would cap him out at 12 mins. He is going to get at least 28 a game.
I still want to keep Kaman (our bigs have promise but could still use his help in practice) but agree about Hendo. Or just riding the pine at some point.
I think Kaman has too much value to just leave him rotting on the bench. I think they might be waiting for Henderson to get healthy and then trade him.
I thought about that and you may be right...you could swap anybody in the first two squads and pretty much have the same team except for Dame
My only reluctance is that Davis seems to be a better scorer than Plumlee, and we might need that post presence to be paired with Vonleh. I really like Noah, but he's still raw and not dependable as a scorer on the second unit.
I've thought the same. Aside from Plumlee being a better part and Davis a better shot-blocker, their skill-sets are interchangeable enough that performance is everything. Is Plumlee simply playing against better players, or is Davis just better? I'd like to see them swap roles here in preseason just to see if that would have any impact on their performance relative to one another.
