Well, I just got back from the game and thought I'd share my thoughts. Vern Hamilton is right here alongside me and he'll share some of his insight. He's crashing at my apartment tonight because he was told to gtfo... no other instructions, just gtfo.
That's the good news. The bad news is I took my camera and had nice seats right behind the hoop and my camera died in the first half. Even worse, the Celtics were at my end in the first
.
Anyways, just some quick observations about the game for those of you who didn't watch:
- Kinda shocked at the lack of minutes by Z, Wally, and Mo; especially Mo since we're still without West. I kept complaining to my friend because Boobie looked good out there, but the offense never "set up" with him at the point. So I was kinda surprised to see Mo never come back after getting taken out in the first. My good friend Vern says its because the coaching staff had faith enough to give the second half to him.
- LeBron looked good, but looked like he wanted to push it too much. Had back to back turnovers trying to make a crosscourt pass over Ray Allen both times. It was nice to see Mo take it out after that though and motion for Bron to slow down as Williams walked it up.
- Kinsey, Dupree, and Hamilton look like they have no business being on this team. The last two probably won't make it (no offense bunk-mate). But it just seemed like Kinsey was never comfortable out there and ended up fouling out with 5 points. He was however out there with an all forward line-up, asked to run the point, and was never really with any of the "first team," so I'll give him a break for now.
- Lorenzen Wright looked good physically (no homo). He held his own on the block and looked to not only be in good shape, but could contribute if called upon. It was also nice to see Andy get up in KG and Perkins' faces without the presence of Ben Wallace to back him up. It really reminded me of the back and forth talk between Drew and KG last year prior to the deadline. Just nice to see that even without our enforcer Ben, no one is going to let KG knock in Z's melon like the team used to let Sheed. Those days are over.
- Jawad Williams looked like a baller. Many times he was asked to guard a two (Tony Allen, Ray Allen), but stepped up to the challenge. He looked very versatile and somehow managed to thrive with that second/third team
. He definitely looks like a lock for our roster, but I'm still amazed that he missed all 4 of his free throw attempts. Hmph, must just be our team.
- JJ Hickson looked like a
monster. He didn't back down from anyone, even Fat Baby Davis, who btw is a house in person. He had a few quality jams and unfortunately could've had a better stat line if he wasn't playing with players who couldn't get the ball to the three point line (I'm lookin' at you Vern and Kinsey). Many times he had to come out to the wing to help get the ball which upset me more than anything tonite. I would've liked to have seen him get on the block and do more damage. Also, I would've liked to have seen him play more with LeBron and be the first big off the bench instead of Jackson.
- This segue leads me to our other draft pick, Jackson. He also looked great and managed to score with that awful offense we threw out in the fourth. He didn't hesitate to knock down the 10-14 footer and looked very confident in that role despite the fact the pg's were feeding him with a man on him. This is very good if he sees time with our first/second team as more open shots from that distance would be very likely.
- Boobie also looked very good despite not setting up the offense as well as a true pg, but I won't hold it against him since he'll rarely be doing that (LeBron, Mo, D. West). Another sidenote, despite losing our third straight game, we were leading after the first half for the third straight game. Therefore, our regulars are playing well and we shouldn't be worried about wins/losses (I mean it's preseason). I was also kinda pissed when Cleveland threw out only one starter (Varejao, who isn't even our real starter) to start the second half, whereas Boston threw out their starting five. But if winning preseason games gets you off, have at it
.
So here are some of the pictures I took... camera isn't the greatest and some a-hole's head threw off the focus in some, but whatever.
Wallyworld--Sorry bro, I tried but he wouldn't stand still. You know that Wally is active on defense!
I also took a mean shot of Hickson throwin' down over O'Bryant and Powe but the camera died as I took it!
P.S. For all you die hard Browns fans, Moondog came out towards the end of the game in a Browns jersey and had the whole crowd boo him. He then took off the jersey to reveal a tie-dye Steelers shirt. Lastly, he had a present Pittsburgh Steeler (couldn't tell who it was.. a few were there including Roethlisberger) throw him a toy football from his seat. Just wanted to let you know how Moondog plays to the Pittsburgh crowd :chuckles:.
P.S.S. That wasn't a jab at Browns fans. I'm not a Steelers fan :gap:
