Post#68 » by nate33 » Sun Jan 4, 2009 9:53 pm
Some other observations:
I thought the refs were excellent tonight. They did a good job of making sure Sideshow Bob didn't get away with his usual antics. They called him once for over the back once and another time for a moving screen. Obviously, they called the Lebron travel accurately for a change. And they were even accurate on most of the other calls that went against us. The Lebron 4-point play was the right call. Butler did make contact with Lebron's hand. I also liked the offensive foul on Boobie Gibson when he stuck out his leg while shooting. You don't see it called often, but it was the right call. Nick Young would not have made contact with Boobie if Boobie didn't stick out the leg.
DMac showed some nice offensive moves today. He had two terrific left-handed drives to the basket. He's got to show enough offensive ability to make sure teams don't cheat off of him. It looks like he is making strides in that department. As usual, he was terrific on the glass. His rebounding work was a key factor in this game. 10 boards in 32 minutes from the SG position is pretty damn impressive.
Nick Young is very tentative out there. He has lost much of his confidence and is no longer in attack mode. For the time being, that might not be such a bad thing. He needs to learn how to be an effective role player before being given the role of a primary option. I like that his defense is improving and that he is moving the ball on offense. Hopefully, he'll figure out this role player thing and then be able to integrate it with his natural scoring gifts.
Blatche may well be the best passer on the team. We've got to try to get him into the high post more often to initiate the offense. Screw the Princeton hybrid. With Blatche in the game, we might be able to run the actual Princeton Offense.
I thought Butler did a pretty good job on Lebron. Lebron hit 3 step-back three pointers tonight with Butler draped all over him. Lebron has been shooting 29% from 3 this season. If he had a normal shooting night he probably would have missed some of those. Overall, he shot just 50% with 7 turnovers. After a slow start, Butler has played some pretty solid defense lately.
I really like Hickson. He's got a bulky but wiry build and a frame that looks like it can get much stronger without losing athleticism. He's going to be a brute. And he's got some nice post moves to go with it.
Sign me up for a Jamison + Etan for Wally + Hickson trade.
