storyteller
Veteran
Gotta go with a quick cap today:
- Frank and Taj have been really big difference makers, but Taj is still undersized for some C's and the foul trouble reflected that. Meanwhile Frank is playing well but he has to start demanding the ball more from the bigs off their rebounds. I've seen them look all of him, RJ and DSJ off but you can definitely catch DSJ making a more clear route to the ball instead of the "you want it or should I take that for you" approach Frank sometimes has...that approach will always be "I've got this" for Randle and Mook in crunch time.
- Credit where it's due, Randle has improved in terms of sharing the rock and letting Guards handle things but it's been baby steps. He's still calling his own number too often. Morris usually isn't as bad about it but the hometown thing seemed to cause him to press. Dude was turned all the way up all night. Both guys would benefit from letting Frank, RJ, Dot and DSJ initiate more often though. It's getting there, I think.
- Not gonna kill Fiz but I still think he makes the right move just a minute later than necessary. That's Frank coming back in for the 4th, Mitch coming into the 4th for crunch time and some of the early game TO's where the forwards were overdoing their full court takes. Overall, the tight rotation was good. I know it's frustrating to see Knox punished, but his defensive effort warranted a message. And the second half use of Timeouts was on point. It was a tight game so we could nitpick but Morris picking up that flagrant is the biggest issue I'd have in the minor details of the night and that's not on Fiz.
- Mitch is still laboring and I think that explains the foul trouble these past two games. His mobility is off just slightly but it's thrown off his timing and you see that on his touch inside as well as picking up some cheap fouls. Also...Embiid gets way too much love from the refs imo. Simmons earns it, Embiid is getting away with things on one end and then his defenders get called for 'em. It's not surprising how often dudes get angry with the kid or end up going at him.
- DSJ had a stellar first half on both ends and then dragged on both ends in the second half. I'm wondering if that's conditioning because he was much more locked in mentally at least from a body language perspective.
- Dot had a tough time with the Sixers' length but had some really nice moments defensively. That's the one thing separating him from Wayne and Trier. He's the most likely to impact the other end when his shot isn't going down. I still feel for Trier though, he has had the inconsistent minutes and role changes that I felt hurt Frank last year. With Zo though, he'd help his case a lot by stepping up on defense.
- Speaking of bad defense...Knox is getting there offensively but the defensive play has regressed to last season bad and we can't blame it on fatigue like I'd hoped was the problem last season. I do think he's another sophomore slump contender from the perspective that his energy is all over the place and I wonder if that's related to growing pains...wonder, hope, same difference.
- I've been asking to develop a defensive identity to make up for the lack of offensive talent for years. This year we're closer to that. But DSJ, Knox and Portis all at once is a recipe for disaster. I hate that Knox was the one to lose his time but understand it. I also think it's noteworthy that with or without Knox, the second unit defense dragged last night. No hate here, but tweaks seem necessary and this is where it gets tricky with the rotation because the starters are putting up really impressive splits so you don't wanna wreck it.
- Iggy bodied it for Westchester the other night and then Kenny Wooten showed out last night. 8 BLOCKS...and we don't have a back-up rim protector. I wouldn't mind trying to turn one of our SG's into a future asset so that we can make a roster spot for Wooten when we play bigger teams like Philly. Something to keep Wooten before another team tries to steal all that athletic upside. I'd also be down for trying to move Payton on 12/15 or Allen's two-way contract. The backcourt logjams are clearer since we have a pretty set rotation right now.
- Frank and Taj have been really big difference makers, but Taj is still undersized for some C's and the foul trouble reflected that. Meanwhile Frank is playing well but he has to start demanding the ball more from the bigs off their rebounds. I've seen them look all of him, RJ and DSJ off but you can definitely catch DSJ making a more clear route to the ball instead of the "you want it or should I take that for you" approach Frank sometimes has...that approach will always be "I've got this" for Randle and Mook in crunch time.
- Credit where it's due, Randle has improved in terms of sharing the rock and letting Guards handle things but it's been baby steps. He's still calling his own number too often. Morris usually isn't as bad about it but the hometown thing seemed to cause him to press. Dude was turned all the way up all night. Both guys would benefit from letting Frank, RJ, Dot and DSJ initiate more often though. It's getting there, I think.
- Not gonna kill Fiz but I still think he makes the right move just a minute later than necessary. That's Frank coming back in for the 4th, Mitch coming into the 4th for crunch time and some of the early game TO's where the forwards were overdoing their full court takes. Overall, the tight rotation was good. I know it's frustrating to see Knox punished, but his defensive effort warranted a message. And the second half use of Timeouts was on point. It was a tight game so we could nitpick but Morris picking up that flagrant is the biggest issue I'd have in the minor details of the night and that's not on Fiz.
- Mitch is still laboring and I think that explains the foul trouble these past two games. His mobility is off just slightly but it's thrown off his timing and you see that on his touch inside as well as picking up some cheap fouls. Also...Embiid gets way too much love from the refs imo. Simmons earns it, Embiid is getting away with things on one end and then his defenders get called for 'em. It's not surprising how often dudes get angry with the kid or end up going at him.
- DSJ had a stellar first half on both ends and then dragged on both ends in the second half. I'm wondering if that's conditioning because he was much more locked in mentally at least from a body language perspective.
- Dot had a tough time with the Sixers' length but had some really nice moments defensively. That's the one thing separating him from Wayne and Trier. He's the most likely to impact the other end when his shot isn't going down. I still feel for Trier though, he has had the inconsistent minutes and role changes that I felt hurt Frank last year. With Zo though, he'd help his case a lot by stepping up on defense.
- Speaking of bad defense...Knox is getting there offensively but the defensive play has regressed to last season bad and we can't blame it on fatigue like I'd hoped was the problem last season. I do think he's another sophomore slump contender from the perspective that his energy is all over the place and I wonder if that's related to growing pains...wonder, hope, same difference.
- I've been asking to develop a defensive identity to make up for the lack of offensive talent for years. This year we're closer to that. But DSJ, Knox and Portis all at once is a recipe for disaster. I hate that Knox was the one to lose his time but understand it. I also think it's noteworthy that with or without Knox, the second unit defense dragged last night. No hate here, but tweaks seem necessary and this is where it gets tricky with the rotation because the starters are putting up really impressive splits so you don't wanna wreck it.
- Iggy bodied it for Westchester the other night and then Kenny Wooten showed out last night. 8 BLOCKS...and we don't have a back-up rim protector. I wouldn't mind trying to turn one of our SG's into a future asset so that we can make a roster spot for Wooten when we play bigger teams like Philly. Something to keep Wooten before another team tries to steal all that athletic upside. I'd also be down for trying to move Payton on 12/15 or Allen's two-way contract. The backcourt logjams are clearer since we have a pretty set rotation right now.
why would I admit that when it’s completely untrue .
