Akok came out like a house on fire defensively for the first five minutes and then was a nonfactor.
Gaffney was 0-6 with zero assists. His influence at the beginning was maybe a bit too calming because they were getting doubled up by Memphis when Gilbert came in.
Whaley was great. If you had told me two years ago that he’d be the contributor he is now I’d say you were insane. I could not believe my eyes when he ripped a guard, led a fast break, and dished to Bouknight for a chance for two.
Adams was a nonfactor.
Bouknight continues to struggle shooting and he’s way too sloppy with the ball, but he’s clearly our best option to manufacture scoring plays. Kid will be very good before it’s all said and done. Late on a rotation that led to a backbreaking Memphis 3.
Carlton .... pass. Not sure what he brings in games like this that Whaley doesn’t.
Gilbert will obviously share blame for the loss with Vital, which seems nuts to me. He had one awful turnover trying to force that hit ahead to Whaley, but beyond that I’m not going to kill the kid when he gets the ball with 5 seconds on the shot clock and tries to make a play. It is simply a true statement that this team had very little going on offensively to start the game before he came in.
Vital was Vital. Plays his ass off, defends, rebounds, can hit shots, and makes a couple plays that make you want to destroy your tv. Seems crazy to pin the loss on him when so many other guys were zeroes but the narrative for the season has been established and that’s the way it’s gonna be.