The accolades that Ross is getting for his defensive skills seem aspirational still. He has the body and speed for it, but there is no tangible evidence that he is shutting anyone down. At least we've seen Jaylin do it before on multiple occasions.
Jayden on offense is so similar to Andre, without the passing ability. In one game he has looked like a 3 point threat but he also heaved one over the backboard in an exhibition. Jayden is 3-7 from 3, which means he was 0-4 before last night. We have such little data to base any change in his performance on.
Both guys are a great 5th option right now, and their job is certainly to stand on one side of the offensive formation while the other side is stacked in an attempt to generate open looks for our shooters, passes into the paint, or cuts for others when the defensive overplays. If they were "just standing in the corner" and were supposed to be doing something different, they wouldn't be in the game very long.
Yes this is an adjustment for Eric, and he is getting sped up a lot. He's got a billion different schemes flying around in his head and isn't always doing the right thing on either side of the ball. But we need a backup center and it's likely he only plays as much as is needed based on Tarris' foul trouble. Most of us wished Donovan got more playing time even if he was behind Adams, so I doubt Hurley plays Eric more than is absolutely necessary.
Our ability to shoot is still elite, and Solo will heat up. Braylon is coming back soon and will make us an even better shooting team. Silas, Solo, and Malachi are having an easier time of getting to the rim than anyone has over the past few years, perhaps except for Steph. And Reed is a beast who has inherited the offensive efficiency of Adama, perhaps at an even higher level.
There are 5 professional coaches who are pulling the strings. They will try to optimize what they've got to work with. Hopefully they figure it out, inspire the team, and get to write another book about how they did it.
