Much has been made here about changes that needed to be made over the last few games, and watching that game today was a breath of fresh air. It seemed Hurley had some clarity from watching last game from the sideline, and the players are starting to take action on the film they are watching. I know Butler is horrible (plus missing Bates) and we match up well against them, but you gotta take what you can get after a rough stretch and hope this trend continues.
I think some players had multiple improvements this game (e.g., Adama passed well, rebounded better, and protected the rim more aggressively) but I'm highlighting what I thought was the single most critical improvement that each player showed
Sanogo: Passing out of doubles
)
If each player can continue making incremental improvements on the above, I could see this team returning to form. Here's to hoping they keep trending upward, and Hurley recaptures some of that early season magic. Let's freaking bludgeon X on Wednesday!
I think some players had multiple improvements this game (e.g., Adama passed well, rebounded better, and protected the rim more aggressively) but I'm highlighting what I thought was the single most critical improvement that each player showed
Sanogo: Passing out of doubles
- Hallelujah,. This has to be the best Adama has ever passed, especially out of doubles, which he realized early and often. Instead of players standing still every time he had the ball, they were looking ready to receive his pass. Huge unlock for the team if it continues
- I know Jackson still made many drives today where he was only looking to pass, but there were more instances where he looked to shoot both back to the basket (early in the game) and on the drive (early 2H). Still room for improvement, but I thought he did much better looking for his shot today
- Anyone else think Jordan probably dribbled the ball the most he has all season in this game? Loved all his little dribble separation moves for the midrange J's, continued drives to the hoop, and seeming increase to leading fast breaks with the ball. Still dribbling a little too high in transition, but that's fixable
- Karaban has no glaring holes (outside of his D in matchups that frankly are unfair to him) so it was hard to find one, but my cop out improvement is more about him finally getting spelled now that Johnson is folding back in - now he can rest his body and be even more efficient on both ends
- Newton was back in early season form, aggressively going to the hoop and looking to score or draw fouls. Really great game from him - the floor opens up when he's a threat to drive
)- Diarra has sometimes gotten out ahead of himself on offense and made some head scratching turnovers or taken bad shots - thought he played within himself on that end today, and it showed... also loved taking the wide open layup rather than forcing another missed dunk
- Clingan has gotten caught many times this season hunting for a block and completely losing his guy on his back, leading to easy alley oops or passes over his head. There was one play in particular in the 2H where he could have done the same thing, but stayed home and trusted his teammate to play good D leading to a missed shot and an easy clear off the miss. Next big step is not getting sped up in his back to basket offense - he showed good poise on his one post move in the 1H, which was promising
- To be fair, Joey was doing this earlier in the season (e.g., sweet dimes to Clingan in the G'Town game) but has gotten away from it recently; he had some really nice drives and dishes today (outside of that one where he should have shot) - here's to hoping he can continue to bust through seams against better competition
- Tongue in cheek... all seriousness it was awesome to see him out there being super active. He could be the X-Factor for this team especially given how absolutely STACKED our opponents in this league are at PF - I know it's early but he looks ready to disrupt Hopkins, Freemantle, OMax, and Kaluma
- Kind of at a loss here. Really want to see him put it together, but not sure what needs to change for that to happen
- Realize the above is pretty offense focused, and I'd be remiss not to acknowledge the fantastic team defense - the rotations were quick, situational hedges worked, rebounding was on, and scrappiness was there. Nice to not get outhustled again - I think this is the hardest the team has played since the 1H at Marquette
If each player can continue making incremental improvements on the above, I could see this team returning to form. Here's to hoping they keep trending upward, and Hurley recaptures some of that early season magic. Let's freaking bludgeon X on Wednesday!
