Cole had his best game of the season, easily, and was very important to the win. Shot well, defended aggressively, did not turn the ball over, hit the boards, got assists. He had two shots, which he created for himself, that were very makeable. He hits those 2, he's the player of the game. Loved seeing this. He plays like this all year, we're in great shape at guard.
Still waiting for Bouknight to have a huge game. Seems like he starts hot, gets dinged up, or otherwise just slows down. He had at least 2 3s rattle in and out. He also got banged up. If he's just a touch more on, we win by ten.
Polley had 4 fouls in very few minutes. That's the only reason he didn't get more run. If he finds his shot, he will get minutes against any zone we face. Guy is very tall, shoots from a high position, and hits over 40%. He will murder any zone if he reattains the form he was in last year, before the injury. Also was defending reasonably well and hitting the boards. He's 3 games back from a major injury. It's unrealistic to expect him to be banging on all cylinders.
Adams is a great energy guy and a very good defender, but I'm unsure of where his shooting will go. His numbers improved from year 1 to 2, and they seem to be up from 2 to 3. Reminds me of a Scotty Burrell progression. Does not seem like a natural shooter, but through practice and strength of will, he's becoming a threat. May just need to get in the rhythm. Fact is, we need 3 shooters. If he can hit over 35%, he'll get minutes.
Martin is steady as she goes. Need guys like this, who will virtually never have an "off" night, by which I mean, this guy is going to board and defend and hit the shots he should hit whenever he's on the floor.
You like apples? Carlton was the reason we won. Rebounded beastly, hit shots, played excellent D. Didn't some guy say he was off the team? IS IT TOO EARLY FOR A HANGING?
IMO Hurley is doing a really good job of feeling out this team. He's giving everybody a chance, for the most part. AJacks, for instance, looks a bit lost out there. But he's getting minutes. With the depth this team has, I think it's critical that Hurley lets guys get minutes early so he can figure out the best lineups. Experimentation now will lead to precision later on. I think it would be a mistake to just run your current best team out there. Gotta live through same pain now for some gain later.
Last night, if a few buckets fall (Cole's open 2s, Bouk's rim out 3s), we win by 10 and it seems like a well-managed affair, if not an annihilation.
As it was, we won by 4 and, oddly, it seemed never in doubt.
We have massive upside on this squad. We are nowhere near to firing on all cylinders. Polley comes around, Bouk polishes up, Gaff gets more aggressive, Adams gets a little more consistent, Akok comes back in form . . . very, very high ceiling.