Well Now...
THAT Was FUN
Everyone played well.
There was coherence. There was continuity.
Intimations of progress up and down the rotation, individually and as a team.
Off the top of what passes for my head, our STARTERS
KEMBA: Man. Rivers. Harper. Marbury. Kidd. Can't remember seeing a PG of that caliber playing for the Knicks. That drive to the hoop. That short pull up pull up jumper. That long pull up jumper. That feed to RJ for a short jumper. That gorgeous fast break floater to a cutting Gibson. That serene, joyous confidence he exudes. A commanding presence.
ROSE: Shooting a little off, but man, when he first hit the floor, was like he was shot out of a cannon. Thought McBride's comments about his mentors were interesting, about Kemba using the angles, and Rose using pace. Each of them getting like 20 minutes seems like the plan going forward, and if IQ can keep growing at the point better still.
JULIUS: Took a little while to get in rhythm, but while no one was looking, boom, 20-9-2 with two steals and a block in 30 minutes...letting the game come to him more than last season. With Kemba AND dRose, seems so much more relaxed and purposeful not being tasked on so many possessions functioning as a point forward.
FOURNIER: As advertised. Hitting that first corner three got my blood boiling. But was pesky on defense, and a canny facilitator who drew coverage for his own offensive forays and in creating for others. He made a juke in the corner, down the baseline, drew coverage, and a lovely handoff for an easy hoop, to Julius as I recall.
RJ: Hitting that first three off of a Kemba feed was sweet. Sweeter still was seeing that he had worked on his midrange pick and pops and pull ups. Needs more work with his right hand and in finishing at the rack, but looked like a vet out there, 17-3-2, 7-of-14 and 3-of-6 from trey, more efficient, projecting more confidence and letting the game come to him.
BENCH
IQ: Our emerging Sixth Man of the bench with 6 boards and 7 assists. Seems to be getting it. That lovely feed to a cutting Knox. Better still, I was talking to the TV about, "Hey Q, stop automatically looking for your shot. Give up the ball, and just possibly, you'll get it right back for a better shot in rhythm." Which he proceeded to do at the top right of the key, handing off to Jericho, who popped it right back and Quick made his move, nailed a pull back jumper.
TAJ: How old is he again [36....seriously]. Hitting threes, facilitating ball movement, finishing at the rack, defense, boarding, mentoring Obi, Jericho, Mitchell, Kevin [14-6-3-1-1]. Thank goodness Omari Spellman had an eating disorder.
JERICHO: Don't want to get too fucking giddy, but damn, as raw as he is, and some coverage mistakes notwithstanding, he looks like he belongs out there, and really competes, whether on lobs or put backs. Once he begins to figure out how to more effectively block out for defensive and offensive boards, and how to more efficiently deploy his athleticism. He has the hops and is an intelligent, chill young man. Dolan must've offered up burnt offerings to Jahweh for us to cop him at #58 off of the #2 we purloined from Philly in the Brazdeikis/Rivers transaction.
KEVIN: Knew instinctively that his first trey would be a brick, but did things other than just pull up for corner jumpers. The two man game with IQ was a thing of beauty. Looks more cut and muscled. Glad to see him competing, getting some of Burks minutes, at least for the moment.
BURKS: Was 2-3 from three, some nice defensive awareness and a positive force in 18 minutes as our swiss army knife. Looked sharp, relaxed and in late season form.
OBI: Okay, his much vaunted three point shooting still a work in progress, but was a presence on D, and his motor and power in transition and on the blocks was on display with 10-5 in 14 minutes. The confidence with which he made multiple jukes and spins backing his man in for a BIG BOY post up/lay-in made my skin tingle at his aggression and power. THAT'S the MF Leon Rose thought he was drafting at #8.
They Call Me MISTER THIBS: [Thanks, Clyde.] Pleased to see going with a solid two-tiered 10-Man Rotation, and other than Julius' 30 minutes, keeping court time at a reassuringly low burnout rate which had us playing decent D [allowed too many open threes], with nice pace, movement and efficiency on offensive, really taking care of the rock [only 3 turnovers], with 26 assists and hitting 22-24 FTs.
OVERALL: Kemba and Evan look like good fits, seemingly right in the flow of things, and the continuity of having our core of Julius, RJ, Rose, Taj, Burks, Obi, IQ and [in due time] Nerlens and Mitchell returning looks to pay competitive dividends. Didn't hurt to have summer league for our puppies, and a couple of months of Tarrytown practice, individually and as a team, so our core yute, RJ and Obi and IQ, have a better idea of where to put their work, and how to get better and earn Thibs' trust.
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