Now not to be a downer after the victory but...
What the fuck is up with Smith Jr.?
Gotta be some story, no? The dude just looks out of it.
He has yet to find his BALANCE.
Was ostensibly having a great camp. Got hurt missed practices. Came back rusty, a busty. Got booed. His step-mother died.
"Dude looks out of it."
No shit Sherlock.
Look at Julius. It took him what, the better part of 14 games to find his balance.
30-7-4-2-1
But most significantly, ONLY ONE TURNOVER; not overthinking, not dribbling into triple teams, not forcing the issue, playing HIS game, letting the game come to him. Impressive.
Can he do it two games in a row.
We shall see. Al Horford beckons.
Dennis is CLEARLY OVERTHINKING.
His game is going to the rack with aggression, and finishing strong, which is how creates space for his own floaters and midrange jumpers, and open looks for this team mates.
On one particular play, before he got pulled for Frank, he had a great penetration, was right in rhythm for a layup, and you can hear him thinking, MUST BE UNSELFISH AND PASS, which led to a ICBM into the crowd and a turnover and a spot on the pine.
His game at point and Frank's game are different. Frank's sense of deference works for his style, whereas Dennis' aggression in looking for his shot is very much HIS STYLE.
Knicks fans are so wrought, it's easy to forget that we are just now entering the fourth week of the season.
Not to deny any of you your pain, or your ennui with FIZZ.
However, there is a learning curve for EVERYONE, including the coaches, and mistakes, OUT AND OUT HOWLING FUCK UPS, are part of the process.
Did you see RJ tonight? Fizz played him 24 minutes, Dotson got 18, Ellington got 9. 51 minutes
PGs? Frank got 29, Dennis 19. 48 minutes.
Bigs? Out of what, 48 x 3 = 144 minutes at Center-PF-SF?
Morris with 34, Randle with 32, Portis with 23, Knox with 20, Mitchell with 17, Taj with 16...142 minutes
Dennis and Knox were scuffling.
RJ hit his only three, made a strong drive to the hoop favoring his right hand, his weak hand. He hit 4-5 FTs, 15-2-1-2-2 and only one turnover. Practice makes for progress. Dotson getting some of RJ's minutes and making the most of them, although his three is not quite there yet. So Fizz's rotations making more sense.
Of course, what happens when Elfrid comes back and Alonzo starts earning court time? Let alone Bullock.
Challenging.
We caught the Cavs down their PF bell cow and on the second game in two nights.
Be that as it may, progress. Better defense, 10 blocks, 8 steals only 7 turnovers. More efficient on offense.
Philly? 8-5, Knicks 4-10.
Besides rough match-ups with Simmons and Embid, Tobias Harris and Horford will be a BIG challenge for Morris and Randle.
We shall see.