Marcus Morris best player on floor last night, pre-ejection
HACHIMURA was second (if not Beal)
MM was impressive.
So was Hachimura, who has been getting widely dissed. He is A PLAYA. And is going to be an excellent pro. Good pick.
RJ is
also a
PLAYA.
Obviously [OBVIOUSLY] his jumper is a work in progress, and his FT shooting is problematic.
And yet.
He was clanging iron like a cowbell percussionist in the first half...
And yet...
He hit a pair of treys in the third off of good ball movement, pure and sweet, with no hitch.
His FT shooting was problematic at Duke, a curious kink in his armor, and was 1-3 in through three quarters.
AND YET...
At crunch time he cooly drained a pair to seal the deal.
Szerbiak and Hahn were both enthusing about this 6'7" 19-year old having a mature NBA body.
Impressive.
And yet...
What caught my attention was his defensive focus and intensity, this having been adjudged another kink in his armor.
K?
But what really caught my attention were all the little ways he MADE PLAYS, for himself and team mates, whether or not the fruit was falling: that beautiful back cut off of a Gibson pass; his court vision handling the ball; his nose for getting to the hoop and finishing.
And given Durant's Knicks comments.
Free agents averse to NY?
Hey, knock yourself out.
With Puppies like RJ, Knox and Mitch, let alone Frank and Dennis and Alonzo and Iggy, building purposefully through the draft, and a mix of young vets [Peyton, Randle, Portis] and graybeards [Morris, Gibson, Ellington], this incurable pom pom gurl is prepared to be patient.
PS: Boy did Morris ever answer those questions about why we reached out. An all-around inside outside gamer, who plays D and appears prepared to bring the snark and confer it to his teammates (though hopefully not in as dumb ass a manner as last night...you wanna send a message...call Western Union). Taj appeared very spry, boarding and keying ball movement, hitting treys and playing D. And Ellington showed some defensive presence as well...we knew he could hit treys. Makes me wonder what Reggie might bring.
PPS: As per the TRADE CHIP Narrative? The free agent class is pretty weak next summer, and I am not sanguine about The Greek Freak's eagerness to play in New York. Someone would have to offer something particularly sweet for trades to be on the table. Hell, for Knox to bang against Morris, Mitch against Taj, and RJ against Ellington every day in practice, let alone those vets coming to play.
PPPS: And as per Pendejo Pablo and his FIZZ SUCKS NARRATIVE, well, we shall see, but I saw some things last night which gave me pause, though perhaps being a tad early for out and out HOPE. Playing TO WIN in a meaningless game, and in the final minutes, who was on the floor? One graybeard in Ellington, the rest, all Puppies: Mitch, RJ, Frank and Knox. That is to say, okay motherfuckers, let's see what it feels like to CLOSE OUT a game.
PPPPS: Again, a wounded roster of Wizards, and while RJ played Beal well, it was only for 16 minutes, but I thought Fizz's looks and rotations were interesting, the manner in which he has the team pushing the ball and playing with some pace, and My GOD, might we actually play DEFENSE this season? Stay fucking tuned.
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