What's new

What Did We Learn From The PreSeason?

I'm at the point where I actually like listening to Nisalke. It's like listening to Lou Holtz. The decreasing level of insight is inversely proportional to the increasing level of entertainment.
 
I learned the Jazz are one team that could have really benefited from a full preseason. Oh well, it may mean an extra 2-3 weeks before a regular rotation and defined roles are established. And that could mean an extra 5 losses or so and the difference between a 7-8 seed and the lottery. But that's a good thing. We'll be vying with the Lakers for that last slot and we want the draft pick, not for them to get a chance at a top pick.

1. Favors is a BEAST and needs to start.
2. Kanter battles for rebounds just like Millsap used to as a rookie.
3. Hayward is still inconsistent.
4. Tinsley and Howard are probably going to be nice trade assets at the deadline. Maybe late 1sts to contenders?
 
I relearned that Raja Bell is going to get minutes even though he's a complete albatross.

What I didn't get the chance to learn is what CJ and Hayward would have looked like paired together at the wing (this year's model, anyway.)

I'm eager slash terrified to learn how long it takes Ty to learn that wing minutes need to be divided between Hayward/CJ/Howard/Burks.

Best post I've seen in the thread. I agree with all my heart.

One thing that I didn't learn was the stability at the PG position. I'm still not totally sold on Devin Harris. Hopefully he proves me wrong this season.
 
We have so many wings on this team that some of them don't really know what their role is going to be and where their shots are going to come from.

Hayward, Miles, Howard, Burks, Bell, maybe Evans & Millsap
 
Guards:
Harris - Quick. Shot's off, doesn't pass the ball great. Would rather start Watson at this point. I still have some faith though, history wins against 2 preseason games.
Watson - The perfect backup PG. I'm a huge fan of Watson, and was ecstatic to see him re-sign with us.
Tinsley - Great showing in his first game. Such an improvement over Price, its ridiculous.
Bell - Same old guy. Completely invisible until he fouls or bricks a shot.
Burks - Great energy. Pest on D, and always running around on offense. Still nervous, but as soon as he has his first big game, he should gain a lot of confidence.

Forwards:
Hayward - Thinking way too much. Doing great things on the floor, and always has a hand in his guy's face when they take shots. Just needs to stop thinking so much.
Miles - Looks to be in great shape, but he still has the same head on his shoulders. I fear his BBIQ will never be adequate.
Howard - Moves great. Very long, very athletic. Think he'll be a little frustrating at first, but great once the rust shakes off.
Evans - Evans is Evans. Big things happen when he's on the court. Great for 5 to 15 minutes each game. Unbelievable energy.
Favors - When will the refs stop blowing rookie calls on this kid? If he can avoid foul trouble, Favors has the most potential to become the guy in Utah.
Millsap - Looked pretty fly on the bench. Not nervous about his game at all.

Centers:
Jefferson - Still a lazy rebounder, and a lazy defender, but his black hole tendencies seem to have become somewhat of a gray hole, and he's moving quicker.
Okur - I love the money man, but he's not a starting caliber big man in the NBA. Looking okay, but so slow. So lazy. Such a liability.
Kanter - Kid fights. I love it. Rebounding has never been so pretty. Like Burks, still a lot of rookie jitters offensively, but I can his offense blossoming sooner than later.
 
I am just happy that Kanter didn't play as terrible as he has in the scrimmage and to a lesser extent the Euroleague.

Big AL is the same Big AL

Gordon and Burks weren't as good as the scrimmage.

We gonna have a tough year it seems.

I learned in the preseason games that I can't wait for the regular season games.
 
Favors and Jefferson are both such non-passers, that to have both of them on the floor seems like an either-or proposition. It's very difficult it seems for both of them to participate in the same play in a meaningful way. That said, having them both on the floor creates the biggest, most offensively potent front court.....at least until Kanter figures out what he's doing.

I'd also like to see Favors and Millsap play together.
 
We have a deeper team than I ever imagined.

Harris, Okur, and Bell are all expendable.

This is how I feel. After last nights game I was pleasantly surprised by the play of our best 10-11 guys. I don't feel that Bell or Okur should even get off the bench. If I had my way they would be the inactive players for every game unless somebody gets hurt.

Harris, Watson, Burks, Hayward, CJ, Millsap, Evans, Favors, Kanter, Jefferson, and Howard all look like guys that should get minutes. That is a deep and talented roster. I don't see how Memo or Bell should play over any of those guys.
 
That is a deep and talented roster.

I agree, sort of. The good thing is they are deep with players at or near a certain talent level, but they don't have a star nor do they have anyone who stands up to lead, or demands the ball or gets his teammates attention. For example, who is the team captain? They don't have one yet, all the returning players and nobody can be called a leader or a captain.
 
Back
Top