First a little about AR. (Who seemd to be in a great mood on the bench,
laughing with the other players and coaches. I wonder what he did to
celebrate his birthday and new contract?) I would humbly suggest he is
nothing at all like Jalen Rose. If memory serves me, Rose was a pass
first, play from the floor, very intelligent but not extremely athletic
type of player. Did he not have a point guard mantality? AR is a
scorer. He is a good passer but I don't get the impression he would
rather have an assist than a high flying put back dunk. He loves to
jump and slash, blocking shots, getting above the rim as often as he
can. He also plays very well with his back to the basket which I don't
remember Rose doing very often. Which leads me to a question.
Is AR the only player the Warriors now have that can play with their
back to the basket? With the loss of Baron I think AR is the only
player we have capable of causing problems from the post. He can both
score and pass for there, something I don't think any other Warrior can
do. Which leads me to wonder if his role on this team could be quite
important, even as a rookie.
Which leads to Brandon Wright.
With AR and Hendrix not playing tonight I paid a little closer
attention to BW. He played well. I just think he has too many
limitations to be more than a role player. He gets knocked off balance
by stronger players, he lacks a good shooting touch, and I have yet to
see him throw a good pass from the post back out to a shooter. He runs
the floor incredibly well and when left free to move in space gets
incredibly high very quickly and has a great nose for the ball. He
seems very bright and coachable so I am sure he will continue to
improve. His shot definately looks better than I remember from last
year. I am sure Nellie will find a way to utilize his strengths and
hide his weaknesses.
CJ vs. DJ was fun. I came away a little more hopeful that CJ is quick
enough for the NBA. He did a decent job on DJ, who is very quick. They
battled all night and CJ more than held his own. He is tough and very
calm. Nothing bothers him. He just keeps doing his thing. Very smart
defender with good hands and good anticipation. And a good 3 inches
taller than Augustine.
Marco had a good game. Not as spectacular as Sundays game but a little
more within the offense. He had about 21 points at halftime and then a
very good player shut him down in the 3rd quarter. A guy named Kyle
Weaver from Washington State. Love him. He actually played the point
for a while and I thought ran the offense very well. His defense was
amazing. Marco could not get by him or even get comfortable enough to
get a shot off. For some reason he did not play the last 5 minutes of
the game. If he had I think the Bobcats would have won.
Demarcus Nelson can't shoot. Case closed.
Lou A. is a hustler and so very active. I believe he is just a bit one dimensional for Nelson.
Back to L.A. in the morning. Thanks again for the nice comments.