TheFuture wrote:From losing every close game, to being the team to make just enough late plays to gut them out. It is refreshing.
Yes. That is something easily overlooked. Winning close games was something we could not do last year.
It's nice to get some wins while we are in the "building chemistry" stretch!
Are we sure this is a "building chemistry" stretch as opposed to a "these are mismatched parts" stretch?
We do have 3 new starters and 2 of them are used to being one of the top 2 options. I think these close games are essential for building chemistry right now. Expecting such a turnover to result in blowouts just isn't realistic. I am really liking that we have 4 guys who can make big plays late in any given game. Very few teams have that.
- We played like lazy dogs in the first quarter. Miami was simply out working us.
- I thought KAT's defense was solid this game. He still made a couple of poor decisions, but the effort was there and he made some nice plays.
- Waiters made both Wiggins and Butler look a little silly at times. That guy has blossomed into a kinda dangerous scorer in Miami.
- Wiggins' 4th quarter dunk....Wow. What I loved most about it is he went left!!!!
- KAT's made a couple of those really clutch corner 3s late in games.
- Butler is still feeling his way offensively.
- Teague was horrible in the first quarter and was part of our crappy start. Give him credit for coming up huge thereafter. He made some big plays late and sunk both free throws to put the game away for good in OT.
- I continue to be amazed at how teams shoot 2-point jumpers against us. I need to look up the stat, but it feels like we get killed by long and mid-range 2's. These are shots you want the other team to take, but jeebus, it feels like guys go nuts on us with those looks. The good news is we are doing a much better job defending the 3 these last couple of games. Miami and OKC both shot poorly from beyond the arc.
I haven't felt the same way about the 2 point jumpers. What drives me nuts is how we are a freeway to the rim in every game. Zero resistance. Again, everyone is still feeling each other out. At least we are gutting out wins. Warriors and Cabs aren't super impressive yet. I'm confident we will find our stride after 20 games.
60WinTim wrote:Wow! We might be the only West team to prevent a sweep by the East!!!
Sixers beat the Rockets
Hornets beat the Griz
Celtics beat the Spurs
Knicks beat the Nuggets
Magic beat the Pelicans
That's a lot of very nice wins for the East!
This is like the opposite to this same time last year, where we got off to a much slower start with late game collapses and everyone in the West was beating everyone in the East. This was a big night, especially the Nuggest and Pelicans loss, as I see those two teams as fellow competitors for the 7th or 8th spot.
- We played like lazy dogs in the first quarter. Miami was simply out working us.
- I thought KAT's defense was solid this game. He still made a couple of poor decisions, but the effort was there and he made some nice plays.
- Waiters made both Wiggins and Butler look a little silly at times. That guy has blossomed into a kinda dangerous scorer in Miami.
- Wiggins' 4th quarter dunk....Wow. What I loved most about it is he went left!!!!
- KAT's made a couple of those really clutch corner 3s late in games.
- Butler is still feeling his way offensively.
- Teague was horrible in the first quarter and was part of our crappy start. Give him credit for coming up huge thereafter. He made some big plays late and sunk both free throws to put the game away for good in OT.
- I continue to be amazed at how teams shoot 2-point jumpers against us. I need to look up the stat, but it feels like we get killed by long and mid-range 2's. These are shots you want the other team to take, but jeebus, it feels like guys go nuts on us with those looks. The good news is we are doing a much better job defending the 3 these last couple of games. Miami and OKC both shot poorly from beyond the arc.
I haven't felt the same way about the 2 point jumpers. What drives me nuts is how we are a freeway to the rim in every game. Zero resistance. Again, everyone is still feeling each other out. At least we are gutting out wins. Warriors and Cabs aren't super impressive yet. I'm confident we will find our stride after 20 games.
Holy crap, I just looked up the stat! And this is before tonight's game. We are dead last in the NBA in opponent 2-pt % from 16 feet out to the arc (so long 2's). Teams are shooting 57% from this range against us! That is by far the worst in the NBA and simply unsustainable. This is actually a good thing!
60WinTim wrote:Wow! We might be the only West team to prevent a sweep by the East!!!
Sixers beat the Rockets
Hornets beat the Griz
Celtics beat the Spurs
Knicks beat the Nuggets
Magic beat the Pelicans
That's a lot of very nice wins for the East!
This is like the opposite to this same time last year, where we got off to a much slower start with late game collapses and everyone in the West was beating everyone in the East. This was a big night, especially the Nuggest and Pelicans loss, as I see those two teams as fellow competitors for the 7th or 8th spot.
Speaking of the Pelicans, I can't wait for that matchup. Huge test for KAT.
TheFuture wrote:Teague was the Mvp for sure. 23/5/11/6 steals. Huge game, especially late.
Please forgive me Rubio.
What I like is that he started out poorly and came back huge. His first stint ended with a pass out of bounds intended for Wiggins (IDK, could have been Wiggin's fault too). And before that was a series of missed shots and generally poor play. You could see the disgust on his face when he then went to the bench. I'm not sure if he was pissed at himself or Wiggins or Thibs. But he came back strong after that.
- We played like lazy dogs in the first quarter. Miami was simply out working us.
- I thought KAT's defense was solid this game. He still made a couple of poor decisions, but the effort was there and he made some nice plays.
- Waiters made both Wiggins and Butler look a little silly at times. That guy has blossomed into a kinda dangerous scorer in Miami.
- Wiggins' 4th quarter dunk....Wow. What I loved most about it is he went left!!!!
- KAT's made a couple of those really clutch corner 3s late in games.
- Butler is still feeling his way offensively.
- Teague was horrible in the first quarter and was part of our crappy start. Give him credit for coming up huge thereafter. He made some big plays late and sunk both free throws to put the game away for good in OT.
- I continue to be amazed at how teams shoot 2-point jumpers against us. I need to look up the stat, but it feels like we get killed by long and mid-range 2's. These are shots you want the other team to take, but jeebus, it feels like guys go nuts on us with those looks. The good news is we are doing a much better job defending the 3 these last couple of games. Miami and OKC both shot poorly from beyond the arc.
I haven't felt the same way about the 2 point jumpers. What drives me nuts is how we are a freeway to the rim in every game. Zero resistance. Again, everyone is still feeling each other out. At least we are gutting out wins. Warriors and Cabs aren't super impressive yet. I'm confident we will find our stride after 20 games.
Holy crap, I just looked up the stat! And this is before tonight's game. We are dead last in the NBA in opponent 2-pt % from 16 feet out to the arc (so long 2's). Teams are shooting 57% from this range against us! That is by far the worst in the NBA and simply unsustainable. This is actually a good thing!
Any idea on the volume? Sometimes NBA teams get absurdly hot. Unfortunately we've run into 3 teams that have been on fire and are 1-2. I feel better about our 3 pt defense so far this year -as far as closing out. But that comes at the expense of easy rim attacks. Good thing in today's NBA I guess? Oh, and fast break points. Though we were better tonight.
