Preseason opener.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Loving tolliver already.

This second unit really needs someone who can create offense.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

We're out shooting the Warriors. We don't need Jimmy.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Like this Okogie kid...

[Duke13]

Loving tolliver already.

This second unit really needs someone who can create offense.

He better be closing games.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Undefeated.

[Lipoli390]

My take-always from this pre-season opener:

POSITIVES

1. Tolliver was a nice acquisition. He's not afraid to put up threes and he makes a lot of them. He's not a particularly good player overall, but as a major part of our second unit, he looks like he'll be a significant plus.

2. I liked what I saw from Okogie tonight. He didn't fill up the box score, but he looked really good to me. Defensively, he's everywhere, has quick hands and doesn't allow himself to be easily picked. He also looked surprisingly poised on the offensive end, making some nice plays.

3. Luol Deng looks like he can still play and should be another nice addition to the second unit.

4. I actually liked what I saw from KBD, but he missed a lot of shots he'll need to make to be a legitimate NBA player. I'll attribute it for now to first-game rookie jitters.

5. KAT looked good and made some nice defensive plays tonight.

NEGATIVES

1. Teague is ultimately a liability. He has a nice shot, but oddly passes up threes he should take and can make in favor of twos. He's terrible defensively and doesn't really make players around him better or run the offense well the way you expect from your PG.

2. Wiggins showed no signs of improvement over last season. Same disappearing act, same shaky ball-handling, same emphasis on contested twos. It's just one preseason game, so we'll see. But it was really disheartening to watch him tonight.

[Monster]

I looked at the box scores and watched about 9 mins of highlights. One of the more interesting things I saw was it looked like Deng was basically playing center at the end of the game. I actually thought he was Dieng at first. Thibs mentioned this week Deng could play some center. It sounds like he did some good things.

I thought Okogie or KBD maybe both were in the 2nd unit based on the guys that were playing in the 3rd unit early in training camp. Hopefully they keep showing they can play and get some minutes.

Tolliver got up 10 3's. Yessssssssssssssss!!!!!! He isn't a guard but he seems like a guy with a versatile enough jump shot he can get them up besides just catch and shoot ones where he has to be set etc. it's kinda like getting a Wayne Ellington type of player which could be plenty huge.

Several Wolves players had some nice things in the stats including Dieng. It's just preseason but it's good to see some guys doing something good.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I looked at the box scores and watched about 9 mins of highlights. One of the more interesting things I saw was it looked like Deng was basically playing center at the end of the game. I actually thought he was Dieng at first. Thibs mentioned this week Deng could play some center. It sounds like he did some good things.

I thought Okogie or KBD maybe both were in the 2nd unit based on the guys that were playing in the 3rd unit early in training camp. Hopefully they keep showing they can play and get some minutes.

Tolliver got up 10 3's. Yessssssssssssssss!!!!!! He isn't a guard but he seems like a guy with a versatile enough jump shot he can get them up besides just catch and shoot ones where he has to be set etc. it's kinda like getting a Wayne Ellington type of player which could be plenty huge.

Several Wolves players had some nice things in the stats including Dieng. It's just preseason but it's good to see some guys doing something good.

Deng looked like he's gained some of the weight Thibs lost. He still has good hands and was a smart player in terms of positioning and rebounding, so yeah, I could definitely see him playing a similar role to Gorgui pretty easily.

I liked the defensive effort out of our new guys, Tolliver, Okogie, and KBD. Good job staying on their feet during closeouts to contest shots without fouling.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

My take-always from this pre-season opener:

POSITIVES

1. Tolliver was a nice acquisition. He's not afraid to put up threes and he makes a lot of them. He's not a particularly good player overall, but as a major part of our second unit, he looks like he'll be a significant plus.

2. I liked what I saw from Okogie tonight. He didn't fill up the box score, but he looked really good to me. Defensively, he's everywhere, has quick hands and doesn't allow himself to be easily picked. He also looked surprisingly poised on the offensive end, making some nice plays.

3. Luol Deng looks like he can still play and should be another nice addition to the second unit.

4. I actually liked what I saw from KBD, but he missed a lot of shots he'll need to make to be a legitimate NBA player. I'll attribute it for now to first-game rookie jitters.

5. KAT looked good and made some nice defensive plays tonight.

NEGATIVES

1. Teague is ultimately a liability. He has a nice shot, but oddly passes up threes he should take and can make in favor of twos. He's terrible defensively and doesn't really make players around him better or run the offense well the way you expect from your PG.

2. Wiggins showed no signs of improvement over last season. Same disappearing act, same shaky ball-handling, same emphasis on contested twos. It's just one preseason game, so we'll see. But it was really disheartening to watch him tonight.

Thanks for the write-up Lip. That Teague/Rose combination is just yuckie basketball to watch, although on paper both did pretty well offensively. But KAT got only 8 shots!? Thibs offense relies so damn much on isolation and dribbling that it freezes out one of the best offensive players in the league!

Tyus Jones was more aggressive looking for his shot, but only went 2-10. But sure enough, guess who led the team in +/-? Good things just seem to happen when he's on the floor.

Bjelica may be the better all-around player compared to Tolliver, but Tolliver is a better fit for what we need, which is someone that will hoist up 3's if given the slightest crack of space. Love it!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Watched the entire game on replay and concur with the positive comments about Tolliver, Jones and a few others. Nice to beat the Warriors on the road even in preseason. Unfortunately two negatives stood out to me while watching, and are glaringly documented in the box score:


-71 points given up in the first half. 71! Thank god Kerr played his reserves most of the second half, or we may have given up 150. This team generally struggled on defense last year when Butler wasn't on the court, and I saw nothing different last night...in fact maybe worse. As a very well-written article from last spring pointed out (we discussed this at length at the time), modern offenses have figured out how to attack a Thibs defensive scheme which has not kept up with the times.


-15 assists for us compared to 33 for the Warriors. I don't think any stat better brings out the difference between a Thibs-designed offense and a modern NBA offense.


I'm optimistic though because I see a lot of talent on this roster, and I think two things will happen before the end of the calendar year:


1) Thibs will be gone, replaced by a young coach who understands the new NBA game and will make this team better and more watchable.


2) Hopefully Butler will be replaced by a player who can shore up the starting defense like Butler did last year, allowing Rose to provide offensive spark on the second unit.


Absent these two things, I forecast a season where we are just talented enough to battle for the 8th spot, but end up close to .500.