longstrangetrip wrote:Good report, Lip. I was at the game too and agree with your observations...I suspect the debate kept a few season ticket holders home...there was no problem hearing Thibs all night in the empty arena, although I sometimes need subtitles to understand what he's saying. Gotta love the intensity! The entry way is such an upgrade...they are much more prepared to handle big crowds now. I'm mixed on the scoreboard. My seats are low enough that I have to crane my neck to use the new scoreboard, and I don't think fans in the front 5 rows can use it at all. But the picture is unbelievably clear, and they provide multiple angles on replays...truly state of the art.
I'm one of the biggest Tyus fans on the board, but I would rank his performance equal to Dunn's last night...both were pretty ugly. There was absolutely no offensive flow when either of them was running the point, and Ricky's brilliance merely accentuates how ineffective they were. I expect poor PG play from Kris, but Tyus's performance left me with a sour taste in my mouth after three dominating quarters. I even got what I have been asking for with a Jones/Dunn backcourt pairing, but it was a disaster. I'm not giving up on that concept, but it sure was terrible last night.
My son and I commented on two transformed bodies...Gorgui and Belly. G is much bigger, as you pointed out, although he doesn't seem to have lost any quickness. He had a very efficient offensive game (19 points on 6 shots!), and his defensive brilliance extended far beyond his 4 blocked shots...just a great game. Belly is so much quicker after his 20 pound weight loss in the off season, and also didn't exhibit the hesitancy he did last year...he aggressively attacked the rim and shot whenever he was open (and once or twice when he wasn't!). He didn't shoot well, but his floor game and defense were terrific. His footwork is much improved, and his 3 steals against only 1 foul shows he's getting what NBA defense is all about. I think he is quick enough to keep up with many NBA SFs and was actually surprised Thibs didn't play him at SF with Bazz and Wig out. Instead he decided to give the 49 minutes to Rush, Murry and Butler, and they supplied just 3 rebounds between them...I think Belly is a better option.
Towns played like it was the 7th game of the championship series...so intense the entire game. My son and I were calling for Thibs to take him out because we were both worried about an injury playing the way he was. Getting to the line 17 times was his reward for his aggressiveness, and he made them all!
Some here are giving Dunn/Jones some slack because of the guys that were on the court with them, but I look at it in the opposite way...I felt both PGs were so bad that they dragged down the players on the court with them. Backup PG was a big problem last night, but if Thibs can get either to elevate their game, I'm actually not too worried about the second unit...being able to spell the starters with guys like Belly, Aldrich, Bazz and Rush is pretty comforting.
The final comment I want to make is about the defensive intensity. I was skeptical about how Thibs might improve the defense, but if last night is an example, he has already done a lot to transform them. I wouldn't have liked to be playing against our defense last night...it was hellishly disruptive. Thibs' intensity and constant harassing of the officials can be annoying (and even funny) at times, and I share Lipoli's concern that he might wear out his welcome after a while, but he sure looks like the real deal for this team right now.
Good observations, LST. Looks like we both saw the same things last night. Belly's performance was a good example of how the box score can sometimes be highly misleading. The good news is that Belly proved to be very effective even when not shooting well. That bodes well for the season because he is truly a good shooter.
One more thought on defense. It went beyond the substantially higher level of defensive intensity. You could see that our players are much smarter and in sync on the defensive end. There's a reason for Thibs' reputation as a great defensive coach and it goes beyond instilling defensive intensity. We saw evidence of the things Thibs brings to the defensive end as a coach. I suspect we'll see some inconsistency on the defensive end early on, but I see last night's defensive effort becoming the norm over time.
I hear what you're saying about Tyus, but I still view his performance as significantly better than Dunn's. I expect Tyus to be limited substantially by the quality of players around him because of his physical limitations. His main strengths are his high IQ and court vision. Put good players around him and those strengths have the best chance to shine. Dunn's strengths, on the other hand, are his size and physicality at the PG position. Yet his questionable handle and poor decision-making make him look horrible even when he was out there with Zach on the court.
I agree with your scoreboard observations. The picture quality is awesome and great for watching from the concourse and probably upper deck. I experienced some of the same neck strain you experienced because of where my seats are. But I still love it.
Question for you. I thought Lucas and Butler were terrible. But I thought Murry was better than both and looked pretty decent. What are your thoughts?
