[Game] Preseason Game 2: Kings @ Blazers 12/13/20, 6PM pst, 9PM est
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Best player on the floor: Haliburton. Both sides of the ball. Also showed a nice left hand finish (Bibby could never finish with his left hand). And defended like three guys at once on one possession (running from player to player). Could've had 10+ assists if players made their open shots.
Normal looking: The returning players except Fox, Holmes, and Hield.
Meh: Hield. Missed his shots, got a few cheap rebounds, passed the ball more than he normally does.
Subpar: Fox. Rushed things. Missed all of his threes except for one set shot. A few bad TOs and coulda had a few more. Holmes. Horrible passing. A bad fit for this offense and defense.
Rookies/Young Players: Woodard looks physically ready. Missed a three badly. A good reverse layup. Rasimus looked meh. Guy looked good. Easy shot.
Others: Frank played well inside, missed a bunch of open threes. GRIII is a black hole. I really hate his game. First game, dude lead the break 1 on 3 and decided to keep the ball--got stuffed. Last night, he had the ball on a break and decided to go 1 against two--deciding not to pass to an open teammate on the baseline 3. He made the shot, however. I hate his game. Metu hit a step back 3. Looks good. Think Metu is a better fit for this offense/defense than Holmes.
Normal looking: The returning players except Fox, Holmes, and Hield.
Meh: Hield. Missed his shots, got a few cheap rebounds, passed the ball more than he normally does.
Subpar: Fox. Rushed things. Missed all of his threes except for one set shot. A few bad TOs and coulda had a few more. Holmes. Horrible passing. A bad fit for this offense and defense.
Rookies/Young Players: Woodard looks physically ready. Missed a three badly. A good reverse layup. Rasimus looked meh. Guy looked good. Easy shot.
Others: Frank played well inside, missed a bunch of open threes. GRIII is a black hole. I really hate his game. First game, dude lead the break 1 on 3 and decided to keep the ball--got stuffed. Last night, he had the ball on a break and decided to go 1 against two--deciding not to pass to an open teammate on the baseline 3. He made the shot, however. I hate his game. Metu hit a step back 3. Looks good. Think Metu is a better fit for this offense/defense than Holmes.
Honestly, Haliburton was lucky to have more than 2 or 3 assists last night. All of his assists were just him swinging the ball around the perimeter and the guys he passed it to just so happened to make the shot. He wasn't driving and kicking and drawing the defense in or commanding a double and making the right decision. They were basically just lucky assists. On the other hand, it didn't seem like he had a single play drawn up for him to make anything happen either. Hield was involved in a few pick and rolls that got him some quality assists but Haliburton's weren't of that variety.
His defensive instincts are extremely impressive. I don't know why the box score only shows 1 steal because he had 2 in your face steals and another one that could have been credited to him. He does need to bulk up a little bit to be able to fight through screens better but he anticipates passes like no one else on this team. He wont be on any all defensive teams this year but I could easily see him among the league leaders in steals if he gets enough minutes. It's a breath of fresh air and exciting to know that we could potentially finally have a 2 way player on the perimeter for the first time in a long time.
His defensive instincts are extremely impressive. I don't know why the box score only shows 1 steal because he had 2 in your face steals and another one that could have been credited to him. He does need to bulk up a little bit to be able to fight through screens better but he anticipates passes like no one else on this team. He wont be on any all defensive teams this year but I could easily see him among the league leaders in steals if he gets enough minutes. It's a breath of fresh air and exciting to know that we could potentially finally have a 2 way player on the perimeter for the first time in a long time.
I’d agree with the rest of your assessment but wouldn’t go as far as saying he was dishing out lucky assists. He had one drive and kick, 2 lead out passes that were just the right pass at the right time and one of his signature mid air assists that actually created space for I believe Woodard. Plus he had several would be assists nullified by missed shots. One thing that he does really well dating back to college is get the ball to the right guy in the right spot. And like you mentioned, when he gets more involved in the offense I’m sure we will see more set up assists.
He did draw and kick and drive quite a bit though which puts him in a true triple threat position and even when they don't drive it to a pass or deep into the paint teams will give him a bit of space on the perimeter and on help that makes simple swing passes more dangerous. That's the benefit of drive and dish and why it's imperative that they space the floor like that around Fox. You can load up on those assists just like Harden does. He's made a career out of lazily jab stepping a few times then after two steps simple toss to his side. Simple quick passes from your main creator means a huge bump in APG. And with players as quick on their first step as both Fox and Haliburton are that means the opposing defense has to pick their poison. Which is something this team hasn't forced defenses to do in a long time.
I was only able to watch the highlights but Haliburton looked really impressive. I was watching him closely and he looks like he understands when to go to the next option. He doesn't look like he takes negative steps. On his jumping pass he looked off the defender and threw a no look to the open man at the last moment; put the ball right in the shooter's pocket when he was wide open. Our offense doesn't look forced when he has the ball. Im interested and scared to see how Fox and Haliburton work in the backcourt together.
