Super late (but so was the game). And then life stuff. But WEEEEEEE what a jolt of a game, well worth the staying up. THANKS a lot for the last couple of video sequences, gump. I want to start with the last part from down 3 first. Sure it was a broken O play with Tre and Wemby coming up top to get the ball/set a screen and Pop screaming on the sidelines but we at least got out of Devin's way. He forced a 3 up and then we did a lot of good things in the highest pressure.
Wemby followed the ball and came from behind two defenders to quickly put back an O board dunk.
Then Tre called everyone back to make sure we were in on the full court press.
Sochan went to the inbounder to disrupt the pass.
Keldon like he had much of the game, got right into KD's space before the inbound.
KD was then forced to the left corner where Tre made sure he couldn't get a running start with the ball, Sochan made sure the inbounder couldn't get the easy pass back, and Keldon stayed with the play to take advantage of an exposed ball.
So good awareness, physicality, disruption, clean steal.
Keldon drove like a bull but pulled up just enough and used just the right touch with a defender in front of him. We did have Sochan and Wemby in the vicinity, but luckily didn't need them.
Like gump said, the second video showed the level of shot and pressure difficulty.
Before that, Pop had subbed Sochan out for Wemby. Sochan had fouled KD and then we got down 5 with just over two minutes left. But I liked the faith Pop showed in putting him back in for Zach to finish the game. I see him growing into a Draymond Green type of passing big but more mobile and not annoying. A lot is being made of Sochan's growing pains only four games into 'the official 2023-2024 experiment' that is point-Sochan. His struggles are clear but they're magnified; he takes more of the criticism for things like not passing to Wemby when the whole team keeps missing him.
Sochan and Wemby are similar in that they're both rangy off ball moving types of players who can be slotted in multiple spots working around three more set position team mates.
And while some may argue we ought to have used some assets to acquire a true pure established PG, there's something to be said for this group growing together around the unique talent that is Wemby. We're learning one another's tendencies, and that goes both ways -- to Wemby and from him to team mates.
It does say something, though, that but for blowout minutes, Blake has hardly seen the court (7 minutes in four games to be exact). Consider how raw we consider him to have gone the point-Sochan route. And Graham has yet to play post-suspension, for that matter, and he's the most experienced PG we have.
So it's clear we made this point-Sochan decision and want to stay with it in the face of these other options. Sochan's usage is slightly less than last season, his assists are slightly above last season, and his efficiency is lower. I want to go on record to say that I believe Sochan will turn a corner for the better and we will have one of the more unique starting fives in terms of two-way versatility - that's what I think we're ultimately aiming for, growing flexibility around the various skill sets. It's a raising the floor for a higher ceiling type of ongoing scenario without boxing anyone in.
Part of growth is handling poor play. The resilience to stay with it even when down big, to keep chipping away was a good response from the previous game. A tale of two halves, 45 points in the first, and a whopping 70 in the second is one indication of this. Eight TOs in the first half (itself an improvement), four in the second is another. From 6-17 from 3 in the first half to 8-20 in the second; from 6-9FTs(!) in the first half to 9-11 in the second. From 37.8%FG in the first half to finishing with 46.7% overall. From having one fewer O board at the half to finishing with two more. From four steals in the first half, to 10 by the end of the game
Every category trended the right way for us. Check that - we made every category trend the right way. Lots of mistakes, lots of missed opportunities to make things easier on ourselves (yes, that includes passing to a cutting or posting Wemby sooner and higher). Sometimes we either over-deliberate sets and over pass or make one handed weak passes or don't look to pass enough. Looking at you, Malaki (1-7, 1-4 from 3, bagels in assists, rebounds oof, 1 block). Maybe he has the green light to just shoot but it's hard to believe we're ok with tunnel vision missing more open team mates so often.
Julian still hasn't found his shot. He needs some sage cleansing or something.
So that's two young shooters not scoring.
Lucky then for Spider Man twins meme Doug and Cedi who did what they're here to do, with the latter making some nice spin moves and left hand finishes. We need the steady vet presence, particularly with their not needing the ball in their hands.
Enter Tre, the sixth man glue guy who is getting a lot of traction to start because he's so good at putting the ball in others' hands. It's no wonder he looks great with all of last season's starters - he was the starter with them. And he's a pure PG who's had a season of going up against other starters. What an advantage, then, to have such a glue player carve up opponent benches or finish games. He still leads the team with 28.6% of assists (down slightly from last year's team leading 31.5%) but now Sochan's has jumped from 13.6% last season to 21.7% so far now. Isolated indicator, small sample size, but shows some balance and improvements under the hood despite the challenges.
We went from subbing Sochan in for Tre to finish the first game, to Tre finishing a game, to both being in (both wins). Good adjustments after seeing how we operate together so far.
Wemby's first to second half output shows his own admitted area of improvement being starting more assertively:
Part of it is learning each opponent, part of it is conditioning. He also leads the team with 4.8 TOs per game. Oof. Sure he has a lot of growth ahead of him, but what a first to second half improvement, especially in the 4TH Q:
Much of the criticism of our O is how disjointed it looks at times, fair, but some of it is of the 'player X didn't pass to Wemby!' variety and frankly not every other kind of shot or scoring chance created is wrong. Devin took some questionable shots but made terrific other ones. I love how he's finishing at the rim now. I love his side step 3s. I love how he's figuring it out and showing more polish and control and skill.
Keldon's D is much maligned (fair) but he made the most 3s, shot 50%, was physical all game, and made two crucial plays down the stretch. He's not relied on to be the main scorer like last season and now is showing more impact in more areas of the game.
As much as the Wemby show is the Wemby show, how our guys fit and adjust their already developed and evolving games with and around him is crucial and to that end, it improved as the game progressed. Afterwards, Devin said he estimates we're maybe at around 60% of where we could be. I'm fine with the bumps this season as that percentage increases. No skipping steps, everyone grows and contributes together. When the time comes for a big acquisition depending on need and opportunity, everyone will be all the more ready. For now, the comeback and how we did it showed some spirit and hunger and tenacity. It's fun to watch us figure it out.
