Post#18 » by EuroPacer » Sun Nov 2, 2014 5:01 pm
Late to react, I did watch the game live (couldn't sleep).
Firstly: didn't expect anything of the game, so just a review of the players.
Biggest clanger on the court was Sloan, took some really poor decisions and it cost us time and time again. He was glued to the ball too often and didn't manage to set up creative plays. Not even looking at the box-score, for all I care he scored 30 points, he was the reason we lost.
Miles: couldn't really cope with the pressure of being the first scorer. I don't blame him, he has never been one before. Did feel he shot himself out of the game at times and he too made some dubious decisions offensively. Could leave defending Korver to Hill a lot of the time but didn't seem to use that freedom too well. Seemed quite static to me. Still, in a full roster I think he is our SG for the rest of the season.
S.Hill: Encouraging to see the lad blossom up a bit. He seems to become a bit more comfortable with his role and the pressure associated with it. Did a great job neutralising Korver, not an easy task. I was actually quite impressed at times. Still don't think he is a starter or will develop into one, but perhaps he could be a defensive utility player.
Scola: Too up and down. That is all really, one moment he is beasting and I love his game, the next he is hiding like a girl in the corner. He should be the leader (vocally) of this team as he is incredibly experienced, but I don't see it. I have seen some FIBA games and I was a massive fan of him in the past, but the thought that we gave up Plumlee for him is increasingly frustrating me.
Roy: Roy was Roy, and that was good to see. Altering shots, patrolling the paint, too slow to get out to Antic (to be expected). He seems to have shaken whatever it was that affected him at the end of last season off.
Stuckey: Get well soon son, we need you.
Copeland: He was EVERYWHERE. Some incredible threes (shooting over 50% hell yeah!) great hustle. Didn't stand a chance when defending Millsap, but for some reason the Hawks never really went to him inside (really bad coaching imo). Loved his game yesterday, he oozed authority and confidence - sometimes it looks daft what he does, but it seems to work. We would have scored less than 70 without him on the court.
Lavoy: The more I see him, the more I want him to be the first big off the bench. He hustles for rebounds and is a presence inside next to Roy. His top of the key pick'n pop shot is money. I do think he needs to become more assertive offensively though, if he is the first big of the bench he needs to be a valid scoring option in the second unit.
Rudez: Son, how do you go from hitting 3/4 one night to not even managing to get into a position to shoot for 10 minutes? I realise he is still in the transition period from Euro ball to NBA, but he seems too slow to guard his position, to cumbersome to do anything other than shoot threes and generally just doesn't look great. Not sure why we got him when we already have Cope on the roster, he doesn't add anything.
Mahinmi: I thought he looked shakey defensively too often. As that should be his bread and butter coming off the bench for us, that was not a good sign. Having said that, he frequently had Antic as his cover and I think even more than Roy, Ian is unhappy about leaving the paint.
Performance of the night: Teague. The guy is lethal, such an underrated guard in this league.
Vogel is Dutch for Bird.