Game 2: Chicago Bulls (0-1) @ Memphis Grizzlies (0-1) - 8:00 PM

[ducler]

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[Whole Truth]

Dillon Brooks, lol. I need a Hero, he's got to be a ball hog, he's got to have tunnel vision, he's got to be selfish all night...

This man passed up wide, wide open teammates on more than several occasions to force up a bad shot in traffic. Both he & Allen displayed subpar decision making with the ball. My take is same as game 1. Poor defense, inconsistent shooting & low BBIQ makeup the Grizz wing rotation where Ja who's not the best of defenders himself, could use at the least, a defensive compliment.

Paging Josh Jackson... opportunity isle 1.

I haven't gone to the general board but I'm sure most are propping up Coby over Ja off the raw stats. Give the kid credit, he played a good game. When Bulls broadcast flashed the rookie comparison with no context to their raw stats, I knew that would be the case.

Let me put some context to those raw numbers
- Grizz are requiring Ja to run the young teams offense against the Bulls seasoned starters, with only 2 veterans, one injured & very little spacing, where he's driving into traffic most of the night. Doesn't help, with his ego, he's also trying to justify his draft position against Coby. So the tendency of that struggle, is to do too much & force.

- Coby at best was a 2nd option who came off the bench against Memphis 2nd & 3rd stringers which isn't saying much. When they extended his minutes 2nd half with his game in rhythm where he was playing against Memphis top opposition, Zach put up 30+ pts to alleviate his ball pressure.

Coby looked better on the night & had the better line but all things are not equal.

[VCfor3]

I still think Ja's lack of conditioning is contributing to a lot of his 2nd half/later-in-the-game issues. Recovering for a chunk of the summer really hurt him in that regard. He already flirts with the line of being out of control normally. Get him a little gassed and it becomes more than just flirting. He also will have to figure out how to deal with teams blitzing him when he gets the ball. He'll get past that, but there'll be some rough games until he does.

Ja also needs to be careful. He hits the deck a lot, especially later in the game when the above mentioned loss of control really kicks in. He isn't built to take that kind of punishment while also getting beat up anyway by opposing teams on drives.

[Whole Truth]

I still think Ja's lack of conditioning is contributing to a lot of his 2nd half/later-in-the-game issues. Recovering for a chunk of the summer really hurt him in that regard. He already flirts with the line of being out of control normally. Get him a little gassed and it becomes more than just flirting. He also will have to figure out how to deal with teams blitzing him when he gets the ball. He'll get past that, but there'll be some rough games until he does.

Ja also needs to be careful. He hits the deck a lot, especially later in the game when the above mentioned loss of control really kicks in. He isn't built to take that kind of punishment while also getting beat up anyway by opposing teams on drives.

Good observation.

I cringed on the way he landed on one of his dunk attempts. His body was carrying forward while he landed awkwardly on his back leg. If there was any traffic there, it could have been ugly.

While I agree he's probably not up to speed because of the surgery. The lack of spacing & his fearlessness to attack is requiring him to deal with a lot of traffic & contact. With his slender frame & willingness, it undoubtedly saps a lot of energy to compensate the physical punishment, that includes always hitting the deck as you mention. Ja took, if I'm not mistaken, 1 3pt attempt early in the game. I think if he would attempt more 3's himself with the team as a whole struggling to shoot, it would help in this aspect among others things, instead of always forcing himself into the teeth of the defense which has collapsed on him because of the teams inability to space the floor. I would like him to attempt at least 4-5 3's a game to get him comfortable taking them in game situations, now, when the wins don't matter. Don't let him go through the season being reluctant to take them.

Checked the box score, 1 attempt in both games that had very poor spacing for him to drive. That suggests to me some reluctance to shoot.

Side note.

Heat just beat the Bucks in their home opener, also without Butler. Winslow was very good defensively, provided effective ball pressure while also dropping in the paint to help strip the ball. Snagged Giannis a couple times from behind, It's pretty encouraging that Memphis, Ja in their debut hung in despite Heat getting to the line 34 times through only 3 quarters, combined with a very poor shooting night & a struggling, injured, vet being incorporated back into the rotation, with little to no chemistry. That' a lot to overcome for a young team.

Vs the Bulls, if Brooks alone had made better decisions with the ball, Memphis could have carried a healthy double digit lead into the 4th of that match. Up 8 or 9 Brooks looks off a wide open 3pt shooter to force up a bad attempt, that decision is the difference between a potential 11/12 point lead vs the 6pts on the Bulls ensuing 2pt conversion off a unnecessary TO. He made this mistake at least 4 times that I can recall looking off 3J no less, when he was hot & in rhythm.