dmutombo321 wrote:BigSlam wrote:Great stuff hotrod.
DJW - looking ok? Did he get much burn?
How did Biz come across in person? Large and in charge? Does he pass the "he can 100% be a C in the NBA just by looking him up and down" test?
Funny you say that about T2. I mentioned that to a mate the other week - T2 seems like a dude who would struggle putting weight on and keeping it on rather than putting taking it off and keeping it off.
Was there many peeps there?
Attendance was probably 3k or so.
When we attend games, we're usually upstairs or towards the middle to top of the lower bowl. It was nice to be able to watch this practice and scrimmage close to the floor.
Observations:
--DJW had a good showing. He played on Kemba's reserve squad and scored on post up plays against Tyrus on at least two occasions. His mid range jumper is still money.
--Tyrus does look painfully thin.
--D Brown has really worked on his jumper. He was shooting corner threes during warm-ups and while uncontested, he was nailing 3 out of 4. His ball handling is what holds him back from really excelling at the three.
--We were only 6 rows behind the White squad bench where Biz and Maggs were sitting. Maggs did not participate in the practice or scrimmage and had either an ice or heat pack affixed to his lower back the whole time. Not a good omen. Biz was wearing a grey sweatsuit emblazoned with some Euro looking logo on the chest and while he didnt look to be much taller than Diaw, his wingspan is as freakish as advertised. We were floored by this when we watched him casually extend both arms across the tops of the chairs flanking him as he watched the scrimmage. As Bonnell has noted, you really do feel bad for the guy because you can tell he'd like to get out there but can only sit and watch. The PA announcer didnt even acknowledge him during the player intros even though Maggs, Najara and Reggie got shout outs.
--Diop looked like an absolute embarrassment. The scrimmage was only two 12 minute halves and he probably had 4-5 fouls. He's overweight and looks to be in terrible condition. He was wearing those ridiculous tights the DWade loved a couple years back before the league banned them and he had visible underarm and back sweat seaping through his practice clothes before the practice even officially started. Given that he was only cleared for full activity a few weeks ago, this isnt necessarily his fault but it was ugly nonetheless. Silas yelled for Walker to run a post up play for him at one point during the scrimmage and Diop barreled over his defender and threw up a sloppy half hook that barely drew iron. He seemed to struggle to even get sufficient elevation to dunk in a couple of the pre scrimmage drills.
The two most impressive players IMO were Hendo and DJA. Hendo showed no ill effects from the hip sx, had some athletic practice dunks and even drilled a couple contested threes during the scrimmage. DJA was easily the better of the two PGs. He made some good drive and dishes, hit jumpers as usual and connected with D-brown for a spectacular ally on a break.
Kemba is the fastest guy on the floor, hands down and really pushes the tempo on the break. He had a couple impressive breakdowns on the dribble culminating in those vintage UCONN mid range jumpers. However, he is as green and fresh grass when it comes to NBA PG decision making at this early stage. He had 2-3 messy turnovers that stand out including a poorly thrown ally oop that manute bol couldn’t have caught, let alone the D-leaguer it was intended for. He didn’t attempt any 3s despite being open. Its apparent he’s going to face the same challenges DJ did in adjusting to NBA interior defenses at his diminutive size. Like we’ve seen with DJ, there were a couple times he penetrated with his speed but wasn’t able to get a shot off among the trees. And on one fast break, Diaw purposely sagged off him, dared Kemba to take the open lane, and then blocked his shot out of bounds when Kemba went in for the layup.
--Taylor Griffin looks to be all of 6’6. It’s a shame because he is clearly a crafty player who would be a coveted PF in the League but is 2-3 inches too short.
--Melvin Ely lost the cornrows. Is now bald.
--Finally, the highlight of the evening was Paul Silas’ pants which were at least 5 inches too short and ended at his ankles. It was reminiscent of Luis Tully’s slacks from Ghostbusters 1. Silas is like everyone’s favorite neighborhood Grandpa. It was evident that he’s really getting up there in years and seemed to be lumbering pretty slow. He’s probably got 1-2 more seasons in him tops.
With how many balls Kings played?
