Post#214 » by Hal14 » Fri Oct 4, 2024 7:11 pm
My thoughts:
Tillman: he was awesome. Clearly looked better than Kornet and Queta. From what I saw, there is a very clear hierarchy in terms of how good our backup bigs are. 1) Tillman 2) Kornet 3) Queta.
Not only did he hit a couple of 3's. The pass to JB when he cut and threw down the dunk was excellent..good glue guy, connective passing type stuff there..he's unselfish on offense, played great D. Seems really in sync with the other guys out there - including the starting group.
We crushed the league last season because our top 8 was so good. Well, now it's a top 9 with Tillman in that group. So we're even deeper now.
Kornet - he was Kornet. He is what he is. Not any better than before and not any worse. Not as good as Tillman but Kornet looks like a solid 10th man
Pritchard and Hauser - we know what they can do already. So I won't say much about them. They're good. Pritchard was good..Hauser hit some shots, played solid D and I liked that play where he faked the 3, put it on the floor and then made the pass to Kornet at the rim for the layup. That type of dribble drive, playmaking stuff is not something he has done much of in the past so nice to see him expanding his game a bit
JD - I thought he looked good. The block was very nice, the one handed (left hand) lob was nice. Hit a 3. He looked like a guy who could possibly be a legit backup PG in this league
Peterson - looked good. Looks a bit stronger physically than before. Showed nice ball skills and didn't look terrible on D. Looked like a guy who could possibly give so some rotation mins off the bench and i like his versatility as a guy who could possibly play the 1, 2 or 3
Watson - didn't get a lot of playing time and while he didn't make a ton of impact, one thing we have talked about with him (after the draft and during summer league) is that he is a guy who just kind of blends in out there..he's not the type of guy who is going to jump out of the gym or dominate the ball or score a ton of points or even block tons of shots. He simply is a guy who will play unselfish, fundamentally sound, team basketball with high IQ. He will keep the offense flowing, pass to the open man, set screens, crash the boards, be where he is supposed to be, not make mistakes and be a complementary piece. He's alert, his awareness is good, etc.
Honestly, I could see him passing Queta on the depth chart. I mean, depending on matchups, like if we need more size in there than sure, go Queta. But if we're going with a small ball 5, then Watson can play. And if we have someone like KP, Tillman or Horford (or maybe even Kornet) at the 5, you could play Watson at the 4.
Queta - Had some moments where he was good, like the nice post move, drop step and finish at the rim. But overall, looked raw..had trouble playing D without fouling, and fouled while setting a screen too. I don't want to hear anyone saying that he should get mins over Kornet or Tillman again lol. Again, I could see Watson passing him on the depth chart. If not, he's a solid 5th big (4th while KP is out) but clearly the majority of the big man mins will be KP, Horford, Tillman and Kornet.
Walsh - he makes me nervous when he has the ball. But he hit a couple 3's. Defense was pretty good. And what can you expect from a 20 year old kid. He'll probably be in Maine most of the season with an outside chance at getting some rotation mins if he plays well enough
Walker - wasn't out there for long so can't say much..I think more than anything, the fact that he barely played tells us that he probably won't make the team. Remember, if he makes the team than we're paying like $10 mil in additional taxes. So for it to be worth the $, he would have to be out there playing a lot and playing well. And making an impact and being a clear cut top 9 or 10 guy on team..that's just not the case. Walker looked ok out there when he was on the floor. But he also didn't do anything positive to really earn more mins.
Scheierman - yikes, he was bad. He'll be in Maine this year
Springer - He was good. Not great, just good. A couple of really nice offensive rebounds, unselfish passing. The combination of defense, rebounding, athleticism and hustle but being limited on offense is like the Brissett role from last season..just in a different position. Brissett was a solid 10th/11th man for us last season..Springer could do the same this season.
Kind of seems like Springer and Walsh are battling for some mins as that guard/wing off the bench behind Pritchard/Hauser. Seems like they know that the Pritchard/Hauser duo is really good shooting, good offense but limited on D so they are fine with putting someone out there with the bench group that is a defensive guy who's limited on O like Walsh/Springer.
Plus, Springer just turned 22..Walsh is 20. By putting those guys out there, you develop them so that eventually they could become a *really* good player for you. And with the 2nd apron penalties you need to be able to develop guys like that on cheap contracts (yes, Springer is on a rookie contract still so that is a cheap contract).
The Euro 7-footer guy is ok..not terrible but he's slow..I see him as our center for the Maine squad and nothing more..
Nothing wrong with having a different opinion - as long as it's done respectfully. It'd be lame if we all agreed on everything
