Well it wasn’t beating Philly on what shall forever be known as ‘Vote of Confidence Day’ but it was a needed win nevertheless. All hands were on deck, every player either played their role to the fullest or stepped up their game in a manner becoming of their future desires. All in all we did the things that needed doing to get it done. While not the most epic of opponents perhaps a blueprint can be found in the victory?
- Trezz. The dude is a beast when fully unleashed, as he has been since LeBron went down. I’m not sure we want to put this beast back in the bottle, either. I know that a lot of our success is created off of LeBron James driving to the basket and Anthony Davis’s superlative shooting. But there has to be a way to incorporate the different kind of gravity Harrell brings to the court. We got him at a bargain and are likely to lose him this summer (most we can offer is a 20% raise and I’ll be stupefied if he doesn’t get a better offer than that) so it’s on the team to maximize this year of Montrezl as best we can. He has defensive shortcomings, generally gives up half a foot to his defender and still finds a way. #unleashthebeast #monstrezz
- Markieff Morris coming through. ‘Kieff has been taking a lot of flack for a dude making $2.3 mil. But he played so very well in the playoffs on both ends; hitting timely threes and playing excellent defense. This season he’s been more erratic than consistent. His three point shot, like many on the team, comes and goes, we’ve discovered he’s prone to incredibly bone-headed turnovers and he’s been off on defense more often than he’s been on. Last night he looked more like the Morris we all became enamored with in the playoffs last season. He led the team in +/-, canned 3-7 three pointers, and was active on defense making impact plays. Yes, he had 4 turnovers and that aspect of this team up and down the roster is certainly a major issue as the playoffs approach, but he staid the course and helped bring home the win.
- Schroder pulling his weight. Being a point guard is akin to being a quarterback. While the end result may not come from your pass or you may not score the basket you are certainly the leader of the team. You have the ball the most, make reads as to who has it going and who doesn’t, and in general orchestrate victories. That’s exactly what Dennis did last night. He attacked the basket when the slimmest of seams presented itself. He dished a co-team high 7 assists and was a pest on defense yanking a co-team high 4 steals. Like many his turnovers were waaaaaay too high but we’ll have to live with it. As it is, it came along with a W.
- The ever expanding game of Kyle Kuzma. We had seen a player more like the Kuz of old: the gunner, the soloist, a player trying to play his way into shoes he doesn’t fit in yet and perhaps never will. Not last night. He, along with Schroder, activated his teammates to the tune of seven dimes which matched his shot attempts. He nabbed 8 rebounds continuing a season-long trend of being aggressive on the glass. While he didn’t make too many of his 7 attempts if one of the aspects of the blueprint is to get the all-around game of Kyle at the sacrificing of some points you can sign me up for the fan club. But that’s the beauty of Kuz this season: we don’t need him to excel at any one thing, we just need him to compete at the level he did last night and play for the success of the team.
- Talen Horton-Tucker finding his way. It’s been said before and will be said again but it’s going to be said now: this is essentially THT’s rookie campaign. The first time he’s been asked to contribute on a major level on a nightly basis at the NBA level. When he blew up preseason he generated overblown expectations in terms of what he could become. I’m less interested in what he could become but what can he do now. Like Kyle Kuzma before him, THT won’t be defined by this season and has a lot yet to prove. He gets to the rim well, he finishes well and he’s a willing passer. That’s not the end of the court where he struggles though. His defense is an issue that makes him unlikely to see big playoff minutes save for injury. It’s unfortunate that one of the players he has rapport with is Trezz because I don’t think they’ll play a lot at the same time in the playoffs. Not unless they can figure out how to defend better together. Which is certainly a possibility and one that the team overall could use. If any coach can unlock the defensive potential of THT and Montrezl Harrell I feel it would be coach Vogel.
At any rate, there’s still some time left in the season for some of the issues that plague the team to improve. The only thing that will give us any kind of shot in the playoffs is two healthy superstars. But we can keep pace in the west if we improve some of the little issues and compete like we did against Cleveland. In all reality, it’s imperative that we do.