It is hard to be too critical of rookie play since the team had two a days on Tuesday and Wednesday, flew to Las Vegas on Thursday and then played four straight games and 5 games in 6 days. Fatigue had to be an issue for everyone on the team. However the few bright spots the team did exhibit were quite bright. Defensively the team held their first opponent to a mere 35.9% shooting for the game. Their second opponent didn't fair much better only hitting 40% of their attempts. The impact of Kevin O'Neill and the defensive focus was readily apparent. The Grizzlies shot respectable as a team those first two games as well.
Then fatigue set in and the defense sagged while the shots stopped falling. It is ridiculous to assume this shouldn't have happened also. Yes these are professional athletes but when you are facing teams who haven't played as many games as you have in such a short period of time fatigue is the enemy you can't defend against. Overall I wasn't displeased with the team's performance.
The team looked about as good as you would expect under the circumstances they were thrown into. The better players on the team didn't play every game including Mike Conley missing the last two games. It seemed the team had found out everything they wanted to know about the veterans on the team and the last games were more about preparing the drafted rookies for the rigors of the NBA and trying to find out if anyone else on the roster was worth a second look.
There is no truth to the rumor, as far as we can find out, that Heisley requested that the team play their 5 games in 6 days so that he wouldn't have to pay for extra days in the hotel.
Considering the NBA summer league in Vegas has more NBA wanna-bes than actual players, and only team has reached 100 points in a game yet, I wouldn't really praise Kevin O'Neill and the D just yet. When the majority of games are in the 70s, its tough to say, "Look at all this great defense!" It's alot easier to say, "Look at this horrible offense!"
ReplyDeleteI don't understand it. Heisley is incredibly filthy rich, richer than any of us will ever be. Yet he is the cheapest bastard I have ever seen. He does not deserve to be an owner; he's not willing enough to pay money to win. I mean come one. He doesn't want to pay the hotel bill for a few extra days even though he has hundreds of millions of dollars at his expense. What a jerk. He's the exact opposite of Chris Wallace- completely unlikable.
ReplyDeleteIt was just a joke guys. There was no rumor about Heisley requesting the schedule to save money on hotel rooms.
ReplyDeletehilarious
ReplyDeleteGeeze Chip you had me worried there.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I found most distressing about the summer league was how wll Donte Green played. I mean 40 points his first game!! Sheesh! I know it was only the summer leagues but it looks like that guy can really torch the net. I was happy when we drafted Green but thought that Arthur would be much better. He played real well for a couple of games so hopefully those games were more telling than his bad games. J. Critt played like he wants to be traded but he may have hurt his trade value. I think Mayo will be a star and will be the eventual leader of this team. He plays with a lot of intensity and energy even though he makes some silly mistakes. I am also a little surprised at how well Kevin Love is playing. I didn't think he would be as a dominant as he has been so far. Then again he is just playing against some other rookies now. I'm still thrilled we got Mayo but it looks like Love may be a star in the league as well.
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