I disagree on one point. I thought Starling showed defensive intensity we haven't seen from him.
There was one possession where he initiated a one man press on their point guard and harassed him into nearly a 10 second violation. Sure, it was against a lower division PG in his first game, but when have we ever seen Starling do that?
The defense on a whole fell apart when they got up 18 points in the second half. Credit to Buffalo for continuing to play hard and making those five threes during their run. But then the starters came back in, and Buffalo was shut down the rest of the way.
Last season, that run when we had a lapse in our intensity would have meant a six point lead going to a six point deficit.
Last night, it meant an eighteen point lead going to a six point lead. Not great, but not a catastrophe.
