So nice W for all intents and purposes. Nice to see this team dominate (even for a half) against a lesser foe. Solid play from Cooney and obviously a huge game for G. Sloppy in the second half when they had a chance to bury this team and win going away by 30+, but not terribly surprising b/c I'm not sure this team is 30 points better than many DI opponents.
So anyway, overall, a decent performance. But as we go forward we absolutely have to find some way to get minutes out of at least a player, preferably two or two and a half. But how do we do it? So far the returns on anybody on our bench are pretty abysmal.
Coleman (starts, but ostensibly is a 6th/7th option): Probably his best game to date. Was able to log 21 minutes, which is a huge plus in and of itself. Grabbed 7 boards, which is nice. But once Charlotte started playing a bit better in the 2nd, Coleman quickly exited and played sparingly from that point forward. He also had three TOs, managed just 1 of 5 from the field and failed to get to the stripe against yet another opponent where his size should be a big factor. I hope it's a step forward for him but even if it is it's hard not to feel like he's still got a long, long way to go to be a key contributor against good teams.
KJ: Logged 17 minutes, which is key in a tournament setting. Had a bad shooting night, which in and of itself is not a huge deal. Has shown the ability to score at times so I'm not terribly concerned about that. But overall he has really struggled defensively, he tends to pound the ball too much on offense and while he'll likely play in every game, he's not doing much to prove he adds much off the bench.
Howard: I actually like Howard the most of the bench options (if you consider Coleman a bench player) based on his potential defensively. Having said that, it's hard to picture a scenario where he plays big minutes as limited offensively as he appears to be at this point (he's gotten the ball in the basket once -- on a free throw -- in four games). I like him but I get the feeling he's a year away from a legit role in the rotation.
Obokoh: Not much to write here.
So that's the extent of the options. I honestly have no clue how it works out. I guess Coleman and KJ but right now I get the feeling they still reside in the 'as needed' category. Gotta get more out of those guys going forward.
So anyway, overall, a decent performance. But as we go forward we absolutely have to find some way to get minutes out of at least a player, preferably two or two and a half. But how do we do it? So far the returns on anybody on our bench are pretty abysmal.
Coleman (starts, but ostensibly is a 6th/7th option): Probably his best game to date. Was able to log 21 minutes, which is a huge plus in and of itself. Grabbed 7 boards, which is nice. But once Charlotte started playing a bit better in the 2nd, Coleman quickly exited and played sparingly from that point forward. He also had three TOs, managed just 1 of 5 from the field and failed to get to the stripe against yet another opponent where his size should be a big factor. I hope it's a step forward for him but even if it is it's hard not to feel like he's still got a long, long way to go to be a key contributor against good teams.
KJ: Logged 17 minutes, which is key in a tournament setting. Had a bad shooting night, which in and of itself is not a huge deal. Has shown the ability to score at times so I'm not terribly concerned about that. But overall he has really struggled defensively, he tends to pound the ball too much on offense and while he'll likely play in every game, he's not doing much to prove he adds much off the bench.
Howard: I actually like Howard the most of the bench options (if you consider Coleman a bench player) based on his potential defensively. Having said that, it's hard to picture a scenario where he plays big minutes as limited offensively as he appears to be at this point (he's gotten the ball in the basket once -- on a free throw -- in four games). I like him but I get the feeling he's a year away from a legit role in the rotation.
Obokoh: Not much to write here.
So that's the extent of the options. I honestly have no clue how it works out. I guess Coleman and KJ but right now I get the feeling they still reside in the 'as needed' category. Gotta get more out of those guys going forward.