FireballPhil
2nd String
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
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Due to my work schedule I don't get to see many games. Yet as I do get to watch it is interesting to see what adjustments have been made to the team in an effort to improve. Here are a few of my thoughts thus far into the season.
Frank Howard continues to improve. And he is by far the best player on the team right now. I know I know so many of you are going to say how dare you not say Tyus, but for the team, Frank is #1. His assist to t/o ratio isn't where it needs to be but much of it has gone from dribbling into bad situations to good passes that are often fumbled away. His shot is more consistent and is probably the most dependable person on the team.
Tyus Battle is the stud of the team, someone in which you can see potential but still isn't able to capitalize on all of it yet. For those worried about him going pro, he may test the waters but I will be surprised to see him high on anyone's draft board yet. A lot can change between now and the end of the season, but for now its just not there. He is a streaky outside shooter who is still learning dribble drive at this level. He is to important to keep picking up the fouls he has. They aren't "good" fouls either. They are charge calls and silly reach in calls. I realize this is in part because he is trying to be a leader, and also will get the majority of the shots, but he needs to use his superior athleticism to his advantage. I just feel he is a year away yet and once he gets more offensive help it will free him up to be the player he is capable of. But he can't truly shine being the main focus of everyone else's defense.
Oshae Brisset is a stud in the making. He is big enough to physically handle most every defender. I have seen it where many people say he has a nice shot but it just doesn't drop for him. I see potential but on many of his misses, at least from the outside, it appears to me he kind of pushes the ball instead of actually purely shooting it. He is also still learning to dribble drive against this caliber of competition, and once he really starts to figure it out he is going to be a monster. Watching him he reminds me somewhat of Lebron James-someone who is physically imposing for his age and can back down almost any defender. Obviously he is no where near Lebron, but shows flashes of the ability to be similar. Let's see how he continues to improve, but I have high hopes for him.
Matt Moyer is someone who I think can really help this offense. When he flashes to the low post he is often open and has good hands. Provided he can take it right up, he finishes at a high rate. When he has to close in he has trouble finishing. Many of his rebounds could have been points because he is often open under there, Frank just has to figure out how to get him the ball a little more down there. I can't imagine what he would be like if he hadn't had a year to bulk up. But right now he can help the offense, we just need to run some plays for him.
Marek Dolezaj is a feisty player who is unafraid to scrap for anything, and not afraid to go into the big guys to score. Unfortunately for him he is to small and weak yet to power through the big guys consistently. If he would get a short mid-range jumper it would be a great weapon for him. I am very surprised with his Euro background he doesn't already have something like this in his repertoire , especially with his seemingly good free throw shooting. To me he is the biggest mystery on the team, the one that I honestly don't know how good he can become. He seems like such a project, yet plays a lot so he must show great things in practice. Being feisty and scrappy is getting him PT but he needs to show a lot more for this team to have a realistic chance to go dancing.
Paschal Chukwu is a shot blocking and altering machine. His length underneath is undeniable, and will always give people fits. And when he does block, he isn't batting them into the seats, but trying to get it to a teammate. It's just to bad he can't play offense even half as good as he plays defense. His hands are some of the worst we have seen in a while. Even good passes are often fumbled away from him, and when he does manage to collect in a ball, he is so slow doing it everyone closes in on him and he then doesn't get off a good quality shot. There is absolutely no reason he should not be good for 5 dunks a game. But he isn't. The only good thing is he has been hot from the free throw line. It is a breath of fresh air to actually see our players good at the free throw line.
Bourama Sidibe seems to me overall the better of the two centers. He can also block and alter shots but seems to be able to grasp and score the ball. I am much more confident with him on the game on offense than I am with Paschal. Defensively Paschal may still have the edge, but its closer than I think people realize. But then of course there is the dreaded knee/feet issues he is dealing with. I hope is more ready that I believe he is. We are going to need some big minutes from him in the coming months.
Offense: Obviously Frank and Tyus, with Frank being the most important person but Tyus a close second. With Tyus and Oshae figuring out their game against higher caliber competition we should see some improvement. We have to figure out how to get the ball into the low post for Matt to do some damage, and open up some better looks from the outside. If we don't get these other guys involved, it is not going to get any better anytime soon. As Franks assist to t/o ration improves because of better hands down low, so will our ability to win games increase. Our bigs have to get big and play big. If they do...watch out world.
Defense: early on we focused on packing in the paint and as a result we were out rebounding people at a good rate, but were also getting killed by leaving the better 3 pt shooters to open. We have extended the zone since then which has helped keep the three point shot down but we have reverted to giving up many more rebounds. Also the corners have been a lot more open and we are not defending back door cuts very good. With a zone, you do have to kind of pick your poison, you will never have the best of both because you are defending an area, a spot on the floor, and the help defense is more active in a zone than man to man. Although this helps us when there is an obvious mismatch against us, it hurts because a team can swing a ball a lot faster than a zone can react. The zone also creates more opportunities for steals. And we have shown good ability to get turnovers. There is room for improvement, learning the "happy medium" between giving to much room for the 3 vs packing it in. And this team has the heart and the willingness to learn.
The only real question I have on the staff is lack of a big man coach. With all guards on the roster, they can help teach entry passes but it takes a guy who has been in the rough and tough middle to truly teach the things you only learn through experience. Because that what coaching is-giving life lessons to others. I just wonder if the lack of a true big man coach is what is holding back our big guys offensively. Just a thought.
Frank Howard continues to improve. And he is by far the best player on the team right now. I know I know so many of you are going to say how dare you not say Tyus, but for the team, Frank is #1. His assist to t/o ratio isn't where it needs to be but much of it has gone from dribbling into bad situations to good passes that are often fumbled away. His shot is more consistent and is probably the most dependable person on the team.
Tyus Battle is the stud of the team, someone in which you can see potential but still isn't able to capitalize on all of it yet. For those worried about him going pro, he may test the waters but I will be surprised to see him high on anyone's draft board yet. A lot can change between now and the end of the season, but for now its just not there. He is a streaky outside shooter who is still learning dribble drive at this level. He is to important to keep picking up the fouls he has. They aren't "good" fouls either. They are charge calls and silly reach in calls. I realize this is in part because he is trying to be a leader, and also will get the majority of the shots, but he needs to use his superior athleticism to his advantage. I just feel he is a year away yet and once he gets more offensive help it will free him up to be the player he is capable of. But he can't truly shine being the main focus of everyone else's defense.
Oshae Brisset is a stud in the making. He is big enough to physically handle most every defender. I have seen it where many people say he has a nice shot but it just doesn't drop for him. I see potential but on many of his misses, at least from the outside, it appears to me he kind of pushes the ball instead of actually purely shooting it. He is also still learning to dribble drive against this caliber of competition, and once he really starts to figure it out he is going to be a monster. Watching him he reminds me somewhat of Lebron James-someone who is physically imposing for his age and can back down almost any defender. Obviously he is no where near Lebron, but shows flashes of the ability to be similar. Let's see how he continues to improve, but I have high hopes for him.
Matt Moyer is someone who I think can really help this offense. When he flashes to the low post he is often open and has good hands. Provided he can take it right up, he finishes at a high rate. When he has to close in he has trouble finishing. Many of his rebounds could have been points because he is often open under there, Frank just has to figure out how to get him the ball a little more down there. I can't imagine what he would be like if he hadn't had a year to bulk up. But right now he can help the offense, we just need to run some plays for him.
Marek Dolezaj is a feisty player who is unafraid to scrap for anything, and not afraid to go into the big guys to score. Unfortunately for him he is to small and weak yet to power through the big guys consistently. If he would get a short mid-range jumper it would be a great weapon for him. I am very surprised with his Euro background he doesn't already have something like this in his repertoire , especially with his seemingly good free throw shooting. To me he is the biggest mystery on the team, the one that I honestly don't know how good he can become. He seems like such a project, yet plays a lot so he must show great things in practice. Being feisty and scrappy is getting him PT but he needs to show a lot more for this team to have a realistic chance to go dancing.
Paschal Chukwu is a shot blocking and altering machine. His length underneath is undeniable, and will always give people fits. And when he does block, he isn't batting them into the seats, but trying to get it to a teammate. It's just to bad he can't play offense even half as good as he plays defense. His hands are some of the worst we have seen in a while. Even good passes are often fumbled away from him, and when he does manage to collect in a ball, he is so slow doing it everyone closes in on him and he then doesn't get off a good quality shot. There is absolutely no reason he should not be good for 5 dunks a game. But he isn't. The only good thing is he has been hot from the free throw line. It is a breath of fresh air to actually see our players good at the free throw line.
Bourama Sidibe seems to me overall the better of the two centers. He can also block and alter shots but seems to be able to grasp and score the ball. I am much more confident with him on the game on offense than I am with Paschal. Defensively Paschal may still have the edge, but its closer than I think people realize. But then of course there is the dreaded knee/feet issues he is dealing with. I hope is more ready that I believe he is. We are going to need some big minutes from him in the coming months.
Offense: Obviously Frank and Tyus, with Frank being the most important person but Tyus a close second. With Tyus and Oshae figuring out their game against higher caliber competition we should see some improvement. We have to figure out how to get the ball into the low post for Matt to do some damage, and open up some better looks from the outside. If we don't get these other guys involved, it is not going to get any better anytime soon. As Franks assist to t/o ration improves because of better hands down low, so will our ability to win games increase. Our bigs have to get big and play big. If they do...watch out world.
Defense: early on we focused on packing in the paint and as a result we were out rebounding people at a good rate, but were also getting killed by leaving the better 3 pt shooters to open. We have extended the zone since then which has helped keep the three point shot down but we have reverted to giving up many more rebounds. Also the corners have been a lot more open and we are not defending back door cuts very good. With a zone, you do have to kind of pick your poison, you will never have the best of both because you are defending an area, a spot on the floor, and the help defense is more active in a zone than man to man. Although this helps us when there is an obvious mismatch against us, it hurts because a team can swing a ball a lot faster than a zone can react. The zone also creates more opportunities for steals. And we have shown good ability to get turnovers. There is room for improvement, learning the "happy medium" between giving to much room for the 3 vs packing it in. And this team has the heart and the willingness to learn.
The only real question I have on the staff is lack of a big man coach. With all guards on the roster, they can help teach entry passes but it takes a guy who has been in the rough and tough middle to truly teach the things you only learn through experience. Because that what coaching is-giving life lessons to others. I just wonder if the lack of a true big man coach is what is holding back our big guys offensively. Just a thought.
