Good review. I like Bill Simmons. He does a good job -- knowledgeable and he keeps it lite and funny. I thought he did a good job on draft night -- I remember cracking up that Simmons and I were the only ones who wanted Isaiah Canaan. LOL.
Hey man, we have some question marks and these guys didn't sugar coat anything.
Disagree with Simmons on 2 things though --
(1) Simmons said Artest was done "2 years ago." Well, Metta World Amnesty (hilarious) IS NOT done. He looks reenergized, playing real well this pre-season. Obviously still has plenty of game left and I've been impressed with his leadership. Might turn out to be the best get for us the entire offseason, even over Bargnani..
(2) Only going by the few pre-season games I've seen of him up close for us so far but I don't see much toughness outta Bargnani yet. Simmons saying he's got some moxie and doesn't play like your typical Euro. Well, we haven't seen that yet at all...He's big and skilled, he'll score the ball yes, I get that---but for Christ Sakes, play harder big fella!! He looks pretty soft so far--just keepin' it real..Esp. on the glass. Defense looks adequate (nothing more) but his rebounding (pursuing caroms, loose balls, etc.) is lacking big-time. It's a little scary because that's all effort. Very little to do with skill level...I'd actually like to see him play harder on offense too. Demand the ball, make his moves with much more conviction, attack the rim HARDER!!!! I dunno -- it's early but this could be an issue. Not writing him off by any means but come on man, we're just not seeing any of that at all.. Garden fans want toughness, energy and results. Hopefully, it'll come. Hopefully it's just pre-season and he's just feeling his way on a new team, pacing himself and not going 100% yet on purpose, etc.. I hope this guy's up for the challenge because this isn't Europe or Toronto man. If he plays this way during the season, forget it. The Garden fans will eat him for breakfast and Woody will have no choice but to sit him. On the positive side, he began to turn things around the other night after his 1-8 start but by that time, Woody pulled all the regulars and the game came down to a battle of bench players on both sides. Love to see a very tough, efficient/productive game outta Bargs tonight against the Bucks!!
And an interesting point Jalen made when talking about where Melo's shot attempts are coming from --
Saying Melo doesn't take many corner 3s because he's not playing off a legit post player. Thinking about that -- LEGIT POST PLAYER -- that's the missing piece here. That's what this team is really lacking--we basically have everything else. Hopefully it can be Amar'e. When STAT returned the first time last year, he looked very good operating in close to me. That's where the bulk of his offense was coming from. Post moves, hook shots in close. Then unfortunately he got hurt again and wasn't the same player when he returned at the end. If we can get him back to the point where he was operating in close taking/making high % shots, we may have our guy.. If not, this offense won't be complete. That's the one element we're missing...It'd be nice for Bargnani to post up more and we'll probably see that, but he'll still be roving all over on offense -- that's where he's at his best. Bargnani isn't tough enough to plant himself down low and continually demand the rock and execute from down there anyway. It's just not his game. Doesn't even look like he's gonna give us much on the glass at all too. Amar'e could be that guy if it all works out for him health-wise. A lot of people have written off STAT. Hopefully he's not done because we could use him....Hey if not, that might be the piece we need to add later in the year -- a productive post-player, preferably with some size (6'10" or better). Maybe it turns out to be Jeremy Tyler..
