Jahvon Blair: 9 pts, 3-5 2pt, 0-3 FT, 1-8 3pt, 1 reb,
-Blair was not sharp today. Shot was way off.
-He hit over 80% on fouls shots last year, but shot very poorly from the foul line this weekend
-had a tough driving +1 where he powered through a lot of contact
-lost his dribble in traffic, recovered the ball in the lane, and threw up a circus floater for a basket
Josh LeBlanc: 10 pts, 4-8 2pt, 2-4 FT, 3 reb (2 off), 1 asst, 2 st, 2 bl, 3 TO
-was much more active and in the flow of the game today.
-hit a 12 foot turnaround jumper. But his jumper is not smooth - flat, little rotation.
-Eurostepped around a defender to get to the rim in transition - drew a foul
-follow up hoop on transition offensive board - ran the court well and hustled as the trailer. Also had a strong dunk as a transition trailerHe definitely runs well and has the instincts/body control/leaping ability to be a factor in transition
-had a run down block from behind - highlight defensive play
-drew a travel with good on-ball defense
-fumbled the ball out of bounds going up for an uncontested dunk - would have been highlight play.
-blocked Carter at the rim. Definitely has good defensive instincts, should be a solid rim protector in help D.
-has not had many rebounds. Looks to have the tools to get a lot of boards, but has not done so yet
Kaleb Johnson: 27 pts, 8-13 2pt, 5-8 ft, 2-2 3pt, 9 reb (4 off), 2 asst, 2 TO
-another strong game from Kaleb. Most points came in transition and after catching passes right at the rim. His two threes looked really good - quick, decisively stroked. He is playing very confidently. But I still can’t see him having the space to operate in BE games that he gets in Kenner. Kaleb has put a lot of points up in Kenner over the years, but has never really translated much of this offense to real games.
-good pass ahead for easy 2 in transition
-nice low post duck-in move when he saw he had height advantage on defender
-very good at positioning himself near the rim to receive passes when his man moves over to help on a driving guard. Leaves him open for a pass and lightly contested layup.
Grayson Carter: 5 pts, 1-5 2pt, 1-7 3pt, 5 reb (1 off), 1 st, 1 TO
-hit his first three, but then struggled (including 2 airballs).
-got more playing time today. Looks like he knows what he is doing and seems to be a solid athlete. But he did not impact the game very much while he was in there.
-had a nice hustle steal in transition
-good block out on a defensive board
-was weak catching a post entry pass, allowing defender to bat the ball away for a TO
Antwan Walker: 20 pts, 7- 9 2pt, 6-6 FT, 0-2 3pt, 7 reb, 1 st
-Much better today than saturday. Very engaged and active, played with a physical presence on both ends of the court. Looked like the starting 4 today.
-Jumped a perimeter passing lane for a flashy steal and breakaway dunk. Tried the same thing later, was a beat late, leading to 2 points for the offense. This move looks great when it works, but leaves the D badly exposed when it does not. Need to use good judgment and timing when darting into perimeter passing lanes for this kind of attempt.
-Spent more time attacking defenders out of the post than from the perimeter, and was more effective this way.
-Recognized he had 5" on his defender, and on two straight possessions he attacked the basket to score right over him
-Great finish in transition - flying down the lane at full speed, caught the pass cleanly and finished with a curling backhand move. Very smooth and athletic
-Strong defensive rebounding throughout the game. Used his quick leaping ability to snatch the ball as he elevated over the crowd around the rim.
Jessie Govan: 26 pts, 5-9 2pt, 4-4 FT, 4-6 3pt, 7 reb (2 off), 2 asst
-Another real strong game for Jessie. Looks super comfortable stroking his 3 point shot.
-Hit a quick 10 ft. Baseline jumper on a baseline OOB play. We ran this play a lot last year, it is a go to move for Jessie
-Nice bounce pass out of the post double team to Pryor for an easy dunk - very quick decision after he caught the ball in the post. This will be key for Jessie - recognizing when the double is coming in the post, and reacting quickly to find open man or to make his move to hoop before double gets to him. Also had another great pass from the mid-post to Pryor underneath for a layup
-Had a very strong screen/roll to the hoop for a lob pass finish
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Jagan Mosely: 4 pts, 1-3 2pt, 2-4 FT, 2 reb (1 off)
-another rough game for Mosely. He struggled to finish at the rim again, and just did not impact the game much
-I hate to say this - but it almost looks like Mosely knows he is getting passed on the depth chart by Akinjo and McClung, and can see that they next two years are going to
be spent as a backup with pretty limited playing time. Just not asserting himself much in these first two games.
-McClung beat him off the dribble pretty consistently throughout the game
Jamorko Pickett: 11 pts, 2-7 2pt, 4-4 FT, 1-4 3pt, 2 reb (1 off), 1 asst, 3 TO
-another fairly blah game from Pickett. Most of his points came in the final two minutes. He also struggled to impact the game much
-Part of the issue for Jagan and Pickett is that their team is led by Kenner vet Andrew Harrison. Harrison is a good player, but it is not uncommon for him to face off 1-on-1 against a player on the other team, and take over long stretches of the game trying to dominate his man. He did this today, and took almost every shot over a long stretch of the second half. This makes it hard for the other guys to get into any kind of flow. But it is entertaining! Harrison is super competitive, and he raises the intensity level of any game he plays in.
-Stripped in transition by Akinjo
-had a lob dunk in transition
-nice cut through the lane, catch, and finish at the rim
-still struggles to maintain possession when he dribbles in traffic
James Akinjo: 34 pts, 7-12 2pt, 8-9 FT, 4-9 3pt, 1 reb, 5 asst, 3 st, 1 TO
-Oh boy, this was fun. Akinjo and Mac were great today - both exciting and effective, they put on quite a show.
-had a bunch of strong drives to finish through traffic. Uses hesitation moves well, good with his left hand, uses the rim to protect the ball. He has the full package of small guard tricks for finishing around the rim
-in the first half he realized the guy guarding him had no chance, and attacked him for three straight hoops before the opponent switched up the defender
-Good D again. Drew charges, stripped Pickett in transition. Had a steal and then a 360 spin into a floater in the lane
-pulled up for a 3 off the dribble at the first half buzzer
-Nailed 4 foul shots late in the game to put it away.
-only negative - midway through the second half, he and Mac started running isolation attacks every possession for a bunch of possessions. Resulted in a few thrilling baskets, but also lots of forced shots that missed and a few turnovers. Took the team out of rhythm. When they then started getting the other players involved in the final 5 minutes or so, they pulled away and won the game. Ewing will probably stay on them to start moving the ball if he sees them go into Iso mode in real games.
Mac McClung: 30 pts, 7-14 2pt, 4-5 FT, 4-10 3pt, 4 reb (1 off), 2 asst, 1 st, 1 TO
-Had a wide variety of highlight finishes at the rim - dunks, lefty power finishes, tough floaters over defenders while flying in his air to his left, follow up dunk in transition - the whole highlight reel was on display today
-had two of his trademark baseline dunks, where he cuts behind his defender and catches a pass into a great dunk
-most exciting play: steal, went behind his back, reverse layup +1 on Mosely
-shot much better from 3 today, as did Akinjo. Still took a few too many quick, forced pull-up 3s - but he shot well from outside in general
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Greg Malinowski: 24 pts, 3-6 2pt, 3-3 FT, 5-9 3pt, 7 reb, 3 asst, 4 TO
-real impressive work from Malinowski - especially in 21 point first half!
-He clearly can shoot. But he also can create a little off the dribble, and has both some quickness and some explosion/leaping ability to his game.
-Gets in trouble when he tries to take on too much traffic/too good a defender off the dribble. But when he picks his spots, he can do some things off the bounce.
-best play: split a trap on a Pick and roll, threw a bounce pass to an open cutter for a layup
Omer Yurtseven: 18 pts, 7-8 2pt, 4-4 FT, 0-2 3pt, 7 reb (2 off), 2 asst, 4 bl
-this is the guy we were excited about! Played far, far better today than on Saturday. Showed his high skill level in the post, finished everything around the basket. Also blocked a few shots.
-had a tough catch and finish in transition - ran the court well on this play
-wheeled around Trey in the post for a smooth left hand finish
-set a nice screen, rolled to the hoop, caught the pass and finished - textbook
-took quick 3 late in a close game (miss) - bad decision
-fouls a lot!
Trey Mourning: 10 pts, 4-8 2pt, 2-2 FT, 0-1 3pt, 7 reb (2 off), 2 asst, 1 st, 1 bl, 1 TO
-solid game from Trey. Not as strong as yesterday, but another good all around performance. He definitely looks like he can provide some competent, "do no harm" backup minutes at center because he plays very smart basketball and does a lot of little things effectively.
-threw a nice pass to a cutting teammate for a +1 finish
-another nice post pass to a cutter for a basket