My Observations From Saturday's Scrimmage

[Traceman]

Sorry it took so long to post this but I have been pretty busy. Also, sorry this is so long.

I thought there was a surprisingly good turnout for a relatively early scrimmage game. Hopefully the team will get off to a good start and the support for the team will carry over.

I thought it was interesting to see how the teams were divided up and I think it gave an early indication of who will get the first shot at the starting lineup. The teams were as follows:

Lo

Shelden

Smoove

JJ

T Lue

Ivey

Batista

Bozeman

versus

Glyniadakis

Dickens

Marvin

Chillz

Salim

Chalmers

Freije

Brown

Zaza, Speedy and Jones didn't play.

Based on the lineups, if I were a betting man, I'd bet that the starting lineup tomorrow against the Grizzlies will be:

Zaza (or Lo if Zaza is not ready for full contact)

Shelden

Smoove

JJ

Lue (would be Speedy if he were healthy)

I don't think this means that the starting lineup is set for the regular season but I think these guys get the first shot.

As for how the players looked during the scrimmage, here are my thoughts:

JJ looked great. He is just so skilled in all aspects of the game. Not the next-level athlete that some of the elite SGs in the league are but his all around skills are as good as ANY of them.

Smoove looked strong and in shape. J looked as good as others have said. Still runs the floor well and still has next level hops. Still a shotblocker extraordinaire. Showed no signs of a post up game. Did try to take it to the rack a couple of times (got fouled once and stripped by Marvin once). Looks ready for a strong year.

Marvin looked like a new guy since last year. FAR more confident and aggressive on both ends. Went STRONG to the hoop on several occasions and had 2 and 1's. At least 3 blocks (one of a JJ dunk attempt). He also ran a little point forward and looked pretty good doing it. I think he is probably our second most skilled player after JJ but I think Smoove is still the BETTER player at this point.

Chillz looked solid but I wish he would be more aggressive EARLY rather than waiting for the game to come to him. JJ was schooling him early but he did settle down and play well in the 2nd and 3rd quarters (they only played 3).

Shelden looked solid but certainly not spectacular. He is CLEARLY not as talented as Smoove or Marvin but if he brings tough interior D, rebounding and toughness, he will provide an element that was sorely lacking on this team last year.

T Lue was terrific. I though he clearly outplayed Salim hed to head as he did a better job of getting his teammates involved AND he knocked down open J's. The backup PG slot is in good hands.

Salim can score if he can't do anything else. He hit several very difficult shots. Still gets lost on D (T Lue was draining open J's) and he is still not a PG. It will be interesting to see how much he gets on the floor with Speedy/Lue at PG and JJ/Chillz at SG.

Lo didn't show much of the tough inside D that we are going to need. I hope he picks it up as he looked to be still working his way into top shape but Glyniadakis, Dickens and Freije all scored over him in the low post.

Ivey was Ivey. Solid but not spectacular.

Batista was Batista. Solid but not spectacular.

Glyniadakis showed some nice moves around the basket and the ability to knock down the midrange J but he didn't appear to be overly tough. I would have liked to see him dominate on the glass but that didn't happen. Not bad though.

Dickens was playing out of position at PF (he's a SF) but he looked good. He scored in the low post with a nice little turnaround J. I think he's caught in a numbers game so I can't see him making the roster.

Freije looked VERY good. He's versatile and showed the ability to score inside and out. I could see him making the team and I'd like to see him make it.

Chalmers was solid but he's caught in a numbers game. Same for Brown and Bozeman.

The highlight for me was the conversation I had with Coach Herb Brown after the scrimmage was over. I walked up to Coach Brown and told him that I appreciated the job the he and the coaching staff were doing with all the young guys, particularly Marvin (I noticed that Coach Brown was spending a good deal of time talking to Marvin and coaching him on the bench during the scrimmage). I told him that I thought Marvin looked like a different guy. In response, Coach Brown said thanks but that it was Marvin, not the coaching staff, who deserved the most credit for Marvin's improved play. He said that Marvin worked very hard all summer and that he worked out every day while completing 12 credit hours at UNC. He said that Marvin is a terrific kid, that he has a great attitude, that he is a joy to work with and that he "wants it." He said that Marvin is willing to do what it takes to be a great player and he thinks he will get there. If you are a Marvin fan, you've got to love that.

I asked Coach Brown if a decision had been made already with regard to who was going to start. He said no but that really, it didn't matter because the team would employ a lot of different lineups depending on matchups. One thing to look for was that he said don't be surprised to see a small, quick lineup of Smoove at Center, Marvin at PF, Chillz at SF, JJ at SG and Speedy at PG. He also indicated that Shelden could play quite a bit of Center in some matchups. Should be fun to watch.

Finally, I asked Coach Brown if interior D would be a big concern with the small lineups. He said that actually, interior D was an emphasis item for ALL lineups but that if everyone did what they were supposed to do, it should be a LOT better than last year. He said that he saw a lot of mistakes regarding rotations in the scrimmage and that those mistakes HAD to get corrected.

All in all, the team looked pretty good considering that it is training camp. I look forward to watching the team develop chemistry and playing personality.

[Packfill]

Thanks for the insight.

[vdunkndunk]

I agree with your scouting report and I appreciate hearing about your conversation with Coach Brown.

[Guest Walter]

I don't recall them. Great, good, bad, ugly? Who would you rather have drafted if anyone?

It seems you are not enamored with him now.

W

[HAWKEYE]

Quote:

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Coach Brown said the team would employ a lot of different lineups depending on matchups. One thing to look for was that he said don't be surprised to see a small, quick lineup of Smoove at Center, Marvin at PF, Chillz at SF, JJ at SG and Speedy at PG. He also indicated that Shelden could play quite a bit of Center in some matchups. Should be fun to watch.

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VERY INTERESTING , VERY INTERESTING

[Guest Walter]

That lineup is full of talent but is going to get spanked if only because Woodson is utterly not the coach D'antoni is and Speedy is utterly not the Pg Nash is.

With all the capitol we've had is this the direction we must go. Pheonix did it out of necessity due to injuries and has MVPs and creative good coaches. WHY did we get ourselves in this situation, where our most talented lineup by far doesn't include a Pf or a C?

W

[Swatguy]

Quote:

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That lineup is full of talent but is going to get spanked if only because Woodson is utterly not the coach D'antoni is and Speedy is utterly not the Pg Nash is.

With all the capitol we've had is this the direction we must go. Pheonix did it out of necessity due to injuries and has MVPs and creative good coaches. WHY did we get ourselves in this situation, where our most talented lineup by far doesn't include a Pf or a C?

W

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Differing situations obviously behooves versatility. Obviously we do not Have to use a small lineup (ala Pheonix), but it is a testement of your talents that we can. We can employ a Big lineup if needed as perhaps:

Zaza

Lo

Shell

Marvin/Smoove

JJ

We can use many line ups.

[Buzzard]

Great report! The news on our team is refreshing. Thanks

[bird_dirt]

Quote:

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Marvin looked like a new guy since last year...He also ran a little point forward and looked pretty good doing it.

Salim can score if he can't do anything else. He hit several very difficult shots. Still gets lost on D (T Lue was draining open J's) and he is still not a PG. It will be interesting to see how much he gets on the floor with Speedy/Lue at PG and JJ/Chillz at SG.

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for as much as has been mentioned about salim being a part time pg, i have the feeling that when he is in there in the "point guard" slot, that more than likely jj (or possibly marvin given what you stated above) will be doing more of the ball handling/leading/distributing at that time. he will probably just be in there as the point by name only, and hopefully he will learn some defense so he will be able to cover the opposing point while he's in there.

[Traceman]

My order of preference given who was available at 5 was Roy, then Foye then Shelden. That preference was based on the belief that a JJ/Roy or JJ/Foye backcourt could have worked. That said, I understand why the team took Shelden at 5 if they didn't believe that either of those backcourts would have worked.

I believe that Shelden's skill set fits what we lacked most last year - interior D, defensive rebounding and toughness. I think he will provide those things, the question remains AT WHAT LEVEL he will provide those things. If he can give us 10/8 while providing interior toughness (whether starting or off the bench), I think he was a solid pick. Maybe not the BEST pick but a solid pick nonetheless because he will be addressing our biggest deficiency from a year ago.

Bottom line, I wouldn't have picked him but now that he is here, I hope that he will be able to provide what Billy thinks he will.