Early impressions of the team so far:
DJ is on an absolute tear so far. 60 points with 10 missed field goals. Ridiculous. We know what we're getting from him on defence, his offense has made up for it.
Sloan suuuuucks. I remember him playing for the Pacers back in the day and he was one of those guys who is just sort of there. Nothing stands out about his game. Doesn't have a good first step, shot doesn't seem great, can't create room for himself, not much athleticism, defence suspect. Not sure what he's supposed to be able to do.
Crocker is a completely different player to what I thought we were getting. Thought he'd be a guy who can knock down outside shots and almost never goes inside. Obviously his shot isn't dropping at all, but he seems pretty capable off the dribble. Knows how to get himself open. Just needs to start hitting his shots (which has been pretty yikes so far). I think as the cheap import, we could do worse, once he gets comfortable.
Humphries was way better today, but the same issues were still there. There's just no finesse in his game. Touch around the basket very lacking, just kind of barrels towards the ring and throws the ball in the general area and hopes it either goes in, or he gets to miss 2 free throws. Rebounding is the big standout part of his game so far. Seems better than I thought from defence maybe?
Giddey is a massive positive. Rebounding, passing, the team just ticks better when he's running it. Can't shoot at all, though. Impressive start.
Pinder brings a lot of energy, but not a whole lot more. I don't like or dislike him so far. He's a nice energy big off the bench (although he's starting over Humphries so far).
Dech looked super lost and tentative on Friday but was much better today. There's a fair bit to work with there, but he's never going to be a go to scorer. Worth persisting with.
McVeigh seems to have been demoted to shooter off the bench, which isn't really his game, but he's doing OK so far.
Dillon gets to collect a paycheck for another year and do nothing.
Teys was only ever going to be a 'things are going shit, send Mr Solid out there'. We know what he can and can't do. I wanted him on the court over Sloan at the end, which is very telling.
Team wise, we really need to work on our PnR passing. We're either incredibly predictable, or our passing just sucks, because I can't remember us actually completing a PnR play in the 2 games. Not ideal that our 18 year old kid is far an away out most reliable guard. We don't seem to have a go to shooter. I'm assuming that's supposed to be Crocker and McVeigh, so hopefully shots start dropping. Defence needs improvement, but it's Adelaide, so we knew that.
