Ball movement was there... but they were sluggish on defense, made some silly fouls, and didn't look at all interested in defensive rebounding. Also, the Kings are playing lousy right now... they've missed a ton of wide open jumpers (which is their sole source of offense), and the only guy who looks like he cares out there for them is Bonzi. That being said... there aren't many teams out there who really scare me. It kinda seems like everybody else just got weaker, but I also think its because we've just gotten that much better from the start of the season last year.
Swift was a dissapointment. he'll only get better. Barry was awesom. wesley sucked. Tracy is playing through p[ain, and yao was great. despite the fouls, he still kept on being aggressive.
Did we got lucky or our defense really shut down Peja who shot 3-13 and Bibby who shot 2-11? We would've lost if these two have gotten goin.
Great win...We definitely need to continue this...I liked our game tonight as JB was on...Yao was Yao even with the foul trouble...I got to tell you, T-Mac may not make it the rest of the season...
1. Our bench was fantastic. I love Jon Barry. I love Dikembe Mutumbo 2. Yao had a monster game. Can you imagine how his stats would look if he wasn't in foul trouble for much of the game? 3. Remember when everybody was talking about trying to pry Bonzi Wells away from the Grizzlies and at least 75% of the posters didn't want him? Speak up now! 22 points and 18 rebounds. Wow. 4. I'm super excited about this team. We weren't at our best but we found a way, and it seemed like every guy who came in off the bench contributed and changed the pace of the game. Barry dominated. Bowen hustled and made great plays. Mutumbo came right in and dominated defensively. Wesley came in and ..... Ok, maybe not Wesley. At least he hit a shot or two though.
Can somebody tell me why Jon Barry only averages 5.8 career points and only start 36 over 801 career games???
Did anyone else realize that this game wasn't even a sellout? The attendance was listed at 16,457. Thank goodness it was the season opener... I'd hate to see what a week-night crowd in the 1st half of the season, against a team that's not the Lakers or Heat, draws to the arena.
Good game. The ball movement is so much better, and the offensive transition is incredibly smooth. Our centers tonight were a combined 26/16/4/2. McGrady for being injured still juked by anybody anytime he wanted. I only wish I could move that swiftly when healthy. Our PFs were a bit of a dissapointment tonight, but hey we won, and they'll get better as the season goes along. The few stagnant moments we had on offense will be non-existant by the end of the season. The chemistry will only improve.
A very good game to start the season. Yao played well. I especially like the fact that he had 4 assists, so he accounted for more than 30 points total tonight in just 25 minutes. If Yao can average close to 3 assists a game, it will mean the team is knocking the outside shots down, and then Yao won't have any problem averaging 20/10, and the team will win 60 games.
Great to win the first game! Yao looked good out there, except for the early fouls. Tracy was hurting after the hard foul he took at the beginning of the 1st quarter, struggled, and then found his shot. We're all worried about his knees, obviously. Deke was Deke from last year, which is the best backup 5 in the league. Alston showed fashes of why we got him. Howard was solid. Swift was kind of lost out there half the time, but what an athlete! He'll come around. Barry? Good lord, if he can approach this level of play for the bulk of the season, we are just going to kill people, especially once Tracy gets well and the team gets in a groove. Loved it! One down and 81 more to go! FAR OUT!!
