This was a tale of two heroes. On Friday night, the game was in Austin and I didn't get to see it live, but I watched every second of the game on TV. It was on Fox Sports Southwest and the Toros announcers were calling it live. Bunch of homers. Tim Olbrecht was on fire all game and pulled them thru the rough spots time and time again. The team couldn't buy a three pointer in the first quarter, but they got points in the post. Tim anchored this team and after getting their butts kicked for the first 12 minutes, coach Nevada and the crew adjusted and beat the Toros with one of their weaknesses: rebounding. Rebounds were going to the weak side every time the ball bounced off the rim so Tim Olbrecht's rebound numbers were low. Robert Covington led the team in rebounding with 12 from the SF position. I would love to see the Rockets rebound better on the weak side. It takes a lot of effort, but hey, winning is worth it. Robert busted his butt for 32 minutes and he did it coming off the bench. The performance by Gary Talton, the starting point guard, was Lin-esque. He was two assists shy of a triple double, he scored 16 points on 7/11 shooting and pulled 11 rebounds out of the sky. Fantastic performance by an under-sized man amongst giants. Improvement from earlier this year: noticeable. Troy Daniels did not disappoint and added 6 more three pointers to his already season season record. Tony Bishop added 9 rebounds, all of this contributed to a solid 17 point victory. Credit Nevada and Paul Mokeski for adjustments on rebounding, highlighting Paul Mokeski. He's more the rebounding guy. We're lucky to have him. He's been a head coach in the D-League already and his success/experience will net him a head coaching job next year. GAME 2: In the Rio Grande Valley It's hard to win two games in a row in the D-League when you play the same team back-to-back... unless you have Robert Covington on your squad. Covington started this night and delivered a response that sounded something like, "I played in the big league" to me. You could see maturity in his game and there was no doubt in my mind that this was his team. He is the leader until the Rockets call him back. Troy Daniels is a great player, but Robert does everything on the court and makes a more well rounded leader. He and Nevada obviously have a great rapport as well. You could tell they were on the same page all night. Robert looks at coach, coach mimes the play, Robert tells the team and the team executes. Ideal leadership is going on in the valley and this team will win it all if it continues. The game started in traditional Vipers fashion and they got the first quarter given to them like a suppository. They were only down 3 when the second quarter began, but that's only because the Vipes scored quickly as time was running out. I think it was a 2 for 1 design that looked more like a 4 for 1. Covington was everywhere like I had said before. The first half, it was about threes. His stroke had absolutely no flaws. Fast, high, smooth and, accurate. Kenny Kadji also had a good first half. I've heard he's improving quickly. He moves quite well for a tall guy. Think DMo with a little more weight. The Spurs keyed on Troy Daniels threes all game and it mostly worked until they left him open for a split second. My lord does that man have a perfect stroke. Reading him talk about it being a process he's honed is one thing, seeing it live is another. He has a job as a shooting coach if he can teach. Poetry in motion. The Spurs tried to slow Tim Olbrecht all game too and they did better on him. However, they forgot the rest of the team. They all played well, hustled and put the game away early. The crowd. As good as they are, made me laugh. You would have thought the team lost that night. The Vipers couldn't score in the final minutes so they didn't get free Taco Palenque. So sad. I had their barbacoa for breakfast. Life was not free, but it was good. I also met coach Nevada and Paul Mokeski after the game at a local restaurant. Paul was a talkative, but kept it simple. Coach Smith seems pretty shy, but he definitely plays the part on court and the players love playing for him so it's all good! Go Vipers! Go Rockets!
Thanks for the recap. Seems like the Vipers could have a few solid NBA players in the making. Gotta feel good about that.
its a shame big timmy couldnt get back to the allstar game, if he started the year at the vipers he would of been a certainty to make it
Man, he was so out of shape earlier in the year. He's easily capable of being an all-star, but consistency isn't there for him this year. The good news: when he's playing well, he plays at a higher level than last year. Bad news: he has been more inconsistent this year. I still think he has NBA small minutes type talent, but he needs to rebound like a mad man if he wants to play in the bigs. A guy that can come in and get that rebound has so much more value than anything else as a center. You are ultimately a tool in a coach's arsenal. These guys need to learn what niche they can fill. *Ahem, Covington* weak side rebounding....
Thanks for all the updates, ever since canaan did his hamstring I haven't had that much interest and have only watched games here and there.
