Defensive rotations were so much better this time around. Perimeter pressure was kept up pretty well, and Gasol was challenged properly without fouling him extensively. Offensively, things were a little sloppy, but you were seeing the mistakes you want to see, things like too many passes. Even though there were so many turnovers, the defense held and those TO's didnt turn into points for the other team very often. Also, the team played pretty well with lots of guys in foul trouble early on. But you could see today what Lebron adds offensively to this team. Rebounding was excellent, and you're seeing even the guards grab a couple tough ones inside. Foul shooting is on a tear, Mike Brown must be having these guys shooting lots of free throws. I think its Lebron's new wrinkle too, he's up to 86% this year.
On some individual players...
Hughes was able to step up and create big time in Lebron's absence. And he does it all with a simple bounce pass. He's starting to pick up his shooting percentage too, becoming the scoring threat we all wanted.
Luke is getting some quality minutes too, and he's looked great on the defensive end so far. Offensively, hes not that comfortable with when to shoot vs when to pass and also a bit TO prone, but that D and hustle with the ability to nail the open 3 is enough for me.
Drew Gooden has elevated his game. He's been much more consistent in less minutes this year, and he's been an absolute beast on the boards. Him, Marshall, and Z are ALL hustling out there especially on the boards, and we're getting lots of tips and extra posessions out there. Drew is basically doing what we need him to do, when he's out there with other scoring threats he'll get those random inside looks off doubles. When he has a mismatch, he's good for 2 points inside.
Z wasn't having a great one early, but he picked it up in the 2nd half. I still think he's an underrated shot blocker, and hes having his way on the offensive boards.
