Preseason Game # 2 Reactions

[liam]

Oakfor / yabu. collision was awesome.

It looked like two buses colliding!

[guava_wrench]

Nader - Lacks potential, limited athletic ability, and limited skills. What's the point in keeping him on the roster when he brings nothing this year and his upside is low? Bring in a vet that could help in a key moment...looking at Richard Jefferson when he's bought out.

Lead-Killer almost cost us the game.

Yabu - Very raw, but definitely has a motor on him.

Ainge swung for the fences, I think he missed.   Played better tonight but all the talk about him being the next Draymond Green needs to stop.  He adds muscle but will and should be buried in the bench once Morris comes back.

To be fair, Green didn't move the needle initially in Golden State.

[Eddie20]

To the guys screaming bust after 2 preseason games, let me remind you, people said Avery Bradley was a wasted pick during his first year.

Bradley was 19. Huge difference in upside.

Yabusele ain't no fossil either. He's only 21.

I don't think Yabusele is a bust. I think he has potential. I'm okay with seeing him develop. The other two guys, well, there isn't much there.

[mr. dee]

To the guys screaming bust after 2 preseason games, let me remind you, people said Avery Bradley was a wasted pick during his first year.

Bradley was 19. Huge difference in upside.

Yabusele ain't no fossil either. He's only 21.

I don't think Yabusele is a bust. I think he has potential. I'm okay with seeing him develop. The other two guys, well, there isn't much there.

Nader and probably Semi fell to 2nd round for a reason. I'm disappointed with Semi so far. At least Yabu showed some motor. Semi haven't shown anything so far.

[jdz101]

[jpotter33]

One big observation after two preseason games: we have a really good and versatile 10-man lineup.

PG: Irving, Rozier
SG: Brown, Smart
SF: Hayward, Tatum
PF: Morris, Theis
C: Horford, Baynes

With the addition of Morris/Tatum and Smart and Rozier improving, they take a lot of pressure off of Irving and Hayward with the scoring load. I think all four of them (plus Horford and maybe even Baynes) could average right around or over 10 points per game.

[hwangjini_1]

I don't remember people saying avery was a wasted pick. The knock on Avery was that he was a 1 dimensional defensive specialist that got injured a lot. But it was well established at the very least he's good for defense. What exactly is semi good for? We could have drafted Jordan bell at semis draft position

No no no no no no. I remember well the thread that panned him without mercy. How he was a bust. How he was crap. Really. Someone can dig it up, but Bradley was written off by many Cbers.

Two pre season games and pronouncements flow forth. Patience little grasshoppers. Give the kiddies a season or two to develop.

[footey]

Irving - Scored very easy and efficiently. No holding the ball. Played really well off his teammates.

Hayward - Looked a little more comfortable. I noticed some miscommunication on D, but that'll come in time.

Horford - Mr. Reliable.

Tatum - The first game/first half jitters were gone. The potential of this kid is sky high.

Brown - Missed a few open 3's, but I think they'll fall sooner than later. Played really good defense. Didn't try to do too much.

Smart - Very impressive game by him. The weight loss is so apparent. Looks poised for a big year.

Baynes - Mr. Reliable # 2?

Rozier - Played really well. Wasn't as reckless as he's been in the past.

Yabu - Very raw, but definitely has a motor on him.

Theis - Brought a lot of energy and good defense. No complaints.

Larkin - Settled things down in the 4Q. Not the greatest game, but without his calming presence I think we could've blown this game.

Nader - Lacks potential, limited athletic ability, and limited skills. What's the point in keeping him on the roster when he brings nothing this year and his upside is low? Bring in a vet that could help in a key moment...looking at Richard Jefferson when he's bought out.

Semi - Another poor showing. I don't see any motor from him (1 reb, 0 stl, 0 blk in 11 minutes). I also fail to see the athletic ability he had at the combine. Game hops just aren't visible.

I won't bother posting my thoughts, Eddie just did.

Can't wait to see Morris join the band.
Baynes and Smart the two biggest early surprises for me.

[footey]

Nader - Lacks potential, limited athletic ability, and limited skills. What's the point in keeping him on the roster when he brings nothing this year and his upside is low? Bring in a vet that could help in a key moment...looking at Richard Jefferson when he's bought out.

Lead-Killer almost cost us the game.

Yabu - Very raw, but definitely has a motor on him.

Ainge swung for the fences, I think he missed.   Played better tonight but all the talk about him being the next Draymond Green needs to stop.  He adds muscle but will and should be buried in the bench once Morris comes back.

You're selling Yabu short. He's still getting in playing shape. He did a few impressive things tonight on the defensive side. If he hit those shots everyone would be praising him. They will start to go in. He's a very good shooter. I think he will get minutes this season.

[Dino Pitino]

I'm floored that it only took as long as the second preseason game to see the wished-for Irving-Brown-Hayward-Tatum-Horford starting lineup. Didn't think we'd see that for a while. Morris probably starts when he's back. But maybe not, if Tatum is playing like a seasoned vet right away, rebounding like a PF, and earns it.

Smart this year is going to be a joy to behold.

[greece66]

Missed this one too unfortunately.

Any impressions on Philly?

[nickagneta]

Nader - Lacks potential, limited athletic ability, and limited skills. What's the point in keeping him on the roster when he brings nothing this year and his upside is low? Bring in a vet that could help in a key moment...looking at Richard Jefferson when he's bought out.

Lead-Killer almost cost us the game.

Yabu - Very raw, but definitely has a motor on him.

Ainge swung for the fences, I think he missed.   Played better tonight but all the talk about him being the next Draymond Green needs to stop.  He adds muscle but will and should be buried in the bench once Morris comes back.

I can't disagree. I'm pretty concerned with the amount of unplayable guys (Yabu, Semi, Nader) we have on a team that wants to win. An injury or two and things get ugly fast.

I said this a few times this summer and was poo pooed. The bench after the 9 man rotation is thin of talent and inexperienced. I am just not a huge believer in Theis, Nader, Yabusele, Ojeleye and Larken. If this team has injury problems in the 9 man roatation, there will be problems.

[Alleyoopster]

Nader has already proven he's a more active player than Young. So, that's a positive. Once everyone knows the offensive scheme he should be okay on offense. His defense....not so sure.

Theis didn't get the looks he did on Monday. Could have been that everyone was out of sync or Philly is a more talented group.

Wish Larkin would stop looking for his shot so often. He did just about everything better on Monday.

Didn't really pay much attention to Semi. Wouldn't judge him too harshly on this one game. Again, this unit didn't play well.

Can't get over how well Kyrie shoots.

The surprise of the game has to be Marcus. He looked very fluid. If there was an NBA stat for ripping the ball from an opponents hand, Marcus would be number one.

The refs are still looking at Marcus as the same player as previous seasons. Most calls go against him. He takes a knee to the chest and is called for the foul.

Rule interpretation will continue to baffle us. All the strange traveling calls? A players shoulders have to go straight up? Maybe it was time for a change. It won't be easy for the refs to adjust.
Only a flagrant 1 when Yabu got creamed? The player landed on him as he went up for a layup. How much more egregious does a foul have to be before it's a flagrant 2?

As for that last roster spot I'd be happy with someone like Chris Johnson who played briefly with the Celtics a number of years ago. He was gangly, but always seem to deflect the ball somewhere. Can't believe he didn't get an extended stay.

[LilRip]

Our main guys are really good. I thought Irving, Hayward and Smart were impressive. Tatum looked way more comfortable out there. Horford and Baynes are just steady presences and it feels like they rarely do anything wrong.

On the flip side, Nader looked like he didn't belong out there.

Also, Kris Humphries got booed every time he touched the ball lol

[Dino Pitino]

I also had the realization after this game that, should we get the best case scenario with Smart-Brown-Tatum, the individual stats for Irving and Hayward are going to drop, and in return the team record would improve. If we have a shot at being a 60 win team, it's as an incredibly well-balanced scoring one, not one led by two guys averaging 26+ and 22+. Kyrie will probably at least average 20, but I now see Hayward averaging well shy of 20. But in both cases incredibly efficiently.