HOUSTON GAME / OBSERVATIONS.
First of all wash the first quarter from your memory bank.The Horents were simply awful on the defenseive end plus their shooting chilled the building.
However i saw sosme things that warmen my heart.
1.Julian Wright- his length and his grasping of the schemes was impressive.....wingspan get him deflections...keeps the ball alaove on the glass....runner...."off the ball " defense was pretty good for a first game...needs to get more aggresive off. ( but he told me that after the game and i agree..also can advance the ball off the dribble after getting the reb ( that will cause problems for the def in transition.......excellent interview after the game..terrif pass on the late game OB play coming out of the timeout ( assist from the high post to Armstrong for the score....excellent !
2.Hilton Armstrong- more assertive...running better....demands attention in the post and more aware of his def role...has matured as a player knowing he must do more...better at working around the crowd on the def. end and finds his spots within the offense....still must monitor his conditioning...
3. Ryan Bowen- could have the makings of a nice 8-9th man....constant runner..understands the flow and the game....throws the "reverse the ball pass."..sets screens and with his motion he occupies his man...hustler with lots of energy....lets see if he can hit that lil jumper...gets out on the break and works hard on defense....nice complimentry player...does the lil things.
4. Moe Pete- still adjusting to the offense as he is a step slow on offense right now.once he masters the sets in the half crt he'll be a nice help....didn't get enough lift on his jumper vs Houston but all will smooth out as he will make a nice living off Chris Pauls creativity...also his rebounding from that positon will help..had a few "open looks" that he must make and Paul delivered some nice "setups".....he will adjust and help this team..
5. Peja- once he got his "lift" he displayed the "stretch your defense" jumper.
obvious what he brings into pick and roll packages and his off the ball splashers from deep with casue some problems for defense....opens the lane for Paul and Chandler....the spacing will improve for this team.....running well and hard....cuts..stop and goes..back pedal...spins etc tells me the back feels good as he displayd no discomfort after the game...gives the team a brand new look ....a MAJOR KEY.....Chris Paul will have some giggles with Peja..West...Moe..as he will find them...a shooters joy having Paul.
more later on some other players...
GV