Missed lastnights game, How was dj's performance???

[Quavis]

I agree about ESPN. I saw at least three awesome highlight worthy plays from Thomas and DJ and a couple others that they didn't even mention anywhere. You'd think getting beat down by the Bobcats would be enough to shut them up about the Heat monopoly. I mean, the Cavs had a pretty stacked team and caused a lot of hype when they brought on Shaq and look what happened. You'd think by now that they would wait to see before jumping the gun and make like the Heat are unbeatable. There is only three of them and they can't play every minute of every game. Sometimes it feels like ESPN doesn't even watch basketball.

[TheDorkLord]

I was pretty happy with what I saw last night from DJ and mostly the whole team. I actually thought Collins didn't look too bad for an undrafted rookie.

[Jennings]

I was pretty happy with what I saw last night from DJ and mostly the whole team. I actually thought Collins didn't look too bad for an undrafted rookie.

I was thinking the same thing. I was impressed. He kinda looked like a shorter heavier Ray. (Looks only)

[teej]

DJ was a lot better than I expected, but he still had some bonehead plays, like when he tried to run the fastbreak with 3 men back, or when he went to the hoop with LeBron trailing him. Those are the types of rookie mistakes he has to get rid of, but other than that he was solid. Boris looked horrible trying to run the offense, but Jack was decent. Once Kwame gets back, the center spot should be pretty solid, and if Eddie Najera does anything the 4-spot will be an advantage. Tyrus looks a lot better, and if Boris shows up, that'll be a bonus. Hendo looks awful, plain and simple. And LB said as much in the postgame presser, so I doubt he'll get any PT. Ever. UPS looks a lot better, but much of that is beating up on 3rd and 4th stringers. He should still be solid in spot minutes though. Visually, Matty looked really out of place. Not counting hte fact that he's the first white guy to wear the new uniforms (other than Vladi, but that doesn't really count), those unis just don't look good on white skin. But whatever. He played a lot more well-rounded, and his closeout D was solid. Darius Miles must be bipolar, because some plays he looks like an All-Star and others he looks like my brother. But I wouldn't be shocked if he makes the roster, he's a lot better than Collins, the only thing Sherron has in his favor is PG is a position of need. If we somehow swing a trade that leaves us with an open roster spot, I'd expect Miles to be there. I think that's everyone. Oh, and Matt Rogers, if you think I forgot about you, I did.

[DY_nasty]

Henderson looked awful? He looked about average aside from when he got blocked by LeBron. Collins looked borderline useless. Miles looks fine as long as no one ever passes him the ball - and since thats the case, I'd much rather have Derrick Brown taking all of his minutes.

The craziest thing was Diop and Carroll. Carroll played good... which is surprising considering he didn't do anything at all in Dallas. Diop actually looked like he knew what to do with the ball and wanted it. It was freaky watching Diop. He didn't even look like the same player.

[teej]

Henderson looked awful? He looked about average aside from when he got blocked by LeBron. Collins looked borderline useless. Miles looks fine as long as no one ever passes him the ball - and since thats the case, I'd much rather have Derrick Brown taking all of his minutes.

Re: Hendo - He was 2/5 in 30 minutes, and shot no free throws. If he wants to play, he's going to need to play on offense just as much as D. His 6 rebounds are nice, but Darius Miles had 5 in barely over half the minutes Hendo got. Darius also got to the FT line while also going 2-5 from the floor. If your lottery pick isn't outplaying a guy who hasn't played in 3 years, that's a really, really bad sign. And it's happened for a while now. Hendo has never shown anything other than decent man to man defense. His rotations are poor, his offense needs a lot of work, and his athleticism isn't being used. But whatever, average in the preseason means bad in the regular season, so I agree with you.

Re: Collins - Agreed. He was 1-3, that one shot he made was a 3 pointer, he made no 2 pointers or free throws, which means he was just hanging out by the three point line. Not a good sign. And he had as many fouls as assists (3).

Re: Miles - Yeah, but Darius is more like Stevie Graham. Scoring would be an anomaly, but his defense keeps him on the court. I have to say, he's been a pleasant surprise.

Re: Diop - Yeah, when I first saw him shoot I thought Nazr was still in the game. He's a LOT better.

Re: Carroll - Dallas never played him, and they didn't need to. But yeah, he knows what LB expects and he's doing his damnedest to get PT. Gotta love it.

The craziest thing was Diop and Carroll. Carroll played good... which is surprising considering he didn't do anything at all in Dallas. Diop actually looked like he knew what to do with the ball and wanted it. It was freaky watching Diop. He didn't even look like the same player.

[DY_nasty]

Here's the thing, how he's supposed to contribute on offense where Darius Miles and Diop are given more priority? Its not fair to expect him to make something out of literally nothing. He's already busting his ass grabbing boards and playing good defense (most of the time), how about throwing the kid a bone on offense LB? The one time that he actually got his number called - a screen off the right elbow - he made it, and made it look easy. Meanwhile, Darius Miles got forcefed as soon as he checked into the game.

And Collins is a mess. Against the nobodies that Miami had out there, you'd think he'd feel a lot more comfortable while being aggressive. Instead he threw late passes, didn't run anything as a real point guard, and let more people walk right by him than a wal-mart greeter.

[spectre]

Augustin is proving doubters wrong so far

Good article.

[spectre]

Can Brown Win Without a Star Point Guard?

But instead of focusing on the trade rumors or negativity, Augustin has delved into Brown's teachings.

"The longer I'm with him, the more things he says get clearer," Augustin said. "It's not how he says it. It's what he says. You've got to listen to the message. And that's what I've been trying to do and I think I'm getting better."

Augustin's biggest advantage is his familiarity with the team and star players Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson.

"I know where those guys like to be, where to spot up, where they like the ball," Augustin said. "It feels good knowing those things before the beginning of the season."

The early reviews haven't been great. After the Bobcats lost the preseason opener to the Cavaliers, 87-72, Brown told the Charlotte Observer, "We've got to figure out a way to create some easy shots. We just run up-and-down helter-skelter."

Augustin has averaged just 3.25 apg during the preseason, but he's committed only four turnovers in the four preseason losses.

This article was written on 10/15, so the last couple of preseason games hadn't happened yet.

[SWedd523]

Augustin is proving doubters wrong so far

Good article.

The line from that article that speaks VOLUMES to me is:


I asked Augustin Monday night, following the victory in Miami, what's changed about him. He said whatever success he's having he owes to the support of teammates.

That response goes so much deeper than what it seems.