Preseason Miami at Charlotte 10/13

[Keetch]

I was there too and agreed had a very very good time. There was a great vibe in the arena all night. LOTS of kids. Overall a pretty big crowd for a preseason game; not what I expected at all.

Who said Hollins was playing Center? LOL more like Okafor started at Center and Hollins at PF! OK50 guarded Shaq and Zo. Hollins guarded Haslem. Smart. Thats how it should work.

My buddy kept saying..."they're passing really better"; "I think they're being coached!"

Don't let the stats fool you, I believe Hollins looked pretty good. He's much stronger, and very quick. I think Ryan will be fine. I really liked his game out there and feel much better about his place on the team. Early on he lost Haslem for a couple 3's and even blew a few put-backs but really over the course of the game he got his sweat going and played well in and around the paint. I'm getting pretty excited about Ryan Hollins now.

Davidson had better stats but looked a little dazed and confused....

Even Watkins had better stats than Hollins, but honestly I thought he was slow and grounded. Not a great athlete. Somehow though he got some decent stats before fouling out.

I was lucky enough to be in the 2nd row in the corner where the teams ran on and off the court, and so was like 12 feet from Shaq and all...OMG..Shaq BY FAR got the biggest ovation of the night when he came out like a frickin' rock star.

Shaq is huge. No really.

Was up next to Okafor too as he signed autographs and he's looking really really strong.

Hammer was his normal self, hustling and swishing (I think a more fitting nickname would be DAGGER). AMMO worked hard and responded briefly to my thumbs up as they ran off at the end of the game. He made some nice shots and hurried a few he shouldn't have.

Was able to shout out to my old Jayhawk Center Paul Mokeski. He yelled back and smiled at my KU shirt.

Wallace ... sheesh ... was throwing his freaking body all over the court .. my goodness .. one time in the second half he made a full-body acrobatic move under the basket and literally threw himself onto the floor. I swear nobody touched him. GForce gets up slow holding his side and grimacing at the official ... like WOW..he really needs to like STOP DOING THAT! Coach Sam please tell Mr. Wallace to stay on his feet!

[Keetch]

Muttley...honestly I didn't like Watkins much at all. Thought he was pretty dreadful. Hollins and Davidson? Thumbs up baby!

We also had a Primo sighting. He and Dudley were with the team but not suited up. I didn't see JRich or DA at all.

[spectre]

Keetch...I bet I was within 5 ft of you at the tunnel...I had the blue Crash jersey on and was with my two kids.

Ditto what those above said.

For those of us vastly disappointed in Ammo's lack of effort this year we all should hit "reset". The boy is night and day from last year; he's chasing his man as hard as he can go, going for steals (I about lost it when he got the second one so quickly after the first). He was first back on a Heat fastbreak, squared up against the guy and went up with him...made him miss. He's not suddenly gained foot speed, but the boy worked his ass off TRYING.

You guys remember how Alan Anderson would always be the first off the bench to welcome the guys in on a timeout? Guess who was doing that last night?

That's right...Ammo. You can tell his attitude is TOTALLY changed. It's not just him though; everyone talks, everyone high fives each other constantly. Everyone just looks very comfortable with one another.

Hammer...I had no idea he's so skinny! And his ability to just come out swishing shots is amazing. We might have paid an above average salary, but I'd take Hammer over guys like Krapono ANY day. Heart...all right there in that #13 jersey.

Fabio popped two shots to beat the buzzer. You can tell he's a little off in his timing, but you can also see just how smart he is in getting to the right spots. Constantly running; the offense moves well when he's in there, mainly I think because he just won't stay in one spot.

Crash was awesome...how about that 12 of 15 from the line? He didn't get it FG wise because the Heat wasn't giving up layups, but I'm very pleased with that FT shooting. He's also passing WELL! He did a give and go with Felts that was as sweet as anything.

Mek played Shaq well...don't you guys think? He wasn't fronting him like Coach V has been preaching but D'ed up behind...kept his chest in his back and didn't give in to all that mass. Playing this way (Twiggy on Haslem) worked pretty well, but if Shaq had played more than token minutes I think we'd have been in trouble.

I thought Felton played great! None of those TOs were "bad"...the Antoine Walker steal? Felts was trapped at the top of the circle by 3 Heat guys; he tried to bust thru that with a dribble to get the line of sight to one of our guys wide open underneath the basket. Best play of the night? Felts driving on the left, pulled Mek's guy to him for the block...Felts does a wide reacharound with the ball and puts it right in Mek's gut for the slam. Gamecast or stats won't show that however; they called the foul on the help defender when they went up against Felton. He legitimately missed one layup (contested)...just threw it up a little short. The other he missed he got flat hammered but no call (I was surrounded by Heat fans, and even they were saying "wow, no foul on THAT). He did another give and go with Mek for another jam...but the zebras called an offensive on our big guy. Of course I couldn't tell if the guy was in the ring or not...but it sure looked like a crap call to me.

Twiggy. He did play well against Haslem, but there's still a lot of rawness still there. He doesn't have the best hands either...he fumbles a lot of passes. A lot we don't see in the stats because it's underneath and a lot of times one of ours will pick off the lose ball...but I see that as a problem. Primoz ain't gonna save the day either as his hands are just as bad.

Felton and Crash ARE the leaders, and from what I saw last night they're definitely the guys for the job...constantly talking to the younger guys and setting them straight. And I love the connection both those two have developed. They would get together while the Heat were shooting FTs...whisper a little bit, then Crash would head back to around half court. On the end bounds Felts would drive up the ball and you could tell his sights were set on Crash. I LOVE that rapport going on there!

This team is together. Everyone seems to be on the same page and I saw no attitudes...in fact quite the opposite. It's going to take some time to completely gel (and no JRich...dammit, but I guess I can forgive having a baby as an excuse to miss a preseason game!) but I've never seen this team get along so well before.

I thougt I was pumped before...now I can hardly stand myself.

[spectre]

Muttley...honestly I didn't like Watkins much at all. Thought he was pretty dreadful. Hollins and Davidson? Thumbs up baby!

We also had a Primo sighting. He and Dudley were with the team but not suited up. I didn't see JRich or DA at all.

Agreed. I think we do need a big body enforcer in the lineup but I don't know that it's Watkins...just not a lot of skill there. I'd rather go out and pay a vet min deal to someone who can do at least one thing over than pick up fouls.

DA was there and dressed in uniform...just didn't play.

And I have to reinforce that Shag is frigging huge...but what really impressed me is how mobile and athletic he is for that size.

Didn't mention Davidson...I really like that kid. He did get a little lost sometimes, but he worked. Very seldom lost his man, seems he had good vision on D, watching his man while also keeping an eye on the ball movement. He has a real good offensive game with a nice stroke. He might not be a huge contributer now (or he might due to our thin frontcourt) but I think he will be in the near future.

[Keetch]

Spectre...nice report as always, man I really enjoy reading your stuff; and your eyes are much sharper than mine for sure. I agree with you on all points except I thought Hollins was better than you let on. I was very impressed with his game face and confidence, especially in the face of Shaq and Zo.

He lost Haslem a bit in the beginning (I was yelling at him to fight through the screens and I'm sure he listened ) and, frustrating; he fumbled some put-backs, but I think that will correct itself. There was so much positive. I just LOVE his mobility and size as a C/PF. He's a freak. Just no offense though outside of what 3 feet? LOL

[spectre]

Thanks Keetch...I appreciate that.

Yeah, I probably did cut Twiggy a little short; he did play very well defensively. Thing with me is I tend to latch onto an "issue" I see and then let it override the whole picture sometimes. Primoz bugs the crap out of me with how he fumbles passes in the paint (and it's always the passer's TO...making THEM look bad) and Twiggy seems to be the same way. BUT, he is much improved from last year...so PT might solve that somewhat.

And that's an excellent point about "game face"...Twiggy has NO fear. I really like that!

It might have been someone else...but didn't he "take" a rebound from Zo at one point (defensive rebound)? I think it was him...anyway, a great mano a mano moment there.

Honestly I was impressed by everyone that played except for Touche'. Did you see that fast break where he passed in to someone at the FT line, the guy give it back to him where he had the step on his man...but instead of taking the shot does this stupid 180 turn in midair and threw it to...nobody?

I think Felts will turn out to be solid...will always have more TOs than I'd prefer due to his style of play and having the ball a lot...but Touche' still looks like crap. It wouldn't surprise me at all if DA takes a lot of his backup minutes.

Edit:

BTW, did you see how Mokeski would always jump off the bench and make a beeline for Twiggy during the timeouts? Betcha we owe major props to that man for a lot of Twiggy's improvement.

Have I said how much I like our new coaching staff lately?

[Muttley]

Wow guys, great write-ups. Stuff's sounding pretty good in Bobcatland. I really like what I'm hearing. Too bad you guys didn't get to see JRich yet.

Also, I once saw Shaq on the streets of DC. Freaking Enormous.

[Keetch]

There was one play on the far end from where we were, that Hollins and Zo came off the rim with 4 hands on the ball. Zo got it, but Hollins was so strong it got me up out of my seat. Great play! If that wasn't either Shaq or Mourning, Hollins wins that fight in a heartbeat.

I didn't see the Bobcats bench much, bad angle; so I missed that.

I want to reinforce what you said about Hermann. We've all been wondering how he will do after his "breakout" during the 2nd half last year. I'm left now with the feeling that doesn't do him justice. With all his international experience, he gives the team veteran presence and leadership on the court. He appears to know the game well and works himself into it. Just a solid player.

I saw McInnis goof up a few plays, but also saw some good things. I thought he was okay, but now you've got me worried .

Bad Hands. I suffer when Primo is on the court. Nice guy, but jeez it hurts to see him play. So far, I understand Hollins shows some of those signs; lets see how he does. Other than that Hollins and Primo are very different players. Very generally Hollins is tough and athletic with little to no offensive refinement; Primo is sometimes clumsy, sometimes refined..finesse.

[spectre]

Well said about Fabio. He's smart on the court, and like you said all that experience means a lot to this team even if he is in the 2nd unit. He just seems to know where to go to get open. As youn as we are I think picking him up is going to continue to pay dividends.

Something else that struck me...how well Ammo and Touche' got along. It was like they were best buds or something. If nothing else it appears there are no "cancer" issues with Touche', least so far.

And I probably ragged on him too much as well; he didn't always stink up the court as bad as I've insinuated. It is still preseason after all.

[Slam]

Quality, quality reporting.

Thanks guy's. I almost feel like I was there!!