Well, now we are 3-1 in the season that doesn't care what your record is, but tonight we got revenge on the division rival who recently handed us our only loss, the New York Knickerbockers. Yes! Again, I was forced to follow the play-by-play via Yahoo and watch the first half highlights (thanks NBA.com) rather than watching the game. Here's the box score and as always, here are my thoughts.
P.S. Obviously these recaps will be much more substance-filled when I can actually watch the games.
Things I liked:
-Mo Speights
-Mo Speights
-Mo Speights. What a flat out stud. I've been extremely high on him since watching him in person during the Summer League and now everyone else seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 dime, 1 block on 4-7 shooting. Not to mention the fact that he had no turnovers and only 2 fouls. For some perspective on people who actually watched the game, here are some quotes.
From the resident SBNation Knicks blogger:
What I’ve learned from having visual: Marreese Speights is a goddamn beast, and Thaddeus Young may be poised for a breakout year.
And he spelled his name right! We'll get to Thad in a minute.
Depressed Fan:
I have to say, Speights is quicker than I thought he'd be, has a much better touch than I thought he'd have (he hit 2 deep jumpers, probably from about 20), and he has a better feel for the game than anyone could've expected. I think the Sixers brass may have found another gem in this year's draft.
I'm telling you, Amare 2.0.
-I continue to confess my man-crush on Speights. In the meantime another one of our young studs continues to impress. Thaddeus Young dropped 16 points including two more three's. So much for addressing the three-point need in the off-season, looks like we've developed one in-house, this summer.
-We beat the Knicks.
-A 3-1 record.
-Won the rebound battle and had a whopping 17 offensive rebounds. Sweet!
-DNP for Ivey. Don't get me wrong I like the dude in certain situations, but no way he should get regualr playing time behind Miller and Lou-Will.
-Iggy 18-5-6. The emergence of Thad and the addition of Brand will take a ton of pressure off him come regular season.
-115 comments in the open thread. Woooooooo!
-Only 10 turnovers.
Things I didn't like:
-Lou-Will with 3 more turnovers. He's averaging 3+ this pre-season in 20 minutes. Not cool. He was also 3 of 9 from the field. I really hope this isn't a sign of things to come in the regular season.
-Brand 3-12 from the floor, but still contributed with 13-11. The good comes with the bad I guess. The important thing is he still found a way to contribute. Unfortunately, I don't have the "Things I kinda, sorta, might have liked" section.
-Willie Green was the first player off the bench and managed 13 shots. This has to stop.
-Again, the world of technology continues to screw me. I need to at least listen to these games. I'm asking again, if someone finds a link for these games please post it! Please?
-The Knicks hitting 15 threes. The perimeter defense has to improve.
Player of the Game: M16 (Speights new nickname). Welcome to the POG section Mo!
Pre-season record: 3-1