Combination of Wednesday and a general outlook on the future of the season. Is there any specific observation you disagree with?
1). TN will need depth in all likelihood. Bailey played two minutes and wasn’t able to play himself out of his slump. He’s certainly capable of seeing over 5 minutes at some point. Personally I like QD and Mashack to eventually pass him in the rotation, but he’s one of the most experienced players. It doesn’t seem like a keen idea to shut him down completely. Powell isn’t a world beater. He’s made several uncontested 3s though… possibly the best on the team at converting those. But those looks aren’t all that common with the high intensity defenses that TN has been and will be facing. Guarding the 3-PL is the book on TN.
2). 2 for 5 from 3. 2 for 2 inside the arc. Two huge dunks attacking the rim. 8 rebounds. He had 4 fouls. Refs call fouls on players that push other players around… especially when they play facing the basket. JJJ is consistently one of, if not, THE best defender. Uros is the guy that needs to be pushing on defenders when the refs allow the low posts to play rough. ORN is looking tougher than his history. Plus he’s adding a lot from the 3-PL.
3). Having your shot blocked isn’t good.
4). 4 pts, 3 rebounds, a TO, a steal, 2 missed shots, a foul, zero blocked shots. Best game of his career?
5). TN can go with 4 guards. Fulk, ORN, and even Uros run the floor exceptionally well for bigs. I don’t think that less or more rim protection will sink or save this team. The defense is outstanding. BHH doesn’t look like an answer. Consistent minutes from ORN and a healthy Fulk would be. BHH comes in, makes a highlight reel play, then makes mistakes. He doesn’t seem close to being able to taking anybody’s minutes. When every possession is critical with the defense first focus, can’t be having BHH’s mistakes and frequently be taking plays off. A great BHH makes a championship less challenging, but it doesn’t require that he figure it out for it to happen. Consistent contributions from the 3 players in front of him will work.
Bonus: Chandler and ZZZ need to be drawing fouls and getting to the FT line. Mashack will be a beast when his offense catches up to the rest that he brings. AND QD actually looked better than Jamai at times versus lesser opponents.