Some observations after being at the game:
1. D'Antoni. Treated this game like preseason. Left JJ in when it was obvious he was not in the game mentally. Left Amare in at the end when the game was way, way out of reach. Ran an ineffective zone almost the entire first half. Stuck with Leandro at pg (no other choice I guess). This is just fine though. We might as well run the rest of the season as preseason. We'll get more ping pong balls, and we'll see where players really are.
2. Leandro. He's not a pg. He can dribble, he can drive, he can score. He cannot distribute. His passing is, well, atrocious. I suppose he can learn, but that's usually something a player is just good at. If he's going to play the sg position, then he needs to change that shot now. It goes in, but its going to get blocked way too often. He's got to bite the bullet and work on his form.
3. JJ. Needless to say, I was not impressed. He did not play well in any aspect of the game. He gets his head down and is worthless on the court. Its sad, he has the talent to be very good, but he does not have the mentality.
4. Shawn. I loved Marion's game tonight. He did an excellent defensive job on Carmelo. He was agressive inside. He can't pass the ball for his life. He forced the ball or threw uncatchable passes often. Its a real flaw.
5. Harvey. I love his energy and leadership (yes, leadership). We need to keep him. Toward the end of the game, he rebounded the ball, looked at JJ and took the ball down the court and passed to Amare, who dunked. The look at JJ had, "if I pass it to you, you'll never get it to the man" written all over it. He's going to be fairly cheap and he is the ideal role player for this team in the future.
6. Zarko. Wow. This guy is a keeper. Head in the game at all times. Moves well. Moves smart. Shoots well. Is a mismatch. Works on D. He was the second best player on the floor tonight.
7. Amare. Played a little more than one half. Scored lots of points in garbage time. Amare seems almost to score at will down low--and he gets calls. The thing that I noticed about him tonight I hadn't noticed before was his ability to catch the ball. There were times I was convinced the pass was a turnover, not only did he catch it, he scored almost in the same motion. He needs to be more of a team player though. He really should have passed to Shawn on that breakaway when Shawn was wide open under the basket.
8. Eisley, Dice. So far, its good bye. I see nothing worth keeping. Maybe Dice will show something yet in the future.
9. This team needs two starting caliber players--at pg and shooting guard. As much as I want to believe Barbosa can do it, he has a long way to go. JJ was putrid tonight.
