Brad promised more notes. I'm going to quickly deliver. I'm embarking on a road trip this weekend so I'm going to hammer these thoughts out quickly. Please, bear with me.
- Blatt's obsession with Dellavedova continues. Delly played key minutes down the stretch, including the closing stretch of the game. He bricked a crucial free throw (Déjà fucking vu, eh Philadelphia?) and looked over matched defensively. I'm not sure why he continues to get trotted out. He's cost the team one game already and could have cost them last night's win. It's a dangerous game that David Blatt is playing.
- Speaking of last night's win, it felt important. It felt like the type of win that this team needs to start rolling. I'm still expecting a significant, double-digit win streak from this squad. (Ignore everything I wrote in the glass half empty column, I was playing a character or something.)
- LeBron was magnificent last night. He elevated with ease.
- That said, his minutes have to come down. Since his return, LBJ is average more than 38 minutes per game. He came into last night registering 37.5 minutes per game in the previous two contests. He tallied 42 minutes last night.
- Man, when Kyrie Irving is on, he is fucking on.
- Blake Griffin is like LeBron James-lite. He doesn't have the handle or passing ability but he's explosive and uses his strength and speed to overwhelm opponents in the post. He reminds me of LBJ in the post.
- The team defense was shit.
- But it was just good enough to win. That's all this offense needs.
- Mozgov isn't great. But he's still good and he's still going to help. His rebounding is key.
- LBJ has added a key move to his toolbox: Drive to the hoop, get pushed towards the corner pocket, draw the foul and bank the shot. It's cool.
- The And-1 out of bounds play was great. If that was Blatt's design, then damn. Good job. You deserve the love LBJ flashed ya.
- Let's hope this is a win streak and not a two-game flash in the pan.
- How the hell is Love going to get incorporated back into this team?