Truth34's post

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Here it is.  What gives, Paul?  Why can't we link stuff?

Josh



I just got to my computer so I havnt been able to catch up on whats been
posted already. Heres my take from being there.

Banks- very impressive. He is incredibly quick. The very first play he burnt
James for a layup and instantly the crowd loved him. Extreme confidence and
aggressiveness, almost to a fault. He could get by his man at will, but tried
to finish over bigger guys too much and got his shot blocked a few times,
although he is very capable of spectacular acrobatic finishes. Outstanding
handle. Had a few great passes inside. Seems to have great court vision.
Pushes the ball well, as advertised, and also does a very good job of making
the long passes for dunks and layups. His jumper wasn't there today, but he
could get it off at will, and it seemed pretty soft. Didnt take any
threes...Defensively, Banks is unreal. Extremely quick feet and very pesky,
aggressively poking at the ball at all times. D-ed up Lebron very well, forced
him to shoot an airball early. Lebron did most of his scoring against Kedrick
and Bremer from what I recall.

Bremer- Was dominant shooting the ball and taking it to the basket. Also had a
few nice passes. We've seen this from JR: when his shot is on he can put up
points.

Kedrick- Nothing new or overly encouraging from Kedrick. He was impressive
athleticaly as usual pulling down huge rebounds and running the break for nice
finishes. Didn't shut down Lebron like I was hoping he would. Didn't look very
comfortable shooting from the perimeter and didn't look to take it to the
basket or post up.

Perkins- For a highschooler's first pro game, I thought he did well. Didn't
look overmatched guarding Boozer or Diop at all. Had a nice hook shot but
didn't really get many touches down low. Perkins looks like he could still
lose another 20-25 lbs. He is not explosive in the paint but he does seem
comfoortable down there. Looks a little awkward like he hasnt grown into his
body yet.

Hunter-Very tenacious. Pretty quick off the dribble (against other PF's).
Showed good rebounding and strength. I think he may be too undersized to be
anything more than a Darvin Ham-like roleplayer.

LeBron-Didn't really dominate the game like I expected. Started off slow but
found a rythm and hit some tough shots and made some nice moves to the basket.
Had a real nice baseline dunk. Another time he beat Kedrick off the dribble
for a layup and-1. Seemed ineffective when guarded by Banks. Showed good
shotblocking skills but his quickness on defense wasn't great.

Random thoughts/observations-

Saw Ainge, Wallace, and Obie in person real close which was cool.

Walter was there being nice and shaking everyones hand and hugging all the
girls. Some guy yelled out "re-sign Walter!!!" and everyone started chearing
which was cool.

Banks is easily my second favorite Celtic now. He has such a swagger to him
and the crowd LOVED him. He may be over-aggressive, but I can't wait to seee
him on the court with Paul and Toine. Banks is fearless going to the basket
...
Ford vs. Banks should be awsome. I want to see who looks bigger in person.
Banks seemed pretty short today easily 2 inches or so shorter than JR, but it
didnt really matter because he is so quick and athletic on defense. He
bothered one Of Lebron's jumpers so much that he cause an airball and Lebron
has 7 inches on banks. And it wasnt just a bad shot, Banks almopst got a piece
of the shot.