The role players
Holmes didn’t play much, but he made the most of his minutes. His shooting form looked a bit smoother than last year, but otherwise he was the same player. He fits his role well as is, so any improvement he makes is just gravy at this point.
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McConnell and Anderson were largely in the same boat. McConnell ran the offense well, and was a passing savant who couldn’t shoot. Not exactly front page news, there. Anderson was one of the starters, and he played active defense, but he didn’t showcase anything we didn’t already know about him.
Stauskas didn’t look great. His shots weren’t falling, and when that happens he tends to get in his own head. He drives less, and his whole game seems lackluster due to same sort of mental snowball effect. He really needs to be more consistent if he doesn’t want Korkmaz to steal his playing time.
J. Okafor was one of the big reveals of the night, as no one really knew how he’d play after losing 25 pounds. Much digital ink has been spilled poring over his upcoming season, and the early results are encouraging.
He’ll never be a high flier, but he did look a bit more engaged and quick than usual. He also seemed to still be strong around the basket, putting a nice post move on E. Okafor shortly after checking in. He didn’t positively contribute much on defense, but he also wasn’t actively exposed, so that’s better than nothing.