Cuttino went away from his formulated approach to passing and read the defense This was the biggest positive of the night for me. Cuttino's passing has historically been contrived. Tonight, however, I saw him dribbling with his head up , even when isolated. He was even finding guys, which is not his strongsuit, underneath the basket. This was his best game of the season, without question, let's just hope this was not an abberation but a beginning for Cuttino. Moochie letting go From day one, Moochie has played timid, and we've all seen the adverse effect it's had on his game. He's been improving in this area of late, but tonight's progress stood the most; He wasn't hesitating with the shot (ie: electing to drive rather than shoot the jumper), he was trusting his teammates, and he wasn't conserving his energy, which I believe he was since becoming a starter. I can't really fault him for conserving his energy however, considering that he isn't built to nor was he expected to play these kind of minutes. PS: You still need to learn how to post up Griffin. Griffin on Shammond Williams> Moochie on Gary Payton Griffin's continual improvement Talk about shoving that article back in Ric Bucher's face. Disappointment my ass. There's a chemistry forming between the guards and Griffin; they're starting to know each other's comfort areas; they're starting to trust each other. He's rolling to the basket more on the high pick and finishing, which is something we rarely see from a big man on this team. Why the complaining about Griffin shooting 3's? Honestly, he's the one guy who's been consistently hitting that shot, its a shot that's a product of the offensive system, and if Rudy felt that part of his game was a detriment to team success, Griffin would have stopped shooting from out there by now. Eddie can shoot the ball, his shot is pure, deal with it. The inside game is there. It was there in high school, it was there at Seton Hall, and it was there in the summer league. We should be excited as hell that he's already so consistent from the outside. His shooting percentage is more reflective of the guards putting him in awkward positions, by the way. (ie: Moochie or Mobley passing out on a failed drive to a stunned Griffin who is forced to shoot it up with little time on the clock. His dribbling game is non-existent. Keep him in his comfort spots, and he will be effective offensively). Props to Rudy for keeping him, as well as Cato, in there during crunch time and not going to arr arr Willis for that 'veteran' savvy down the stretch. Great win.
walt williams should also be mentioned as a positive. he finally knocked down some open shots. if he and rice could have more games like that it would free up the guards and big men tremendously.
