Had to get that in there...lol
But from what I saw
>-DRose looked GOOD; explosion there (no issue with the
>springs), speed there (he was the fastest dude on the court by
>far) and he LOOKS stronger. He was playing too fast
>though...you could tell he was extra excited about being back.
> Once the game slows down for him again, it'll be as it was.
>He didn't take many jumpers though so I'm interested in how
>his J looks as it's supposed to be improved.
I agree...he looked fast as hell. It looked like he was playing way faster than he should, or that his body was going faster than his mind. Had a couple of uncharacteristic TO's, but that's more rust. It was good to see him out there, and I was surprised at how easy he got to the rim, especially against a Pacer defense (albeit preseason)
I gotta see how the jumper looks, but it does look like he's trusting the knee, which is the most important hurdle.

>Also I'm hoping last night was all about anxiety to finally
>play in a real game because he can't go 150rpm's into the lane
>like that all season. Being hurt should have taught him 3
>things: he can't take all the punishment carrying the team, he
>needs to let the team carry him via distribution more often
>and his jumper needs to get better.
Agree completely. However, I did see him take some contact going towards the rim and in my opinion he NEEDS that right now because he'll trust the knee and his body more and more. The more he gets hit now and realizes that his body (esp. his knee) will be fine, the better off he'll be mentally.

>-Deng looked good, Jimmy looked good, Taj played to his
>contract (let's see if he keeps it up all season...would be
>HUGE for us). Booz looked like he was in shape and healthy.
>Teague looked more comfortable though he didn't play much.
>Kirk's activity on the boards was surprising. He looked
>healthy too.
Jimmy and Hinrich are the key. Those are the guys that have to contribute in a lot of ways to take the pressure off Rose. Hinrich with running the team, and Jimmy just getting better overall.

>-Dunny's energy looked great. He has to get comfortable with
>the defensive scheme's though. But his activity and
>rebounding was good.
His rebounding is overrated. You don't want to depend on him rebounding on a nightly basis. You got Noah, Booz, Deng, and Taj...let Dunleavy do what he does best and spread the floor with his shooting.

>-The rookies looked like come January they might be ready for
>consistent short run minutes (10-12 a night). Snell looked
>better but Murphy could be a definite stretch big for us.
>Once Snell adjusts to the league, he'll be a great reserve for
>us.
Snell looked solid. Again, first game ever, so we'll see how they develop

>-The defense looks VERY good. Will definitely help us to
>start the season.
>
>And we won on the road...not bad at all.
It's definitely a good start. Another thing you might want to worry about is Thibs learning to coach for the long term. He can't put the pedal to the metal on his players every game and burn them out. Watch for his rotations