>derrick looked like derrick. i know that the 'if he's healthy'
>caveat will follow him for the rest of his career, but he
>looks like the same guy from 2011.

^^^I try not to put that on the kid but I cringe whenever he gets hit and takes a minute to recover (got hit in the eye last night on a drive and I got tight lol). Guess it's inevitable until he finishes the bulk of a season tho, at least for me.

>the D looked fantastic. pau was great on that end, made a ton
>of plays. wall scored 3 first half pts, all w/ rose on the
>bench. beal couldn't do anything w/ butler on him.

Pau was Ding UP! I was surprised he was playing THAT well but I guess in thibs system it's a trickle down effect. lol @ noah post game saying the D wasn't that good. They gave up 85 pts on 41% fg and 26% from 3.

>not sure why the brooks signing wasn't talked about more. dude
>averaged 20 ppg a couple yrs ago. shit, he had a 27 pt 17 ast
>game w/ denver this past march. one of the more underrated
>summer moves. he's a better player than nate or augustin.

Dude can play. Not as explosive as Nate and not as good from 3 as DJ but his handle and speed are better than both. He's a better player, he just has to learn how to better pick and choose his spots with this team.

>niko's a baller, plain and simple. looked aggressive and
>physical. hella heart and swag. he just looks confident. like
>he knows he's good. i have no concerns about his transition.
>dude's not really a "rookie" anyway, he's been a pro for 6
>years, playing against pretty high-level comp.

Yeah, I became a fan in that second half. Lots to like about his game, attitude and effort. Though he coulda called that screen that leveled Jimmy lol

>i'm thinking snellycat and mcdrainit are gonna be the ones to
>feel the numbers crunch, at least for the early part of the
>season. and i have no issue w/ that. thibs trusts vets. look
>for taj, kirk, AB and niko in the 9-man, w/ jimmy playing the
>"11-12 deng" role.

I agree. Injuries might open up some extra time but yeah, both are gonna have to play IN to the rotation.

>the wizards are fucking goons. that's looking like a real
>rivalry. fake ass bad boys.

Yeah and I get the sense they don't like us more than we don't like them. It's usually the other way around with this bulls team.