Managed to catch the Bucks' exhibition opener tonight, and while the competition wasn't exactly Big Ten calibur, I was very impressed with nearly everyone on the team. Clearly the man that stood out was J.J. Sullinger, with 26 points in just 28 minutes. Most of the team was on fire offensively - Stockman and Sylvester both went 6 for 10, and the team shot .587% overall, including 8 for 12 from beyond the arc. The two recognizable weaknesses were free throw shooting (13 for 24) and perimeter defense, but the latter got better as the All-Stars got winded. Six players played at least 20 minutes, and everyone but Ugo saw floor time. TDials scored sort of a quiet 14, and could have had more if he'd done better than 2 for 7 from the stripe. The other Dials wowed me in the five minutes he got. Great hustle from that guy. Come to think of it, there's really no one on the team that can't run the floor. Things are looking very, very good so far.
I imagine a starting lineup of Fuss-Cheatham, Stockman, Sylvester, Dials and Radinovic, but there are endless combinations that worked and worked well for them tonight. Fuss-Cheatham, Stockman, Sullinger, Jenkins and Dials is a great lineup against smaller teams, I think. Either way, I don't see anyone on this team averaging much more than 30 minutes a ball game, and with the talent and depth we've got, that's a great thing.
I imagine a starting lineup of Fuss-Cheatham, Stockman, Sylvester, Dials and Radinovic, but there are endless combinations that worked and worked well for them tonight. Fuss-Cheatham, Stockman, Sullinger, Jenkins and Dials is a great lineup against smaller teams, I think. Either way, I don't see anyone on this team averaging much more than 30 minutes a ball game, and with the talent and depth we've got, that's a great thing.