Iguodala's struggling in his new role. We're not forcing the turnovers and getting out on the break, and that's hurting him. Last year his greatest strength in the half court was getting to the line, and now that he's not the primary option, he's not getting those opportunities. His jumpshot doesn't look any better, and he's been forcing things at times with his passes. If there's one person who's struggling to fit, it's been him so far. This was my biggest problem with the contract. If he doesn't fit, his trade value is greatly diminished because of the size and length of his deal. As Young asserts himself, and Iguodala goes to the #3 option, he might fit better, but it's definitely a cause for concern.
Young's been fantastic. I couldn't have asked his jumpshot to progress any better. He's the only one I really feel confident in taking a shot right now, and with his high release, it's very hard to contest. He still has great touch, has shown solid post moves, and his handle and ability to create his own shot is greatly improved. And he's playing very good defense. That being said, there are minor criticisms. While his handle's improved, and he can now iso himself fairly well, he can't handle the ball for extended periods of times. If he's not moving toward the basket, it's a likely turnover. He really needs to develop a move driving to his right, as right now he always spins and turns back to his left. And he doesn't initiate contact at all. That being said, these all look very correctable. The team won't truly take the next step until he develops until #1 option. I almost thing that's a "when", not an "if" at this point though. He ha "it".
Andre Miller's been very inconsistent. His lack of range almost bothers me more than Iguodala's, and I don't think his defense has been particularly good this year. Considering he's the one not under contract after this year, if we're not more consistent by the end of the year offensively, he's the one person you might look to move for a better fit, someone who has more range and maybe is a little better defender, who would take some of the pressure off of Iguodala and open up the lane.
Brand's been good. Not necessarily great, but about what I expect. People expected a dominant low-post scorer, but that hasn't really been his game. That mid range jumpshot has been his bread and butter since before the injury when he was scoring 25 ppg. He's capable in the post, but not dominant. Usually a good finisher, and a lot of his points in the paint come off of offensive rebounds. I think his effects on the glass has been great, he's been a good defender, and the only major complaint is he's not finished tremendously well in the paint. That being said, I think he's just missed some shots, and don't think it's injury related, so I expect him to regain form fairly quickly.
Dalembert I think has been bad. Hasn't been that great defensively, and he's been a turnover waiting to happen. 2.8 turnovers per game with how little he handles the ball and how little he's relied upon to create is disastrous. He's just a bad decision waiting to happen, and has to be the worst outlet passer I've ever seen. He seems to be pressing with Brand around, and Dalembert pressing is a bad thing.
Lou's been bad. He hasn't made his shots, and he seems to be passing less than in the past. And his shot seems to have reverted to more of a line drive push shot. slightly concerned.
Green's been good, but I don't expect him to continue.
Rush needs to learn that he's just a spot up shooter. He's not a creator. He shouldn't try to be a scorer. He's a shooter. When he's just a shooter, he can be good. Otherwise, he's an inefficient chucker.
Speights has been good. He seems to be pressing offensively, rushing his shots, but when he settles down and gets some experience I think he's going to be valuable. I'm glad he beat out Theo in the rotation. He's been good on the glass, particularly offensively, and I like his spot up J. Once he stops rushing his close bunnies, I'm fairly excited not only about his long term potential but also his ability to contribute short term.
