|
For as well as Mason played last night, Tharpe had 10 assists, 1 turnover and took good shots. We may have a Russel Robinson/Sherron Collins situation, where Mason is even better as a spark off the bench, but I'm not sure. Four freshman is an awful lot to be starting come tournament time.
Speaking of...
My friend last night said he hopes Embiid doesn't start. His point was that you keep him coming off the bench and it protects him from foul trouble. Truthfully, his offense and rebounding could end up being so valuable that you can't overuse him on defense.
One other thing about Embiid is he is so coachable. During the summer scrimmages (and all of his HS all star games), Embiid would constantly catch or rebound the ball and either bring it low or even dribble to gather himself. He also laid the ball in off the glass a lot.
During our first exhibition game, he caught the ball, brought it low, and promptly had it swatted away. He turned to the bench and nodded, holding up both his hands to say "I know - I know - keep it high. I'm on it."
He hasn't brought it low since then that I've seen.
Additionally, he is dunking everything he is in position to. He had such great touch on his shots that I was worried he would play soft, the way Ellis can at times - laying the ball in when you're uncontested to the basket. But Embiid is dunking, which not only sends a message to the opponent and can demoralize them, but it also protects the ball from a blocker. When you can dunk, you must, and Embiid has clearly learned that.
The guy is going to be playing at an all-star level sooner, not later.
|