I thought before the game that stealing this one would be really important for final standings if there's any chance at a top 4 finish this season. We now have a really good chance at 4-0 to start this thing off. What I didn't see happening was some really important growth out of a few of our guys:
- Alpha came in after being glued to the bench and logged as many minutes tonight as he has over the span of two months and played with a ton of energy on defense and didn't make mistakes on offense. I'm not advocating for him to get 10 mpg, but it would be nice to be able to give those extra two or three minutes of rest to our non-Lofton-guards now and then.
- Vasquez had a rough first half sequence of: turnover, not closing out on the perimeter, and another turnover. I thought he'd be curled up in the doghouse the rest of the evening. Second half he was a different player: bought in on defense, took care of the ball and hit some big jumpers.
- Welch has been brutal and was at his worst in the first half, but it was good to see him come in after a long layoff in the second to shoot with confidence and hit a few of the biggest shots of the night.
Let's keep this thing rolling and get tuned up for the gauntlet that awaits!