Here’s some thoughts after taking a look at the season stats…
*Big Al’s stat line: 20.1 PPG, 10.9 RPG. I think that’s pretty much where we pegged him…as the first option for the Wolves, it’s no surprise to see his stats take a jump from last season. I do think, though, that his PPG average could be higher, but we’re going through stretches where Al isn’t involved enough in the offense (College Wolf thinks it’s because our guards stink when it comes to entry passes…I agree, but I also think Al should be a bit more assertive).
*Marko’s stats: 9.1 PPG, 4.1 APG, 49.5% from the field, 41.2% from beyond the arc. Unless anyone can think of a better reason for Jaric’s strong start to the season, I’ll just credit it to him dating a Victoria’s Secret model.
*Craiggers is only getting 17.5 minutes per game. What gives? I thought he’d see a sizable increase in minutes over last season, but that hasn’t been the case thus far. C’mon, Witt.
*A few key stats for Rashad: He’s shooting 42.8% from the field, and is averaging 3.3 turnovers per game. I think a major problem for Rashad is that, first and foremost, he considers himself a jump shooter. And while he does go through stretches when his jumper is dropping, it’s time that Rashad starts thinking of himself as a slasher…as of now, his jumper is just too inconsistent. And he absolutely must start taking better care of the ball…he’s turning the ball over at an inexcusably high rate. I still believe that Rashad can be a great player, but he’s got some things to work out.
*Mark Madsen has started five games. No, I’m not kidding.
*Here’s where things get tough for me…Gerald Green has played in seven of the 15 games, and is shooting 37% from the field (20% from long range). Earlier in the season, I was a huge supporter of Gerald…I wanted him to get some significant playing time. But man, after seeing him play in the past few weeks, he seems to be in his own world when on the court. Everything we heard about Gerald was true…great athleticism, but he makes horrible decisions. He’s completely intent on shooting whenever he gets the ball, and as a result, he’s not taking good shots. I’d keep playing him, as I’m a firm believer that actually seeing meaningful minutes is the best way for players to improve…but his performance has been discouraging.
*Every player on the roster, with the exception of Chris Richard and Green, has started at least one game. Yikes.
*The Wolves are edging their opponents on the offensive glass (they average 12.1 offensive rebounds per game, while their opponents are averaging 10.1), but their opponents have the edge in defensive rebounding (30.1 defensive rebounds per game, vs. 28.5). It’s a predictable trend…we lost a great defensive rebounder in Garnett while gaining Jefferson, who is a better offensive rebounder than KG is (and Gomsey’s also making an impact on the offensive boards). I do hope, though, that Craig Smith can start translating some of that offensive rebounding intuition to the defensive end.