That was a fun one last night but I had fun watching the game from tip off until about the TJD rebound.
The good:
(1) They really played hard. I know it should be a given but some teams would have folded before the game even started.
(2) Battle looked like old Battle. I'm beating a dead horse here but I think it's because he was playing so many minutes at the 4. It was kind of shocking to see Indiana keep a post player on him for so long but the Indiana coach was pretty bad all night.
(3) Thompson. Don't worry, he'll be on both. At his best, he is a an active 7 footer. He deflects passes, gets his hand on a lot of passes, and I think could have a carved out role on this team - not as a cornerstone or anything, but just a high energy big off the bench. He made a difference tonight. It wasn't just luck Indiana was missing some bunnies in close.
(4) I hated that it was against us, but TJD is pretty fun to watch. I'm glad the Indiana coach stopped running so many plays for him because he easily could have had 35-25 last night.
(5) Henley is his old self on defense. He was pestering folks and it makes a big difference.
The bad:
(1) Ola-Joseph really struggled last night. I think he does have a future and he's a good enough athlete that the sky is the limit but he is going to need to be a high energy player (think like a bigger way more athletic Stamper). At his best, he flashes that type of game but last night he was off. He might have been injured too.
(2) Thompson. It's hard for me rip on the guy because he goes from playing 2 minutes per game to 35 but he had a couple gimmes at the hoop that he just couldn't finish with any strength.
(3) Officiating sucked. I'm not blaming them for the loss but it was tough to watch.