As the Jays put the finishing touches on a 25-point win Wednesday night in their preseason opener, I had one thought on my mind: what happened to Dance Cam? I need my Sugar Hill Gang or I cannot make it through the night!
Do you think Will Smith cringes when he sees that now? Of course he doesn’t. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is always awesome, 100% of the time, no questions asked. Incidentally, if you walk around your office with “Tonto, Jump on it!” stuck in your head and need an iPod fix to remedy the situation, the song is “Apache” by Sugar Hill Gang…yes, the same band that brought us “Rappers Delight.” Although it was first recorded by a band called the Incredible Bongo Band and later sampled by Sir-Mix-A-Lot, its the Sugar Hill Gang version that everyone remembers. But enough showing off my obscure trivial mindgrapes, for the first time in six months we have actual basketball to discuss!
The Jays 94-69 win left some fans upset about defense, rebounding or both, and statistically speaking, those are not unfounded fears. A middle-of-the-road DII team outrebounded the Jays by 16, and scored 69 points on a night when they made just three three-pointers. However, unlike the fans who are complaining that their coffee tastes bitter this morning, my brand name soft drink tastes just fine. In this analogy, “bitter coffee” is a scapegoat for concerned parties’ frustration, and “brand name soft drink” is the preferred beverage of yours truly, a gentleman who has never enjoyed coffee, and whose soft drink glass is always half-full. ‘Course, that’s also because I’m a free refill hound, but still…
First, lets start with the defense. It seemed to me that the breakdowns, most of which happened after the first ten minutes of the game, were because of a lack of focus. The Jays had built a 20+ point lead in that first ten minutes, putting the game essentially out of reach. During that ten-minute stretch, the defense flew to the ball, the press caused havoc, and both the energy level and effort were superb. Now, that’s not to excuse the lack of all those great things over the remaining 30 minutes. That sort of breakdown shouldn’t happen. But its not a schematic thing, its not a talent thing, its an easing-up-on-the-accelerator thing. Be concerned if you will, but at this point, I’m not.
Next, the rebounding, or lack thereof. This was something that caused much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments last year, and if you look at the final numbers, you’d be awfully concerned. The Jays were outrebounded by 16. They were outrebounded by 17 last year in the exhibition to Central Missouri. Same old, same old? To that, I’d say that yes, the numbers don’t lie. However, during the ten-minute stretch where the defense played exceedingly well, they were ahead on the boards. I’m not saying, I’m just saying.
I think what we saw Wednesday night was the result of playing an inferior opponent, getting out to a huge lead early, and then easing up. Combine that with the game being an EXHIBITION, with the wild substitution patterns and experimental rotations that go along with it, and I don’t see a lot that worries me right now. Obviously if the Jays get outrebounded by 16 at Dayton, or allow Michigan to shoot 56% from the field, they’re going to find it tough to win. I don’t think there’s enough evidence after one EXHIBITION game to conclusively say those things are likely to happen. Back off the ledge, recognize that if your coffee is bitter that it’s because you bought some skunky coffee, and come out Sunday to see how the team performs in EXHIBITION number two.
Exhibition games are for working on things against someone other than your teammates. They’re for teaching, learning, and experimenting. They’re not for worrying about what we as fans did or didn’t see. My brand-name soft drink tastes just as delicious today as it did yesterday.
You bet.
Polyfro Gameball: The least-coveted award in the history of mankind, which for those of you who are new to my posts is only awarded following victories, is perhaps more of a dishonor than an honor given my general stupidity and mass consumption of mini-donuts which can cloud my judgment from time to time. For Wednesday night, I give it to newcomer Wayne Runnels, who had 13 points on 6-8 shooting in 21 minutes, but more importantly, had 6 rebounds to lead the team. He also had a blocked shot, playing aggressive in the paint and impressing me greatly. Good stuff.