Maryland vs. Kentucky: I'll cover the college games, but only as it pertains to the NBA. I got high hopes for my Terps and I wanted to see how we looked against a team allegedly filled with lottery talent. I was not disappointed. I largely ignored the NBA for this game yesterday. Kentucky has four bona fide pros. Nerlens Noel is raw. He's the rawest UK big man in a while. He struggled to catch the ball and finish. He made some good moves, but lacked the strength to finish them off. With that said he's probably a better shot blocker than Anthony Davis.....but he'll need to stay on the floor. Alex Poythress struggled to get into the flow. I would imagine this is his first time getting to play exclusively on the wing. He's probably got the most NBA ready body right now, but we won't see all he can do at least until later this season. Kyle Wiltjer saw little time as a freshman, but he's got an NBA skill: shooting. He was the difference in this game. The UMD big men struggled to play that far from the basket. UK did go to him in the post a bit, but he wasn't as effective down there. Finally, Archie Goodwin can go. He's like a 6'6 Joe Johnson. He's unquestionably a 2-guard, but he's got a nice shake to his game that helps him get to the rim and draw fouls. Once he gains some muscle, he's going to be a problem. UMD had their share of prospects as well. Alex Len was the best player on the floor last night. He's 7'3, with good hands, a jumper that extends to the college three point line, and of course, the length to block shots. Dezmaine Wells struggled in this game, as did every other UMD player, but he showed confidence in his jumpshot, and the strength and ball skills to get to the rim. Nick Faust added maybe 20 to 30 lbs of muscle this summer. He looks like a totally different guy. Nick struggled as well, but I know from high school that he can get hot from outside and he's got ball-handling skills to play the combo guard in the NBA. I was also intrigued by Jake Layman. He's got great size for a small forward and is kind of a jack of all trades. He mixed it up down low, but also showed the ability to shoot from deep and put it on the floor. He will be a good one down the road.
Houston vs. Memphis: James Harden is not who he was in week 1. He's not aggressive with the ball, and he's not aggressive about getting the ball. He seems more and more left-hand dominant the more I watch him. Houston is going to struggle a lot when Harden is playing passive like this. It's almost as if the extra practice and coaching has taken something away from Houston.
Golden State vs. LA Lakers: As you may have heard, Mike Brown was let go. Good riddance. I didn't sere one ounce of Princeton offense today. The Lakers kept is simple....dump it down to Dwight....the opposition will double.....and now everybody plays easy basketball. Simple as that. 30 point win.
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