Good effort

Aloha,

I thought the effort tonight was good. The 76ers had their complete team while we were with out our star players again. Yet we didn’t back down. I’m really encouraged by the play of our young guys development. We only played 8 guys tonight. Most of our old vets sat, while the young players took over their roles.

For Russ it was a tale of 2 halves. He was terrible in the first half. 5 turnovers and 3 for 11 shooting help dig another hole but he helped dig us out in the 2nd.

Stanley had a great over all game. I was impressed with his defense when assigned to Harden. On offense 13 points and 8 assists on gave him a well rounded game.

I thought Dwight had an excellent game as well. Yes Embid hit his average of 30 but Dwight scored 24 himself on 6 less minutes. I would like to see Dwight get a little run, because he showed he still has a little gas left in the tank.

Malik and Melo outscored the entire 76ers bench 43 to 27. They were both really effective offensively.

I’m sure Gabriel will get a contract at some point before the playoffs so he can play. If Rob is smart he will do what he did with Stanley, and sign him with at least a player option for next year. This guy hustles and competes. Sometimes it takes longer for a player to develop. Gabriel was a 5 star recruit and ranked as the 14 best player in the country his senior year. I think he has a lot of upside.

What is interesting for me is we maybe building a quality supporting cast for next year. While Austin didn’t have a particularly good night he leads the team in plus minus and generally makes a impact. He we somehow keep Malik, along with Stanley, Gabriel, and probably Nunn, will have a few younger. THT will probably be traded but if not, I think he will be better next year as well. Now if we can just clamp down a little more on defense, we may make some noise if we make the playoffs.