Being a Celtics fan, Joseph is this team's Smart. I cringe at every weird shot he takes but they have been going in a lot so good for him. He does a little bit of everything for the team and has a great impact.
Cleveland fills the Jordan Miller role perfectly. Timely 3s, good rebounder with putbacks, and has a decent game inside the arc. I think he might fight for the spot of the top dog on the team.
Omier is Omier, he's been playing his role for two seasons now and he's good at it. Runs the floor hard, is a force inside with mismatches, and now hits the occasional 3. I wish he was given a bit more of a leash when it comes to creation but he knows his role.
Pack is the most open to criticism imo. As a senior who's supposed to be the top dog, he really doesn't jump off the screen. He struggled with creating his own looks and mostly scores off the flow of the offense. That's ok, but he plays like he has the ability to be the top dog when sadly he doesn't. It shows when he drives inside and gets swallowed up, or tries to make something happen in the midrange and misses.
For how insanely athletic Poplar is, he is wasting his ceiling as a player. Not sure what happened as far as his developmental staff goes, but he has the burst to play like Lonnie did, but instead has only found success as a spot up shooter like a Klay Thompson type role. His handle is super shaky and he just can't beat people off the dribble. In the open court if he's trailing its showtime as he has the athleticism to make things happen, but its so rare to see him turn the corner on a handoff and take it to the rim with authority. Poplar as that spot up shooter is a great player don't get me wrong, and is still a draftable player, but Poplar if he shows he can be a slasher will take this team to another level and also his stock.
AJ Casey is depth at this point, a body who can absorb some fouls and compete but he's not an answer at the 5, that's gonna have to be Nwoko down the line hopefully by mid season. I think Watson needs to see the floor more, he's literally taller than Casey, can guard a bit on the perimeter, can shoot threes, and has the handle to bring the ball up the court. He was recruited as a 6'6 SG and is now a 6'8-6'9" SF, they need to get him more touches and looks because his size and versatility will boost the bench a lot and he fits in with any lineup. George is also exactly that, an oversized perimeter player who can make any lineup more versatile. Difference with George is that he's a bit more raw and will probably come around mid season in the rotation.
In an ideal world I think you have Pack-Joseph-Poplar-Cleveland-Omier with Watson/George/Nwoko/Casey off the bench in that order.
Will take some time for the team to gel, but I think the biggest problem was shot distribution, Cleveland was hot all first half and got iced out by Pack and Poplar in the second half. More unselfish play would help, and I have the feeling that some of these guys are playing to raise their own stock at times which is tough to balance with winning. It was easy for Wong to takeover because it became a need where he had to and was also very capable. This team will find success in being a 7-8 deep team all around threat where any one of those guys could put up 15+ points. If they buy into that this team will be hard to beat.
about the court. It looks like shooting in a fish bowl.
