Pilots in Leicester & London

PilotNut wrote:Thank you, SCP!  Good stuff.  

Maybe we should hire you to live tweet all games?!  And by hire, I mean pay you the same salary that I get from this site.

Come on, he's got some great content, I would double your salary!

Here's the link to video of the game that was played at Barking Abbey this morning at zero-dark-thirty PDT:

https://www.facebook.com/abbeybasketball/

If you want to see who played and who won, here are the stats:

http://portlandpilots.com/documents/2017/8/19//POR_BA.pdf?id=5506

I've now been able to watch most of the three games in England. Pretty great to get to see the games. Especially in Leicester, where there were two announcers! Here are some overall observations on the team, some of which echo what others have said in this thread:

• We have three good point guards: M. Porter, Walker and Shaver. They are all young, but all capable. I saw impressive passing from all of these guys, plus good ball-handling, decision-making, and getting to the rim for buckets both in the half-court and on the break. Will there be enough playing time for all three? Will either Walker or Shaver redshirt? Three-point shooting might be something that could distinguish one or two of these guys, if they can develop that threat. Porter's long-distance shot is pretty ugly.

• I'm sticking with my impression after the scrimmage that F. Porter and McSwiggan are our best players. I'd guess that those two are the leading scorers for this upcoming season. However, Porter's defense was a little suspect in the games this week.

• With four excellent new guards (Porter, Porter, Walker, Shaver), will Rashad Jackson get lost in the shuffle? What about Tyson? These two will be competing with F. Porter at the off-guard. Or the coaches could have one of the three point guards play some minutes at shooting guard. LOTS of options in the backcourt. Tyson will probably continue to get some sniper minutes off the bench, but if any of the more well-rounded guards can establish a consistent outside threat, Tyson's minutes will be diminished.

• The offense is fun to watch. It moves quickly. Very little standing around. Screeners don't wait around for the ball-handler to direct them to come set the screen -- there is a nice flow and urgency to how the offense moves. Lots of creative, smart passing. TONS of pick-and-roll, and our PGs are very adept at getting the ball to the roller in great spots to make plays. Last year our PGs would run the pick-and-roll but almost never give up the ball to the roller. Likely because giving the ball to either Hartwich or Bareno usually led to an empty possession.

In the three games this week, the guards consistently made great passes on the pick-and-roll to set up Hartwich, Smoyer and Diabate. But just like last year, those passes too often led to a turnover or missed shot, even though the guy receiving the pass was put in a great spot. I'm very curious how long our PGs will continue making those passes. Our p-n-r offense could be dynamic if we had any bigs who inspired confidence in our guards to pass it to them. A Sikma or van der Mars would have LOVED this offense. As for now, the coaches have clearly emphasized that our guards need to give up the ball to the bigs on these plays, but it is very rarely fruitful. Something's gotta give before too many regular season games are played. And I think the thing that's gonna give is the point guards' patience and better judgement. Unfortunately, our guards' productively will be diminished as our offense becomes more exclusively guard-centric. Defenses back at home will have scouted us and will know that our bigs are not much of a threat.

• Even though Hartwich doesn't seem to be any better at shooting, he does look far more confident and assertive in the post, and on the pick-and-roll. He gets the ball and immediately makes a move. Too bad that those quick, assertive moves still frequently result in missed shots or turnovers. On defense, he was a force in England. A shot-blocking machine.

• Stone and Hogland didn't play too many minutes. Stone looked like the best offensive big man we've got, including out to mid-range with his jumper. But he looked lost in the offense, and on defense. Too bad, because as a JUCO transfer you'd hope that his experience would put him a few steps ahead of the freshmen in terms of understanding how the offense works. Not so.

• Diabate is a tantalizing talent, but his wildness and poor shooting will limit his minutes unless he can fix those things. Lots of empty possessions when he gets the ball. Someone's comparison with a young Kevin Bailey is apt.

• We had a ton of fast break points in these three games. Lots of steals, and lots of fast guards sprinting out to get a lead pass. Exciting play.

I watched most of the last game and all of the second game. Our strength as a team appears to be in the backcourt. That is why, I assume, that the starting lineup apparently shifts McSwiggan to power forward and has Franklin Porter at small forward/wing.

Malcolm Porter's level of play surprised me. Jojo Walker is quick and good though he did dribble the ball off his leg for a turnover, more than once. He will play plenty.

Diabate's performance may not be at the levels hoped for. His game is wild and too prone now to forcing things. There is time for him to hone his game, but if McSwiggan is starting at power forward, it suggests the staff thinks the best starting five, for now, does not include Diabate.

Thought Smoyer looked good in limited time. Hartwich . . .defensively is a force.

Thanks for the more thorough reviews. Thought they were insightful.