well, if you were to judge how our new guys will play this season based on a single game, then monday and yesterday would lead you to two completely different conclusions.

afflalo and stuckey had their moments, but also their fair share of mistakes. they didn't play poorly, especially for their 1st taste on the road, and there were flashes of excellence along the way. but more often than not, they forced situations that weren't favorable.

afflalo still played hard, although without as many sharp cuts on offense, and was doing well with on-ball defending. however he tried to force himself in the lane a few times and turned it over.

i can basically say the same about stuckey - i think he learned tonight that you can't always blindly drive the lane, because the NBA does have guys who are tall and can block your shot. but to his credit he didn't give up on his game or let that prevent him from doing it later in the game and succeeding. he'll have to learn to take care of the ball better. he also dribbled a little too much in place, but at the same time no one on offense was moving around all that well.

maxiell didn't have a great game. he missed his jumpers, wasn't in position for rebounds, and tried to go for too many blocks on defense instead of playing more solid D. at the end of regulation his man was the one who beat him with a cut to the basket, forcing max to foul, which sent the game to overtime. now, it did look like a clean block instead of a foul, but he shouldn't have gotten beat like that in the 1st place.

dupree is just never going to make it on this team. he can't shoot, and hayes gives us everything dupree can, and everything he can't. speaking of hayes, he had a decent game, including a very nice block on lebron. he's a physical guy who again isn't afraid to post up, get down low, and go for rebounds. he still took a couple ill-advised shots, but i think his defense is fine and he'll be able to back up tay. he also had 2-3 shots that were basically down and then popped back out.

nazr played well. he had a couple turnovers, but made the shots he was supposed to make, had a couple blocks, a steal, and even a nice no-look pass in the post to get hayes an easy basket.

the rest of the starters were fine; mcdyess didn't have a great game, but he wasn't terrible either. he only grabbed a couple boards and missed some shots, but played good D and didn't hurt the team when he was on the court.

so overall, this game was a learning experience for the rookies. they played well and helped build a lead in the 1st half, and showed flashes of brilliance. they made mistakes that are good to learn now. they're smart players and should figure it out quickly.