Here is what I liked about this game:

1) We pushed the tempo. We can mostly thank Rip for this. Every time we got a long rebound or a steal, Rip was looking for the ball and sprinting down court. We were getting layups. But we were also getting those mid transition buckets where we would try to push it and then kick out to an open shooter trailing. It was brilliant. 92 possessions for us in this game compared to our average of 88. Our players make such smart decisions that we can handle the chaos of the faster tempo. Also, Dyess's steals gave us opportunities.

2) We got inside. Billups and Stuckey were both driving and finishing as well as kicking out for open J's. Also, guys were cutting. Rip, Dyess, Sheed, and Tay all got point blank hoops off of cuts into the lane. It was especially nice to see CB look to create. We got to see what a good passer he still is when he decides to penetrate (and how about that lightning behind the back pass to Rip underneath the hoop?).

3) Flip left our traditional lineup in there to crush Toronto's small lineup in the 2nd half. Instead of reacting to them, he decided to push our advantage. Immediately, we were keying on their weakest link until they finally relented and went bigger.

4) Rip Hamilton- If you ignore free throws, then Rip Hamilton outscored the entire Toronto Raptor starting five 37 to 35! His jumper was automatic, he was getting inside, he was initiating the fast break, and his defense has been ridiculous. I think that we really need to start considering his D to be on par with Tay and Sheed.

Also, big minutes for Stuckey and Maxiell paid off, as they were both great. 9 boards for Max and 5 assists for Stuck.


Of course we didn't get a big dose of Afflalo and Amir, but there were a lot of big picture positives in terms of our gameplan tonight.

__________________
"Everybody knows how Sheed felt when we went small, but he's buying into it." Rip