Here's what I like about this team at this point:
1. Offense seems to be ahead of where it is most years. Still has its hiccups, but there seems to be more fluidity and purpose than we've seen in December.
2. Seem to be playing above the rim more. Good sign for overall athleticism and may also mean 1) offense is creating easier opportunities 2) guys are being more assertive and getting better position.
3. Seems like we've got a couple of new defensive wrinkles that have been positive so far. More halfcourt trapping than I remember in the past?
4. Several games lately where second-teamers have held/extended lead. Of course, this is a mixed bag as sometimes the first-teamers haven't been as effective as they should be, and less of a gap between the two can mean that the first teamers aren't as good as they should be. Still, at this point I'd give the edge to our bench being improved, rather than our starters not being very good.
5. Related to 4, seems like we have a number of guys who can step up. As we saw in Hawaii, this can make it tough for other teams to decide on a defensive strategy. Gipson struggled when teams started focusing on him, but Jamar and DOB have benefited and once teams focus on them, Gipson's play should receive a boost. Same thing with Angel/Sprads/Gruds. If 1.5 of those guys can be "on" each game, we'll win quite a few.
