Helluva performance Mr. Fitzgerald! Given his injury the previous night, really didn't know how limited he would be.
He came out early with great defensive energy (the hustle steal falling out of bounds was unbelievable). He really gave our team a spark on defense, and provided great rebounding help.
We're still very much waiting for his 3 ball to come around (and free throw shooting for that matter), but it's quite clear that he can also create defensive problems for the other team (much better lateral quickness then #20).
Love, love, love the versatility of this team!!!
Agreed. At one point a few minutes after he was in the game, one of our guards drove the middle and kicked the ball out to him in the corner, and he was WIDE open at the three point line, nobody within 15 feet. He didn't even look at the basket and quickly kicked the ball out to McNeal at the top of the key to restart the offense. I remember thinking, "If he's not going to take that shot, they should just sit him down and put someone else who wants to play in." Boy, was I wrong. He really picked it up and played great D, made some big shots on putbacks. Solid, solid game.
Yesterday was the quickest I've seen him move. Some nice deflections and an awesome steal where he was able to keep it inbounds some how.
I thought he played great defense and had some great rebounds in traffic which is not what I expected out of him.
I was really pleased to see Fitz have a good game because he had a couple of problems early in the game. I specifically recall once when he deflected the ball into the back court and then over-played it and let his man (Nelson?) hit an uncontested three because he was out of position. I know there was another time early that I noticed he was out of position. I was a little worried, but he definitely settled down and played a great game.
Others have said it, but I'll add on: I love the versatility on this team.
Quote from: WashDCWarrior on November 22, 2006, 09:15:11 AM
Yesterday was the quickest I've seen him move. Some nice deflections and an awesome steal where he was able to keep it inbounds some how.
Quote from: mufanatic on November 22, 2006, 10:20:34 AM
I thought he played great defense and had some great rebounds in traffic which is not what I expected out of him.
I have to say that I've been skeptical about the contribution Fitz would be making this year. It appears I may have to change my tune. Last night, the game came to Fitz a lot easier. He wasn't overwhelmed by the speed of the game as it has seemed he has been in the past. He played with poise and confidence.
Fitz is certainly getting confidence and becoming aggressive under the basket. After I saw his tenacity going up against the duke bigs under their basket I wondered if maybe the shin injury the night before was a good thing - made him realize that he can be a tough dude. Kinda like the first time you get your first paintball welt. You think, wow.. that hurts like heck but ya know what.. it's not a big deal.. bring em on!