I'm on the fence with Fiz, it ain't about Frank either, it's just figuring out how much development is good for the team as a whole. The challenge there is that the team is super young and really raw; so how much development is good enough?
What's this team's identity? I don't know yet and I doubt we will until KP is back and healthy which might not happen this season.
How's the offensive system look? There hardly is one but recent weeks have seen the playbook expanding. I'd expected there to be more going on by now, but I don't blame Fizdale for that because I see the wrinkles forming. There's a long way to go as we approach halfway through the season; but I'm encouraged by individual improvements and the new stuff appearing.
Did we create a defensive culture? Not at all. This isn't debatable either. We've been starting our top 4 scorers who all happen to be subpar defenders. The team is statistically worse than last year on that end and there's emphasis on the defensive personnel to suggest it's a focal point. That's not just Frank related either. Lee just sat again too. Dot was playing well on BOTH ends and got benched before returning to the rotation but without a starting spot. Lance is back in a limited role so far, so we'll see with him. Mitch can be blamed on injuries and foul trouble so far. Fiz is putting in Kornet and trying the new zone thing. It's stuff I don't particularly like, but it does leave room for improvement and tweaking. It shows us that he recognizes an issue. So again, jury's out but this one is a failure so far.
How are the young guys doing? As much as I think it looks like Fizdale can't figure out how to utilize Frank; the rest of the youth has gone well. Dot's growth from summer league to now is nuts. Trier went undrafted and now some teams have shifted defenses toward him during hot streaks. Mitch is developing nicely on the defensive end, offense was super raw and will continue to be for a while. Mudiay and Vonleh are playing better than they ever did. Then you got Knox, who looks like Fiz flicked a switch on. I don't know how I feel about Fizdale as an in game coach; his offense is a long way from finished and his defense has been bottom of the league...but the kids are his get outta jail free card for all of that.
I'm good with waiting a while. Fiz takes a little longer to get the results or make the decisions I want to see sometimes, but it's tended to happen right as I start to pull my hair out. I get frustrated on a game by game basis for sure; but overall the big picture is more promising than negative. With more time the other stuff will either sort itself out or become too obvious not to address.
