Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Heading into the end of 2010, what I like about the 66ers right now

Taking in the entire year of 2010 (including last season), this has been the best year in the history of the 66ers franchise. With just one game left in the calendar year (Thursday at Austin), let's take a look at what is working right now for Tulsa.

At 8-6, and having won five of their last seven games, there's plenty to choose from, but I'll focus on just three things right now.

1. Jerome Dyson.
He hasn't started any of the 11 games in which he has appeared thus far, but there's no question that he brings a spark off the bench. He's a versatile scorer (13.4 points per game) who hustles and makes things happen. He's been a pleasant surprise ... and he's hit in double-digits scoring in nine of his last 10 appearances.

2. Latavious Williams on the boards.
It's no surprise that Williams is rebounding well. After all, he did that last year, including setting a new single-game record. This year, he's even more of a monster on the boards, averaging a team-leading 8.6 per game. His 21-rebound game against Fort Wayne was a site to watch. He's getting better and better under the boards, and that should be a scary thing for the rest of the D-League.

3. Winning without OKC help. Other than some spot appearances by Byron Mullens and Cole Aldrich, there hasn't been much in terms of Thunder players suiting up for the 66ers. Many said that was the key to Tulsa's success last season (see the numbers for D.J. White, Kyle Weaver, Mullens, etc., from last season) but the 66ers are winning on their own this year. It's a solid team under the watch of the Thunder and will only get better should Mullens or Aldrich return to Tulsa sometime this season.

No comments:

Post a Comment