The big story lines tonight centered around Roy Williams' use of his team. Thus far, we've seen an anemic starting five, a second team that consistently has to save the day, and hockey line changes every four to five minutes. But, with Leslie McDonald out with a collapsed lung, the bench was narrowed to nine players minus walkons, and was further shortened when Justin Watts left the game in the first half with a sprained ankle. Both players will be fine, and will probably get minutes in a week, when Carolina takes the floor again. That absence of Watts and McDonald left Roy with an eight man rotation, something that he used to great effect in the 2005 and 2009 seasons, and look what happened there. I think the shortened bench was the biggest key to Carolina's turnaround.
The second shake up was Kendall Marshall's first start of the season. People have been clamoring for the switch, myself included, since Carolina hit the skids in Puerto Rico. Kendall played well, scoring 5 points, dishing out 5 assists, and turning the ball over 3 times. But even though Marshall got the start, Larry Drew finished with more minutes, 23 to Marshall's 22. Drew had rebounded very well, scoring 8 points. Williams even used Drew and Marshall together, which I actually became a fan of. It makes sense, especially late in games since both are good ballhandlers.
Overall, I thought it was a great bounce back game for Carolina. I figured Zeller and Henson would struggle with Jerai Grant and Devin Booker, but you can't teach length, and those guys have it. Henson had five blocks, and Zeller three, and held Booker and Grant to a combined 13 points. Big win, and the boys get a little rest before taking on Miami on January 26th.
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