It's the DANNY FORTSON SHOW!!!
No that is not a typo.
Fortson put on a clinic today as possibly the most dynamic player on the court during today's scrimmage. Just as the media was allowed to enter Danny attacked the basket with a power move that ended in a beautiful right handed hook shot over Robert Swift.
Shortly after Fortson missed a three point attempt(again: not a typo) and ran back on defense(no, I was not intoxicated) where he intercepted the frontcourt pass, dribbled 2/3 of the way down the court, and delivered a perfect bounce pass for the score.
Fast forward another minute and Fortsons day ended when he recieved the ball at the corner baseline, pump faked off Swift and took three dribbles towards the basket in a serious power move.
During this same period Fortson did, by the way pick up a few fouls including a shrug where he literally threw Nick Collison 4 feet back seemingly effortlessly. On one defensive play Forton fell to the floor in regular season form after incidental contact with Swift's shoulder. The ref seemed unimpressed shouting out "Flop" and following with "Playacting!"
No other players stood out particularly. When Big Danny decides to be the center of attention it generally is hard to see around him. Gelabale looked increasingly confident and was guarding Rashard pretty decently. Sene looks to have put on a bit of muscle and Petro seems a bit out of synch.
Notably in attendance was former referee Mike Mathis who was called back for the week by Coach Bob Hill. As reported in an earlier column Mathis is serving as a consultant for the team and was apperently so successful that Hill brought him back, likely for the week but possibly longer.
"It's an enormous advantage to have someone of his stature working with us and working with the players." Hill said. "He's become like a temporary coach for us"
Hill reitterated his desire to play a deeper roation early in the season because of the early season travel schedule.
"With the schedule like it is we are going to need a bunch of guys ready to go November and December" said Hill who pointed out that the team plays significantly more games in the first two months of the season than towards the end. The coaches intend to utilize their depth during this period rather than slowing down the game.
Over the next several preseason games Hill intends to get closer to his regular season rotation. During the final few games stars such as Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis should play close to their normal minutes. Hill also wants to use these games to see more extended minutes for rookies Mo Sene and Mike Gelabale. He intends to see how Gelabale performs when playing at the SG spot with the starting unit.