Jackie Manuel was the last cut in training camp with the Boston Celtics and is a defensive specialist. Because of his defensive prowess, he sometimes leaves his man to help out only to wind up getting burned. Dakotas Carlos Powell had 8 first quarter points on Manuel due to this. If he would stick to his man he would be on the short list of best defensive players in the D-League. Tonight, Manuel was limited to 23 minutes due to foul trouble.
Offensively, Manuels game is still not there. Early on, Manuel had three shots within a couple of feet and only made one. He did have one nice mid-range jumper off the dribble but will need to increase his range and precision to have any impact offensively.
Manuels key to getting into the NBA lies with his ability as a lock-down defender and he might be good enough at it to earn a call-up.
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