Vegas Summer League: Day Ten

Vegas Summer League Day 9
Recaps of a selection of today’s games.

Game One: Dallas Mavericks 91, Boston Celtics 70

Dallas

Maurice Ager
9 Points, 1 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Turnover, 3 Fouls, 4-9 FG, 1-3 FT

-Ager had a decent game today, but played away from his strengths for the better part of the contest.
-Ager is the type of player that can get overconfident after hitting a few shots, and it showed today as he hoisted numerous jumpers off of jump stops from a variety of angles. He had a couple of nice shots from the perimeter when he had his feet set, but also missed a handful of shots because of poor balance.
-Ager had one especially impressive play, where he ran the length of the court to block a jump shot in the left corner.

Jose Juan Barea
10 Points, 4 Rebounds, 11 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Turnover, 1 Foul, 5-9 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-1 FT

-Barea didn’t have a great game in comparison to the others that he played, but he clearly had a different motivation today.
-Barea made a ton of plays for his teammates, and didn’t bother looking for his shot after a while. The game got out of hand relatively quickly, so Barea let his teammates shine.
-Barea had two especially impressive passes to Reyshawn Terry. He threw the first from one side of the court to the other through traffic to hit Terry in stride for a layup. The second game on an impressive spin pass to Terry who had a defender on his hip.

Reyshawn Terry
23 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 3 Blocks 9-13 FG, 1-1 3FG, 4-4 FT

-Terry put on a show today, and put up one of the best stat lines of the day.
-Terry was hitting on all cylinders offensively, hitting shots from the corner, and hitting a couple of uncharacteristic turnarounds.
-Terry’s range appears to be improving the point that he can pull up from NCAA three-point range.
-Terry played well on defense as well, getting one really nice swat on a Gerald Green dunk.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu
7 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 2 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 2-7 FG, 3-5 FT

-Mensah-Bonsu appeared to be forcing the issue a bit today, but still managed to provide an inside presence.
Mensah-Bonsu didn’t play his typically aggressive inside game, and shot a couple of unnecessary touch shots from the midrange. That’s not really his game.

Nick Fazekas
8 Points, 7 Rebounds, 4 Fouls, 4-10 FG, 0-0 FT

-Fazekas has really struggled to get his shot going in Vegas, severely limiting his ability to contribute offensively.
-Fazekas needs to get his shot back quickly, unless he won’t see any time in Dallas in the near future.
-Fazekas rebounded relatively well today, and showed better touch around the rim, but nothing spectacular.

Boston

Gabe Pruitt
2 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Block, 1 Steal, 1 Turnover, 3 Fouls, 1-5 FG

-Pruitt played a quietly efficient game, looking relatively good running the point, reading the shot clock, and playing under control.
-Pruitt really didn’t appear to be playing for the purpose of wowing people with his offensive abilities, as he made good decisions whenever possible.
-Pruitt played very solid defense, but could still use a little work on the fundamentals.

Allan Ray
15 Points, 1 Rebound, 2 Assists, 2 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 5-10 FG, 2-4 3FG, 3-3 FT

-Ray did a good job of shooting the ball today, and was more selective than we have seen him in recent games.
-Ray also proved to be capable of taking the ball to the rim, utilizing a jab step and a spin move to sweep inside for a reverse layup.
-Ray made one especially impressive three-pointer, which he hit after crossing his man over nearly 27 feet from the rim.

Gerald Green
15 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 4-14 FG, 0-3 3FG, 7-10 FT

-Green never really got things going in Vegas, and was visibly frustrated with his play today.
-Green still needs to add consistency to his offensive game, but is smooth enough to be contributor down the line.
-Green really had a rough time offensively, but has the work ethic to smooth things out over time.
-Green’s shot selection and mediocre basketball IQ had a lot to do with his struggles.

Glen Davis
19 Points, 14 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 6 Blocks, 2 Steals, 3 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 8-18 FG, 3-4 FT

-Davis was an absolute monster throughout this game, staying extremely active at all times.
-Davis really got after things defensively, showing great timing.
-Davis made play after play on the offensive end, attacking his defender from all angles before floating in left and right handed hooks.
-Davis even took the ball up the floor on a few occasions, making a nice spin move on one of the most memorable plays of the night.

Game Two: Minnesota Timberwolves 102, Memphis Grizzlies 91

Minnesota

Rashad McCants
7 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Block, 1 Steal, 6 Turnovers, 2-5 FG, 2-4 3FG, 1-2 FT

-McCants didn’t record a huge stat line, but he wasn’t really in scoring mode tonight.
-McCants played solid defense, and made a couple of deep jumpers, but still looks like he is getting used to his offensive repertoire.
-McCants is an ideal third guard, and will probably be playing that role in the near future. His ability to score in bunches should serve him well down the road.

Randy Foye
28 points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Turnovers, 5 Fouls, 12-17 FG, 4-5 3FG

-Foye really lit things up from the perimeter tonight, as he carried over an unusually long streak of made three-pointers into the game.
-Foye’s form looked extremely consistent, something that he will need to continue refining in the coming months.
-Foye used a variety of crossovers and jump stops to get where he wanted to go on the floor.

Craig Smith
25 Points, 6 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 4 Turnovers, 8 Fouls, 10-13 FG, 5-8 FT

-Smith put together a strong game in typical fashion.
-Smith used his size extremely well down low, and doesn’t give up any space that he creates near the rim.
-Smith was a little overaggressive on defense, largely due to the hustle of the Memphis bigmen.

Corey Brewer
18 Points, 11 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 3 Turnovers, 5 Fouls, 7-17 FG, 1-4 3FG, 3-4 FT

-Brewer had a good game, but was visibly disappointed in his shooting performance.
-Brewer was enthusiastic about his passing, celebrating after two big assists that led to and-ones.
-Brewer’s shot wasn’t great from the perimeter, but he compensated for that by finishing well around the rim.

Memphis

Kyle Lowry
15 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 2 Steals, 5 Turnovers, 6 Fouls, 4-10 FG, 0-4 3FG, 7-11 FT

-Lowry was very aggressive tonight, attacking the basket at every opportunity.
-Lowry’s results were pretty mixed in terms of finishing, but he got to the line very consistently. His aggressiveness definitely paid off in that respect.
-Lowry did a good job of distributing as well, getting some steals and receiving some outlet passes to spark fast break opportunities.

Rudy Gay
26 Points, 3 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 2 Steals, 1 Foul, 9-15 FG, 2-4 3FG, 6-9 FT

-Gay had a very good game tonight, and showed solid consistency on his jump shot.
-Gay is an extremely effective offensive player when his shot is falling, and he becomes nearly impossible to defender when he is feeling it from the floor.
-Gay had a couple of spectacular alley oops, one of which came off of a creative back screen in the first half. Gay’s athleticism has really been on display this week, but it’s the rest of his game that has developed the most

Mike Conley
15 Points, 1 Rebound, 6 Assists, 4 Turnovers, 2 Fouls, 3-12 FG, 9-12 FT

-Conley had a similar game to Kyle Lowry, utilizing his quickness to get to the free throw line at will. At one point, Lowry appeared to be telling Conley during a play to get to the rim. Clearly, the pair is on the same page.
-Conley didn’t make many shots from the field, but he displayed solid form on those that he did.
-Conley controlled the game with his play at point guard, but still made some bad decisions with the ball. As time goes on, Conley should become a significantly better distributor due to a higher level of acclimation to the NBA game.

Game Three: Cleveland Cavaliers 71, Washington Wizards 76

Cleveland

Daniel Gibson
16 Points, 5 Rebound, 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 2 Blocks, 4 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 4-8 FG, 2-6 3FG, 6-6 FT

-Gibson’s performance was typical of his Summer League play.
-Gibson hasn’t taken on a big role with in Vegas since he was probably asked to defer to his teammates.
-Gibson shot the three-ball well, knocking down a couple of contested threes from the wing.
-Gibson used his momentum from the perimeter to blow past his defender on their closeout, getting to the rim for floaters or getting to the line.

Shannon Brown
14 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 5 Turnovers, 8 Fouls, 5-15 FG, 0-3 3FG, 4-4 FT

-Brown played an average game tonight, putting up decent numbers in an inefficient fashion.
-Brown has a great body, and is a prototypical third guard. In order to fill that roll in Cleveland, he needs to improve his consistency in every aspect of the game.
-Brown had a hard time getting his shot off against Nick Young, and didn’t get into the flow of the game as well as he would have liked to.
-Brown was aggressive on both sides of the floor, but that led to far too many fouls and turnovers.

Dijon Thompson
13 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Turnover, 2 Fouls, 6-17 FG

-Thompson really looked for his own shot tonight, and came up with mixed results.
-Thompson had one nice backdoor cut for a dunk, but in a subsequent play, missed an easy layup off the dribble.
-Thompson’s shot is solid, but he has occasional problems with his release.

Washington

Nick Young
18 Points, 3 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 2 Blocks 5 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 6-14 FG, 1-6 3FG, 5-9 FT

-Young came through with a strong performance tonight, but showed a lack of experience as well.
-Young almost seems like he decides to shoot before he even gets the ball in that he’ll get in a more aggressive stance when he wants to score. It is possible to read when he’s going to be involved in an offensive play and when he’s not based on how he breaks down his defender off the catch. For this reason, the defense is able to adjust to his game, leading to turnovers.
-Young’s jumper is still a work in progress, but he does have solid form. He’s still trying to find his range at this point. Playing at the point, he did a strong job of working off the ball for his shots after bringing the ball up the floor.
-Young played well on the defensive end, using his athleticism to block a couple of jumpers.

Oleskiy Pecherov
14 Points, 9 Rebounds, 4 Fouls, 4-9 FG, 3-4 3FG, 3-4 FT

-Pecherov came through with a strong performance, shooting the ball extremely well from the field.
-Pecherov doesn’t have ideal form, since he doesn’t get the ball in the typical shooting pocket, but the results make this negligible.
-Pecherov shows a willingness to mix it up down low, and has above average lower body strength at this point. His narrow shoulders will make it hard for him to put on a ton of weight, but he doesn’t have a long way to go before his body is ready for consistent NBA action.

Dominic McGuire
11 Points, 8 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Blocks, 2 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 4-12 FG, 3-4 FT

-McGuire scored on a variety of moves tonight, including a right handed hook shot, a tip dunk, and an impressive fadeaway.
-McGuire’s jumper does have great arch, but it has enough touch to make it seem like he has the potential to be a better midrange player down the line.
-McGuire did a good job getting to the line tonight, and uses his athleticism as well as anyone in attendance to play his game.

Game Four: Golden State Warriors 91, New York Knicks 87

Golden State

Corey Williams
13 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals, 5 Turnovers, 6 Fouls, 6-13 FG, 1-1 FT

-Williams played a decent game tonight, but seemed to be out on a mission on the floor.
-Williams tried to shake Nate Robinson off the dribble repetitively, finding success on a few occasions.
-Williams only made one jump shot, getting the rest of his buckets from in close.

Josh Powell
15 Points, 9 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Block, 3 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 5-8 FG, 5-5 FT

-Powell played a brutally efficient game tonight, using his body well to get position and get to the line.
-Powell showed a solid post game, using a reverse seal to get position down low.
-Powell had one very nice move where he used a jump stop to get to the middle of the lane before knocking down a jump shot and one.

Patrick O’Bryant
8 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Block, 4 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 4-6 FG

-O’Bryant played a half way decent game tonight, playing significantly more efficiently than usual.
-O’Bryant did have a tough time hanging onto the ball, getting pushed around down low for the duration of the game.
-O’Bryant showed his range, knocking down an impressive 20 foot jumper to open up play.
-O’Bryant used his size better than usually to get position for rebounds on the defensive end.

Nate Funk
14 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 2 Steals, 4 Turnovers, 5 Fouls, 5-9 FG, 4-5 3FG

-Funk played really well tonight, finally getting the chance to play to his strengths. With Marco Belinelli out of the picture, things opened up for Funk significantly on the outside.
-Funk’s jump shot looked great, and hit shots off of an array of cuts and moves.
-Funk isn’t athletic enough to be a great defender, and his lack of footspeed also hurts his ability to handle the ball as a point guard.

Carlos Powell
10 Points, 1 Rebound, 1 Assist, 1 Block, 1 Turnover, 3 Fouls, 4-7 FG

-Powell did a solid job tonight, using his athleticism to create opportunities for himself.
-Powell did a good job of attacking the basket in transition, but didn’t show much in the half court offense.

New York

Nate Robinson
23 Points, 4 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 2 Steals, 2 Blocks, 4 Turnovers, 6 Fouls, 7-15 FG, 1-5 3FG, 8-14 FT

-Robinson is almost unstoppable at the Summer League level, as he possesses too good of first step to be defended by most of the point guards here.
-Robinson’s shot looked good, but he forces up some questionable shots occasionally. He compensated for his below average shot selection with some very impressive assists.
-Robinson is so quick defensively that he can simply attack a loose ball and start the break without anyone else having a shot at the ball.
-Robinson put in some work on the defensive end, and had a couple of impressive blocks and rips.

Demetris Nichols
11 Points, 1 Rebound, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 4 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 5-12 FG, 0-4 3FG

-Nichols played a steady game, hoisting shots from the perimeter and working hard on the defensive end.
-Nichols will have an uphill battle to make the Knicks given their depth, but could find a home somewhere down the line.
-Nichols had a few nice catch and shoots, but didn’t show ideal range.

Wilson Chandler
17 Points, 3 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 2 Turnovers, 6 Fouls, 7-12 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-5 FT

-Chandler played a solid game tonight, doing a good job on both ends of the floor.
-Chandler came up especially big on the offensive end, knocking down midrange jump shots off the dribble and off the catch.
-Chandler even showed his range by knocking down a three.
-Chandler has very solid ball handling skills, and also displays good hustle on the defensive end.
-Chandler showed his maturity today as well, pulling an angry Nate Robinson away from an argument with a referee.

Renaldo Balkman
19 Points, 12 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 4 Steals, 3 Blocks, 2 Turnovers, 5 Fouls, 5-10 FG, 9-12 FT

-Balkman played a spectacular game today, dominating the game on the defensive end.
-Balkman’s came is somewhere chaotic, but he always appears to be in control. He pushes the ball up the floor by himself pretty frequently, but does a great job getting to the line when he does.
-Balkman’s jump shot looks consistent, but he shies away from taking too many shots from the outside.
-Balkman is a monster on the glass, and goes after every ball. He had one especially nice save, where he jumped well out of bounds while saving the ball behind his back across the court into a teammates hands almost 40 feet away.

Randolph Morris
16 Points, 9 Rebounds, 1 Block, 1 Steal, 3 Turnovers, 1 Foul, 5-7 FG, 6-7 FT

-Morris looked very good today, finishing his post moves well, and putting in work down low.
-Morris showed a nice turnaround and an up and under move.
-Morris didn’t run the floor very hard, but did a lot of work down low.