Vegas Summer League: Day Three

Game One: Dallas Mavericks 72, Portland Trailblazers 68

Greg Oden’s second game against NBA competition yielded similar results to his first, but gave him the opportunity to showcase some of the things that made him the first overall pick. While Oden’s play improved, he still wasn’t in control of the game. That accolade goes to Jose Juan Barea, who played extremely well for the second game in a row.

Dallas

Jose Juan Barea
17 Points, 1-2 3FG, 3 Assists

-Barea shot the ball well from the outside after an initial airball, indicating that he has legitimate confidence in his improved jumper. If he continues along these lines, that will be a huge step towards him legitimizing himself as an NBA rotation player.
-As always, Barea ran the show for the Mavericks. Their offense runs exponentially better when he is on the floor, and pretty poor when he isn’t.
-Barea made a handful of great passes today, but three of them were mishandled by teammates.
-Barea also had one incredibly smart finish running down the lane and throwing up an effortless layup off the glass from behind his head.

Maurice Ager
7 Points, 3-11 FG, 5 Rebounds

-Ager never got into a rhythm on the floor, and while he didn’t look bad, he didn’t, he couldn’t put up a second quality performance.
-In contrast to his first game, Ager showed his versatility by helping his team in other ways when his shot wasn’t falling. He ran the floor well, moved the ball crisply, and boxed out very well.

Reyshawn Terry
7 Points, 2-7 FG, 1 Assist

-Terry didn’t see a lot of minutes today, but wasn’t his usual self when he was on the floor.
-His shot wasn’t falling today, but that didn’t deter him from using his quick hands to make an impact on the defensive end.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu
10 Points, 13 Rebounds, 3-7 FG

-Mensah-Bonsu went about his business down low today, but didn’t show much that we didn’t already know about him.
-The shots he missed where outside of his typical range, and on one sequence, he airballed a mid to long range shot by a few feet. However, he did hound the glass on both ends, and punished his defender physically throughout the game. His freakish athleticism certainly comes in handy.

Caleb Green
13 Points, 6-6 FG, 3 Steals

-Green really looked good today, making all of his shots by utilizing a handful of crisp moves down low.
-He may not have the most physically skills, but he has a great feel for the game.
-He’s really making the most of his time here so far.

Renaldas Seibutis
6 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists

-Seibutis made some great passes today off of penetration, and was very efficient in limited minutes.
-While he doesn’t have the greatest feel for the game at this point, he has good court awareness and takes advantage of what the defense gives him.

Portland

Greg Oden
13 Points, 4 Blocks, 9 PF

-For the second straight game Oden found himself committing numerous fouls and sitting on the bench more than necessary.
-Unlike last game, Oden appeared a bit frustrated, and didn’t get going offensively until very late in the second half.
-He finished a few dunks when he caught lobs with deep post position, but showed a surprising spin move for an easy slam on his most impressive play of the evening.

LaMarcus Aldridge
16 Points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Blocks

-Aldridge didn’t receive the ball as much as he did last game, but he was almost as impressive.
-His tremendous length makes him an extremely effective rebounder on both ends, and his hands make it easy for him to collect bad passes and loose balls around the paint.
-He possesses solid timing, and showed some good toughness down on the block tonight.
-He’s also a terrific threat to step out from 18 feet and drain a smooth looking jumper.
-When receiving the ball in the post, he showed fantastic footwork and great quickness.

Sergio Rodriguez
14 Points, 8 Rebounds, 5 Assists

-Rodriguez had a tough day from the field, and didn’t find the bottom of the net as often as he probably would have liked.
-He did a surprisingly good job rebounding the ball, but made too many mistakes with the ball in transition.
-He once again ran the point efficiently in the half court, but lost his position battle to Jose Juan Barea who beat him off the dribble a handful of times

Martell Webster
9 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Steals

-Webster’s numbers don’t represent the improvement he showed in his game today.
-His shot wasn’t falling, but he displayed a commitment to running the floor, taking care of the ball, and being a nuisance on the defensive end.

Joel Freeland
6 Points, 3-4 FG, 3 Rebounds

-Freeland showed some signs today offensively, including a nice right handed hook and a near miss on a jump shot from well outside of his normal range.

Taurean Green
5 Points, 1 Steal, 3 Turnovers

-Green gets special mention here for showing great hustle on a handful of occasions. He shows no hesitation when it comes to getting dirty and diving for loose balls.
-Offensively, he’s playing off the ball an awful lot, which obviously doesn’t suit his strengths.

Game Two: Los Angeles Lakers 66, Milwaukee Bucks 64

In the Lakers Summer League debut, Javaris Critentton proved to be the best player on the floor from the minute he was inserted into the game. Not only did this one go down to the wire, but its outcome wasn’t decided until the final second when Crtentton hit a game-winning 19-footer.

Los Angeles

Javaris Critentton
18 Points, 8-13 FG, 4 Rebounds

-Critentton stole the show today as he repetitively juked his defender off the dribble, dunked the ball with a purpose, and knocked down jump shots from all over the floor.
-He hawked the ball well defensively, and used his size to help out on the glass.
-The shot he hit in crunch time shows improved confidence in his still developing jump shot, which will pay dividends for him down the line.
-The Lakers have to be awfully pleased from what they saw from Crittenton today. On the flipside, Jordan Farmar probably isn’t.

Jordan Farmar
5 Points, 7 PF, 6 Turnovers

-Farmar’s game really isn’t suited for this setting, as his court savvy doesn’t mesh as well with a Summer League team as it does with an NBA team.
-He didn’t really do anything to differentiate himself from any of the other players on the floor.

Larry Turner
6 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Turnovers

-Turner looks like an NBA player (he’s built like a pile of bricks), but he doesn’t really play like one--lacking any real feel for the game.
-On one play, Turner missed a short hook by a large margin, but came back by nearly making a rainbow turnaround from 19 feet.

Milwaukee

David Noel
16 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Steals

-Noel had a quality game today, and has clearly put in a lot of work into his training.
-His jump shot looks a lot more consistent than it has been in the past, but his form hasn’t changed.
-He showed an improved handle, and used his strength and athleticism on both ends of the floor. He also pulled up off the dribble nicely on a few occasions.

Lynn Greer
13 Points, 4-15 FG, 4 Assists

-Greer showed nice quickness today, and didn’t have a very hard time getting to the rim.
-In contrast, he struggled to put the ball in the basket, displaying less than ideal timing and touch. The limited playing time he received this past season probably didn’t help him in this regard.

Game Three: Team China 85, Cleveland Cavaliers 84

Despite a subpar performance in the first three quarters by Yi Jianlian, the Chinese managed to pull out their first victory of the Summer League. Shannon Brown came up big for the Cavaliers, but Yi was simply too good from the free throw line down the stretch.

China

Yi Jianlian
20 Points, 14-17 FT, 8 PF

-Yi’s stat line is incredibly misleading, as he really did not play all that well. He did score quite a bit in the fourth quarter, but almost all of those points came off of free throws.
-His jump shot was not falling at all, and he struggled to defend the offensively anemic Dwayne Jones. The only notable shot he hit was the game winner when he Cleveland switched a guard onto him off a pick and roll.
-Yi doesn’t seem to be dealing too well with contact so far.

Cleveland

Daniel Gibson
14 Points, 10-11 FT, 2 Assists

-Gibson didn’t play a whole lot today, but he looked good in the minutes that he did.
-The floater that he developed late in the regular season has carried over into the summer, as he has been going to it frequently.

Shannon Brown
26 Points, 11-16 FG, 3 Assists

-Unlike yesterday, Shannon Brown’s offensive skills looked extremely polished today.
-He had a few explosive moves to the rim for dunks, but looked even better pulling up off the dribble in the paint.
-His shot still lacks range to an extent, but was much smoother today than yesterday.
-Cleveland’s entire offense was revolving around Brown’s ability to create, and he looked more focused on scoring than getting anyone else involved.

Darius Rice
2 Points, 1 Steal, 1 Block

-Rice didn’t look very impressive today after putting up big numbers in his last game.
-His shot wasn’t falling, and he wasn’t versatile enough to compensate for it to any extent.
-Defensively, he was solid but unspectacular. He committed numerous fouls down the stretch and had a hard time handling China’s big men.

Game Four: Denver Nuggets 108, Los Angeles Clippers 104

The Clippers were down big in this one, but almost managed to mount a comeback in the closing minutes. Al Thornton and Paul Davis looked particularly good for the Clippers, while veterans Jelani McCoy and Lamond Murray made an impact for the Nuggets.

Nuggets

Von Wafer
13 Points, 3 Rebounds, 4 Assists

-Wafer didn’t shoot well tonight, but he made up for it by being active and running the floor.
-It appears that the Nuggets really want to see what he can do, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a big game out of the athletic guard in the near future.

Will Blalock
8 Points, 7 Assists, 4 Rebounds

-Blalock gets mentioned here more for the style of play the Nuggets are implementing than the way he has performed.
-The Nuggets are pushing the ball extremely hard, and Blalock helped catalyze their fast break. He appeared to have dished out more assists than he was credited for, and also helped himself by knocking down a jump-shot or two.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili
13 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists

-Tskitishvili doesn’t have a great feel for the game, but was able to showcase the raw skills the he possesses during this game.
-His shot wasn’t falling, but he still managed to score by attacking the offensive boards and running the floor.

Curtis Sumpter
16 Points, 6 Rebounds 2-4 3FG

-Sumpter played very well tonight, and looked very comfortable shooting the ball from NBA three-point range.
-He has the versatility to create his own shot, but needs to hone his mid range game to become a truly effective scorer.

Los Angeles

Guillermo Diaz
15 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists

-Diaz looked good shooting the ball at times tonight, but could stand to add some efficiency.
-His range is solid, but he needs to work on his mid range game to improve his overall effectiveness.

Al Thornton
24 Points, 8 Rebounds, 2 Blocks

-Thornton looked good shooting the ball from the mid range, but struggled to hit from outside the arc.
-He keeps the ball low when attacking off the dribble, which should bode well for him when he starts playing against NBA competition.
-Defensively, Thornton showed his athleticism and timing by climbing the ladder for a couple of impressive blocks
-Thornton’s quickness was unmatched in this setting and he did a great mixing up his drives with his pullup and turnaround jumpers.

Paul Davis
18 Points, 11 Rebounds, 1 Block

-Davis had a great overall game today, and was hitting from the perimeter as well as the post.
-He is much more active than he used to be, and definitely had better court savvy then he possessed as a collegiate.
-His ability to crash the glass was also impressive, as he used his body to get and maintain position down low.

Mohamed Abukar
19 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Assist

-Abukar looked good shooting the ball, but that is to be expected from a player with his skill set.
-In order to get a better read on Abukar’s actual talent level, it is important to review his shooting throughout the Summer League, as he has the potential to experience the same problems as Darius Rice did tonight.