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Post by Jeremiah Hill on Jul 19, 2014 16:11:46 GMT
First thing first I'm the realest. Secondly I know anything that happens in summer league can be taken with a grain of salt. This is for fun.
1. Charlotte Hornets - Andrew Wiggins: Wiggins has been very surprising as I kind of underrated him a bit. It's clear his athleticism allows him to do things that most players cannot. If he can refine that, he'll be a very scary player for Charlotte. His handle still needs some work but is a lot further along than I was anticipating. Also he can't shoot the 3 at all right now. He's averaging 15.5 PPG on 40% shooting while putting a killer step back on display and having some really jaw dropping defensive plays as well.
2. Utah Jazz (via HOU) - Jabari Parker: Looking a bit more athletic than I thought he would. They had to hide him on Andrew Wiggins on defense when they played the Cavs which I thought was funny and a look at things to come. Other than that he's averaging more or less the same as Wiggins offensively posting 15.6 on 41% shooting while also displaying some nifty passing that I didn't know he was capable of.
3. Boston Celtics (via ORL) - Joel Embiid: DNP - Depression over LBJ not choosing the 76ers. 4. Boston Celtics - Dante Exum: Dante Exum has impressed me the most out of any player in summer league thus far, he's got really bad averages 2.8 assists and 7.2 poings (Aussie Points) on 30%. One thing is clear from watching him, he ALWAYS makes the right pass and Trey Burke and Dante Exum are NOT going to work. Trey Burke will pass up a wide open cutter to brick a 3 in a way that reminded me of a more selfish version of Kyrie Irving. That cutter was Exum and it would have been an awesome dunk. Guys missed wide open looks that Exum got them on a silver platter he should have been averaging 5 apg. 5. Memphis Grizzlies (via NOP) - Marcus Smart: Marcus Smart showed me one thing with his 14.8 ppg on 29% shooting is that he's got quite a bit of developing to do on the shooting side of the ball but he did show potential with a great 4-9 day from behind the arc. He did however show good passing and rebounding 4.2 rpg and 4.2 apg with only 1.8 turnovers which is really nice. He got to the line quite a bit as well averaging 6 FTs per game and also played suffocating defense ruining the day of every player that was match up against him ending up in the top 10 in Orlando summer league with 2 steals per game.
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Post by Jeremiah Hill on Jul 19, 2014 16:38:17 GMT
6. Houston Rockets (via MEM) - Julius Randle: 12.5 points on 42% shooting so far. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't watched him once but there is another guy down this list that I compared Randle to that is doing WAY better. In Randle's defense he's coming off an injury and I have word from someone who's been watching him that his handle doesn't just allow him to go left like everyone claimed. 7. Denver Nuggets (via SAS) - Noah Vonleh: No pick has struggled quite as much as Vonleh, 8 points on 27% shooting is ridiculously bad for a big man. He was one of the younger guys in the draft and was clearly a project coming in but I don't think any of us (even the ones that didn't like him) thought he would struggle this much. He's showed an ability to get to the line and also some of that great rebounding ability with 8.8 rpg so far. He's also had some decent games blocking shots. He still reminds me of Tristan Thompson for some reason.
8. New York Knicks (via UTA) - Aaron Gordon: Coming in second of top 10 guys that are struggling Gordon flashed all of nothing that was expected of him except for maybe 1 sweet block and another dunk. He showed some further along handle and passing ability than was expected but that was about it. He didn't register a single steal for someone who was supposed to come in and be Shawn Marion jr. that's a problem. He's the guy I really liked but I would have been too scared to draft even if my guys weren't there.
9. Atlanta Hawks - Elfrid Payton: Payton is a guy that seemed to be struggling early on but ended up proving he could get to the rim and pass. He averaged 9.2 ppg on 59% shooting, got to the line consistently and played within himself. He averaged 7 assists leading Orlando Summer League but also posted 4 turnovers a game which is not good. He turned it around from the first game I watched of him where he really stunk it up.
10. Houston Rockets (via NYK) - TJ Warren: Everyone who passed on TJ Warren is reminding themselves that "summer league doesn't mean anything" even though we've seen guys get hot from 3 make a roster then fizzle out. But this is different, he's averaging 17 ppg inside the arc which isn't exactly common. His lack of assists are worrying but this guy is looking like a great player.
I'll do more later.
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Post by Ian Noble on Jul 19, 2014 17:15:11 GMT
Nice work Jeremiah! I agree with you about Exum. I was high on him, but I'm even higher now I've seen him play for the first time in 10 months. I just hope it carries through to the regular season and the Jazz give him playing time.
Agree with your call on Gordon too. The real-life Magic picked the two guys I thought were both overrated this year, although Payton's doing ok.
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Post by Jeremiah Hill on Jul 19, 2014 17:39:07 GMT
Payton had a lot to prove by mostly getting his points in college by dominating weak competition in transition. His FG% inside the arc and not settling for jumpers (a big weakness) showed me a heady player. He was also flirting with triple doubles towards the end there. I'm sort of regretting my Ennis ranking.
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Post by Charles Barkley on Jul 19, 2014 21:01:55 GMT
6. Houston Rockets (via MEM) - Julius Randle: 12.5 points on 42% shooting so far. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't watched him once but there is another guy down this list that I compared Randle to that is doing WAY better. In Randle's defense he's coming off an injury and I have word from someone who's been watching him that his handle doesn't just allow him to go left like everyone claimed. Hes not coming off an injury, don't know where you get your info from but you should check your sources.
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Post by Charles Barkley on Jul 19, 2014 21:10:56 GMT
just hope it carries through to the regular season and the Jazz give him playing time. Why wouldn't the Jazz give him playing time? I mean, its not like Utah went and signed 2 guys that play the same position and successfully placed an amnesty waiver claim on another....
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Post by Jeremiah Hill on Jul 19, 2014 21:21:51 GMT
Didn't Randle hurt his foot or something?
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Post by Charles Barkley on Jul 19, 2014 23:26:02 GMT
Didn't Randle hurt his foot or something? Nope. He broke it in highschool and had a screw put in, I believe. And there were some questions raised in his personal workouts or combine. He missed the first game because he flew into LA, then flew out to Indiana to meet with a specialist to just get a double check (I believed the Lakers got the go ahead from team doctors before the draft, as did all the other teams, but wanted a the world renowned doctor in Indy to check him out), flew back to LA for 1 workout, then was off to Vegas. So I assume he sat out because of the jet lag and all. But he wasn't signed, even though he could still play like Wiggins has. And Randle wasn't signed because it gave the Lakers an extra 500k bc of the rookie contract against the books is at the 80% figure until signed, vs the 120% figure which is what he would have signed for.
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Post by Jeremiah Hill on Jul 19, 2014 23:49:25 GMT
Oh, well then switch his excuse to a bullshit amount of Jet lag.
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Glenn Robinson
Milwaukee Bucks
Starter
Posts: 1,226
Mar 2, 2024 5:20:47 GMT
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Post by Glenn Robinson on Jul 20, 2014 3:53:31 GMT
A note on the Jabari analysis. They weren't really hiding him from Wiggins. Parker is going to be playing the 4 on the Bucks. It was about him getting to work on defending other 4's. On the other side I assume they had Wiggins on Parker because Parker is the best offensive player on the floor and Wiggins the best defensive.
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Post by Jeremiah Hill on Jul 20, 2014 4:33:45 GMT
A note on the Jabari analysis. They weren't really hiding him from Wiggins. Parker is going to be playing the 4 on the Bucks. It was about him getting to work on defending other 4's. On the other side I assume they had Wiggins on Parker because Parker is the best offensive player on the floor and Wiggins the best defensive. I'm saying that during the first half they anticipated Wiggins struggling on offense and they had Parker guard Wiggins because they expected Wiggins to kind of suck on offense. They were hiding Jabari from Bennett.
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Post by Charles Barkley on Jul 20, 2014 6:11:52 GMT
A note on the Jabari analysis. They weren't really hiding him from Wiggins. Parker is going to be playing the 4 on the Bucks. It was about him getting to work on defending other 4's. On the other side I assume they had Wiggins on Parker because Parker is the best offensive player on the floor and Wiggins the best defensive. I'm saying that during the first half they anticipated Wiggins struggling on offense and they had Parker guard Wiggins because they expected Wiggins to kind of suck on offense. They were hiding Jabari from Bennett. That wasn't the case though, I clearly remember Bennett hitting a 3 in Parker's eye. But then again, there's a chance I am going bat shit crazy, or a switch on a ball screen.
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Post by Jeremiah Hill on Jul 20, 2014 13:49:55 GMT
Although I will also be the first to admit how grainy my online stream of that Mil game was.
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