KINGS! Summer League in Vegas! GM 1 7/7/17

[gunks]

I think that maybe Skal's problem (and this has been touched upon by other posters already) is that summer league is generally a free for all for the guards.

He hasn't been playing basketball as long as these other guys (IIRC), so maybe he just felt a bit lost and blitzed and it took him out of his game.

Would like to have seen more boards though. Summer league is full of raw bigs who feast on sloppy guard play with rebounds and put backs. No reason Skal can't do that, he's already done so in the NBA. I think he'll bounce back.

I like that he is already developing chemistry with Fox. But Fox may very well be one of those PGs who has "chemistry" with everyone just by how good he is.

 

[kingjatt]

I don't know what you were watching, but I was really impressed with Chriss in this game. He's got some sloppiness and his enthusiasm still gets the better of him at times but he's best when he plays with a bit of an edge and I didn't see that from him very much during his rookie season. You could point to the shooting percentages and the turnovers and say he was hurting his team but I think he's the guy who willed them to the win. The box score says he had one block but I saw at least 3. More than anything else what separates the great players from the good ones is that the great ones know they're good enough to win and they find a way to make it happen, whether that means forcing shots into the defense and getting to the line (he took 13 foul shots against us), erasing a sure-thing layup with a chase down block, getting in guys faces and letting them know that you won't back down, or all of the above. He was the one guy on that Phoenix squad that brought the energy, intensity, and swagger all game long and there's no better sign of that then the other team's fans taking potshots at him on the message board. But be honest, you would all love him for that if he were on our team. He'll be a fan favorite in Phoenix and also the player most likely to generate "I really don't like that guy" quotes in every opposing team's arena he plays in. Every team needs a guy like that!

I respect your opinion but seeing Chriss live I just dont see the development, he couldnt hit open 3s was still a little confused on offensive and defensive positioning, got his points via chucking IMO and even had his own coaches throwing there hands up in the air with some of the decsions he was making. Booker laughing at his constant dumb fouls. Remember this dude had the most NBA minutes of anyone on the court last night and had guys like the Jacksons, Fox, Mike James even Frank Mason etc making him look like they were seeing the game much faster and better.

I was not really looking at if the shots went in or not because this is a hecktic summer league but just trying to see who looked liked they belonged or had an edge.

Chriss's edge is he will bump you and get in your face if hes frustrated or he may commit a dumb foul hes not capable of using his edge to actually do something productive the way I saw Josh Jackson and Fox do last night. They were both trash talking and backing it up with buckets or steals.

Sure he can be an annoyance and a great fan favorite enthusiastic player I just thank god we didnt spend a #8 pick on him.

Not like who we got is any better, I was a big Chriss guy but im not losing any sleep over passing on him, hes not anything special IMO.

 

[kingdivac]

From the highlights of the Summer League Phoenix game Justin Jackson looked very focused. His defense looked kind of sketchy, and even if he doesn't start, he probably gets the majority of minutes and should to protect Carter from injury. His offense looks very good. Carter is onboard to round off the team and provide leadership, much more so than Randolph whom they'll expect some production out of especially on offense. The Hill/Fox combo will likely be the strength of the team. Cooley probably won't make the team but he looked surprisingly active in his rebounding. It'll be interesting to see how Bogdan fits in - likely 9th or 10th off the bench I'd think at least initially. They probably will start Hill but divide minutes liberally and even give Mason some time - I liked the way Mason moved without the ball. I'm thinking you may see a very wide distribution of minutes. There's no doubt this Kings team will struggle on defense, and will have to work harder as a team to make up for deficiencies. Fox will help with steals, and Temple some on the perimeter, but their interior is in for it. That was the trade-off with leaving Zach Collins, who would've shored up the interior defense greatly. I'm not necessarily second guessing their drafting, but they made their decision for offense rather than defense with the trade down.