Summer League Las Vegas 2016, July 8th -18th

Don't agree at all. So I guess I disagree with all the "likes" of your post as well. All you guys must be "idiots.":p If a guy sucks in the summer league, it's a huge red flag for his NBA potential. Regarding Papa, nobody is making any final conclusion, but they are saying that because of his showing on the floor in summer league, the chances of his success in the NBA goes markedly down. Similarly, with Ingram, I haven't seen him play, but if he played liked Papa, I'd say the same thing: His chances of succeeding in the NBA goes down quite a bit. There are always exceptions to the rule, but it's still a rule: You suck in the summer league, then you're likely to suck in the NBA; if you succeed in the summer league, then you *might* succeed in the NBA.
While I agree with most of your post, you should keep in mind, that this is a 19 year old greek we are talking about. This kid came over to the states a few weeks ago and not only needs to adjust to the quicker, more athletic playstyle after a few practices but needs to sort out his life in the US in general. From my point of view the fundamentals are there - he is big, he is long, he is more coordinated than a lot of players his size, he uses his body and doesn't shy away from contact, he is already a solid rebounder, his defense isn't bad, he can rimrun, his form on his hooks and jumpshots looks fluid, his touch isn't bad, he sets decent screens.
Than he tries to post up and all you can think as a fan is "Oh my...":confused:
But who cares about the post up game of our backup center (or 3rd center) right now? All we need from Papa this season are rimruns, rebounds and defense.
What's beyond this season will be determined by his work ethic and our development staff.
 
Don't agree at all. So I guess I disagree with all the "likes" of your post as well. All you guys must be "idiots.":p If a guy sucks in the summer league, it's a huge red flag for his NBA potential. Regarding Papa, nobody is making any final conclusion, but they are saying that because of his showing on the floor in summer league, the chances of his success in the NBA goes markedly down. Similarly, with Ingram, I haven't seen him play, but if he played liked Papa, I'd say the same thing: His chances of succeeding in the NBA goes down quite a bit. There are always exceptions to the rule, but it's still a rule: You suck in the summer league, then you're likely to suck in the NBA; if you succeed in the summer league, then you *might* succeed in the NBA.
Derrick Rose played horribly in summer league and Michael Beasley tore it up...
 
ICousins is available to play today. Hopefully he's better than the other non-Stockton and Malachi guards! Haha
From what I've seen in Oklahoma, he's a nice guard, but doesn't seem like a PG in the NBA. He has solid handles, but he can't get to the rim. Not a very good playmaker either.

I imagine he'll be better than anyone not named Stockton though lol.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
NOTE: I moved the discussion of today's game (against Atlanta) into its own thread. Apparently, the game is available (streamed) on ESPN3 but is not being televised.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
Derrick Rose played horribly in summer league and Michael Beasley tore it up...
Didn't see them in summer league. And I don't know what you mean by playing horribly, a characterization which could mean he just didn't shoot well. Regardless, assuming you and I agree on what constitutes horrible (see Papa), there are always exceptions to every rule, but the generalization still holds.
 

Capt. Factorial

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum
Staff member
Didn't see them in summer league. And I don't know what you mean by playing horribly, a characterization which could mean he just didn't shoot well. Regardless, assuming you and I agree on what constitutes horrible (see Papa), there are always exceptions to every rule, but the generalization still holds.
And Tim Duncan was awful in Suumer League and Donte Greene and Jimmer tore it up...

Simmons, Ingram, Brown, and Bender, the top four picks in the draft, have all been underwhelming...

On top of that there can always be circumstances that we don't know about. Maybe the coaches are asking a player to work on his left hand. Maybe he's getting used to being in a new country and coming off a minor knee injury.

The point is that it's rarely useful to make definitive judgments based on a player's first 10 NBA games (is Jeremy Lin a superstar???) much less three games in Summer League. Ideally we could all just let this play out without overreacting, but then again, this is the Internet, isn't it?
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
And Tim Duncan was awful in Suumer League and Donte Greene and Jimmer tore it up...

Simmons, Ingram, Brown, and Bender, the top four picks in the draft, have all been underwhelming...

On top of that there can always be circumstances that we don't know about. Maybe the coaches are asking a player to work on his left hand. Maybe he's getting used to being in a new country and coming off a minor knee injury.

The point is that it's rarely useful to make definitive judgments based on a player's first 10 NBA games (is Jeremy Lin a superstar???) much less three games in Summer League. Ideally we could all just let this play out without overreacting, but then again, this is the Internet, isn't it?
I'm still lukewarm on him as a prospect but Jaylen Brown did drop 25 & 9 yesterday.
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
And Tim Duncan was awful in Suumer League and Donte Greene and Jimmer tore it up...

Simmons, Ingram, Brown, and Bender, the top four picks in the draft, have all been underwhelming...

On top of that there can always be circumstances that we don't know about. Maybe the coaches are asking a player to work on his left hand. Maybe he's getting used to being in a new country and coming off a minor knee injury.

The point is that it's rarely useful to make definitive judgments based on a player's first 10 NBA games (is Jeremy Lin a superstar???) much less three games in Summer League. Ideally we could all just let this play out without overreacting, but then again, this is the Internet, isn't it?
Oh, C;mon, Cap. Are you going to try to make it a rule that people can't overreact? That would ruin so much of the fun for me as I read note after note. One of the sentences seemed based on fact. How can you do that? ;)
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
And Tim Duncan was awful in Suumer League and Donte Greene and Jimmer tore it up...

Simmons, Ingram, Brown, and Bender, the top four picks in the draft, have all been underwhelming...

On top of that there can always be circumstances that we don't know about. Maybe the coaches are asking a player to work on his left hand. Maybe he's getting used to being in a new country and coming off a minor knee injury.

The point is that it's rarely useful to make definitive judgments based on a player's first 10 NBA games (is Jeremy Lin a superstar???) much less three games in Summer League. Ideally we could all just let this play out without overreacting, but then again, this is the Internet, isn't it?
Oh, c'mon Cap, are you going to try to make it a rule that people can't overreact? That would spoil my reading enjoyment. Sheeeesh!
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
You can absolutely learn things from summer league play, but its not about the stats. You look for skillsets. See what a guy can and can't do. he may miss his shots, he may be out of shape, whatever. but skills are skills, and if a guy, even once, drops an open court crossover into a spin move while throwing a no look pass to a 3pt shooter in the corner...well he didn't just get lucky. Also a good place to check out relative size and athleticism away from the wearing shoes or not/what league was he in nonsense.

What you can't do is say ooh! ooh! Player A averaged 25 a game, while Player B averaged 12 a game, Player A > Player B!

This summer league has revealed that:

a) Skal flat has skills all across the court. He can shoot threes, he can post up, he can handle the ball. An impressive skillset. You won't know if it will translate, but he's the find here.

b) Malachi is bigger/stronger/longer than you would have expected, and he looks to have real potential defensively (possibly why this regime even took him) and with physicality. He's not just a perimeter shooter. He gets into guys.

c) Big Papa flat lacks 1 on 1 skills right now.

d) WCS is the greyer area, because it was obvious that he was unfocused, uncomfortable in his role, and missed everything as a goto guy. But he made moves that looked coordinated, he just couldn't finish them. That's more than some could do. His fluttering about on defense and the glass would be a larger issue if we hadn't already seen him for a year in the NBA.
 
You can absolutely learn things from summer league play, but its not about the stats. You look for skillsets. See what a guy can and can't do. he may miss his shots, he may be out of shape, whatever. but skills are skills, and if a guy, even once, drops an open court crossover into a spin move while throwing a no look pass to a 3pt shooter in the corner...well he didn't just get lucky. Also a good place to check out relative size and athleticism away from the wearing shoes or not/what league was he in nonsense.

What you can't do is say ooh! ooh! Player A averaged 25 a game, while Player B averaged 12 a game, Player A > Player B!

This summer league has revealed that:

a) Skal flat has skills all across the court. He can shoot threes, he can post up, he can handle the ball. An impressive skillset. You won't know if it will translate, but he's the find here.

b) Malachi is bigger/stronger/longer than you would have expected, and he looks to have real potential defensively (possibly why this regime even took him) and with physicality. He's not just a perimeter shooter. He gets into guys.

c) Big Papa flat lacks 1 on 1 skills right now.

d) WCS is the greyer area, because it was obvious that he was unfocused, uncomfortable in his role, and missed everything as a goto guy. But he made moves that looked coordinated, he just couldn't finish them. That's more than some could do. His fluttering about on defense and the glass would be a larger issue if we hadn't already seen him for a year in the NBA.
A) agreed
B) agreed
C) agreed
D) agreed whole heartedly

Would add to A that Skaletor (yes I am giving him a nickname from He-Man's Skeletor) showed a surprising nose on the glass as well as defensively altering shots. He got some good tips off the glass, some strong boards in traffic, and knew how to go straight up against driving players as to not draw a foul.

Incidentally, I am taking full credit for Skaletor.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
A) agreed
B) agreed
C) agreed
D) agreed whole heartedly

Would add to A that Skaletor (yes I am giving him a nickname from He-Man's Skeletor) showed a surprising nose on the glass as well as defensively altering shots. He got some good tips off the glass, some strong boards in traffic, and knew how to go straight up against driving players as to not draw a foul.

Incidentally, I am taking full credit for Skaletor.