SB Nation - Darrell Armstrong

Orlando Magic News for December 1st: Featuring Throwback Uniforms, Stan Van Gundy, Van Gundy's Whiteboard, and More

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:16 -0000

Photo is courtesy of the Orlando Magic.

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The Orlando Magic will wear their classic black, pinstriped, throwback uniforms 10 times this year as part of the NBA's Hardwood Classics program. Below are the dates on which they'll wear those uniforms:
- Wednesday, December 2 vs. New York Knicks – 70s Night
- Thursday, December 17 at Miami Heat
- Thursday, January 28 vs. Boston Celtics – 80s Night
- Sunday, January 31 at Detroit Pistons
- Sunday, February 7 at Boston Celtics
- Wednesday, February 10 at Chicago Bulls
- Thursday, February 11 at Cleveland Cavaliers
- Friday, February 19 vs. Dallas Mavericks – Honoring Darrell Armstrong
- Thursday, March 11 vs. Chicago Bulls – 90s Night
- Saturday, March 13 at Washington Wizards
The press release mentions that the uniforms will be available for purchase at www.orlandomagicshop.com.

Also, how excited are you for that game against Dallas? The ovation for Darrell Armstrong could be the loudest in Amway Arena history, and I mean that.
As Eddy posted earlier, the NBA named Magic coach Stan Van Gundy the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for November. Congratulations to him.
Game Notes: Magic at Knicks
I neglected to post this link to Jake Appleman's and Russ Bengston's collaborative game notes from Sunday's Magic/Knicks tilt yesterday, so here it is today. They're impressed with Van Gundy's whiteboard usage, among other things.

I’d seen the beauty and complexity of the Van Gundy dry-erase board before—in fact, the last time I saw it I believe it was still being written—but never before had I taken such a close look. Three colors—black, blue and red—and two sections atop one another—offense and defense—surrounded by carefully diagrammed plays. Taking in the thoroughness of it all, I can’t help but think Van Gundy would notice at a glance if a single word, maybe even a single letter, was changed. The temptation is almost too much. Instead, I simply revel in the context-free phraseology: "Lock & Trail on Singles & Staggers," "Play Dribble H.O.’s the Same," "Expect The Slip," "Late Show & Get Back" and wonder aloud whether erasing random words and phrases would produce a kind of Naismithian poetry.

There's no hyperbole in that account. I've seen SVG's whiteboard before, and it is indeed as immaculate as Appleman and Bengston make it sound.
Courtney Lee Has Been Better As A Net
Sebastian Pruiti Nets Are Scorching says former Magic guard Courtney Lee has improved since Orlando shipped him to New Jersey in the trade that netted it Ryan Anderson and Vince Carter.

When watching Courtney Lee, you can tell that he is a smart player, who knows what he is doing out there, and when he is out there, he does show a lot of poise. All of that is reflected in the numbers. It is crazy to think about it, but Courtney Lee’s PER is higher this year in New Jersey than it was in Orlando. It has increased from 10.04 last year to 12.01 this year. Granted, this is still below average (average PER is 15), but I like to think the numbers I have highlighted above show the well-roundedness of Courtney’s game and I think as the shooting percentage starts to take its natural course and increase, you should see this number go up even more.

I'll add that Anderson's PER has increased from 13.6 last year to 20.6--second on the team only to All-Star center Dwight Howard--this year.
Tune in to Fox Sports Florida after tomorrow night's game against the Knicks for the debut of Inside the Magic: Mickael Pietrus:
This edition of "Inside the Magic" joins Mickael Pietrus as he returns to his home island of Guadeloupe.
- Mickael takes viewers to the recreation center where his dream of becoming an NBA player all began. He fell in love with basketball after watching Michael Jordan play on television. He also talks about how he turned the tragedy of losing his mother at the age of nine into motivation to accomplish his dream.
- Mickael also chats about his return trips to Guadelupe each year to hold a week long basketball camp. He talks about how he enjoys the opportunity to teach the game that he loves, and to give other children the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.
- As viewers will see, the trip home wasn’t all work, as Mickael takes time to enjoy himself as he goes boating, fishing, repelling, and takes a tour with the winners of the Discover Guadeloupe Islands with Mickael Pietrus.

Tuesday Morning Links

Wes Cox — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:46:30 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

Obviously the site received a face-lift this morning.... thoughts?

Challenges coming fast for Dallas Mavericks' Jason Kidd | Eddie Sefko
"For J-Kidd, the one thing I love about these two games is that he'll take the personal challenge," assistant coach Darrell Armstrong said Monday. "He looks forward to it. They're probably the two top point guards in the league – after J-Kidd. I guarantee you he's looking forward to that challenge."
"That's as tough as it comes, those two guys," Ross said. "They're two All-Stars and it's going to be tough. They got young legs. But Jason knows how to guard. He'll do fine."

Back to Basics | Salt Lake Tribune
Having gone a disastrous 3-18 in the second game of back-to-back sets last season, the Jazz will get their first chance to make amends beginning tonight at Dallas. The Jazz gave up an average of 109.1 points in those 21 games last season

DB.com talks Erick Dampier
"Drew's a good guy, and a good player," Damp tells me. "He's learning what we need him to do, and he's going to be an asset to this team. But I have confidence in what I contribute. There's a good reason for me to be in there (starting)."

Drew Gooden is quickly establishing himself as the dumbest Mav - on and off the court. He's doubtful for tonight's game.
'Gooden did not play in the game and was dressed in street clothes behind the bench. According to Outsports.com, a Web site devoted to gay issues in sports, Gooden yelled a homophobic slur at a pair of fans seated near the Mavericks' bench. Gooden yelled the slur at actor Chris Wylde, who is not gay and was attending the game with a friend, the Web site reported. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban would not comment, but according to the Web site, he told Wylde in an e-mail that the team would deal with Gooden internally.'
UPDATE: A "mavericks source" has told the DMN that Gooden didn't say anything, but that someone with Gooden did.

Friday Link Roundup

Wes Cox — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:31:00 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Browse more photos »

Eddie Sefko anwers the first mailbag questions of the season.
What the Mavericks' terrible season opener did was give us hints about what this team is going to have to overcome. Mostly, they cannot rely on their shooting. And they cannot get by without a supreme effort every night. Such teams as Boston, the Lakers, Orlando and San Antonio know that you can't mail it in more than a handful of times each season, because those are going to be losses.

Dallas Mavericks face tough LA-LA weekend | Eddie Sefko
The Mavericks will rotate players on Bryant tonight, and Carlisle said it's a good bet that Quinton Ross will see a lot of time on the Lakers' star. "We're going to have to play good individual defense on him and have help ready to come," Carlisle said. "You want to take away the good, clean, wide-open looks. You got to try to put him under some duress. You don't want him to beat you single-handedly. He's as good as any player we have in the game."

Lakers' Pau Gasol to miss Friday's game | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times
Lakers forward Pau Gasol missed practice again today because of his strained right hamstring and the team said that Gasol also will not play in Friday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center.

DB.com's Morning Donuts
Again, if the Mavs start 0-2 this year, that'll be five straight seasons in which they�ve stumbled out of the gate. That no doubt bears examination. But not over-examination. Some of us sound like teenage girls in 1964 fainting over The Beatles. Starting 0-2 isn't the equivalent of seeing The Beatles. It's more like seeing The Monkees. So quit fainting over seeing The Monkees, OK?

Fisher has a must read story from yesterday's practice. See what I mean...
Assistant coach Darrell Armstrong was rooting on Dirk, and while the 7-footer was in the middle of setting up shots, he’d yell back, "You tell ‘em, ‘Black College!’

A Second Opinion On Scott Skiles

erivera7 — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:29:29 -0000

Photo is courtesy of the Orlando Magic.

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A little over a week ago, to recap my 'retired jerseys' mini-series, I decided to utilize Benjamin Golliver's jersey retirement formula to figure out how each former Orlando Magic individual fared in the calculations. Since Scott Skiles was examined by request of the community, he wasn't included in the fun, until now. It would seem fitting to crunch the numbers and see how he would fare in a "test of worthiness."

So, without further ado ..

Click after the jump for the results.

Introduction:

The majority of the calculations are no-brainers but in cases where awarding points isn't clear, I attached notes to explain my reasoning. If you're antsy or impatient [!!], feel free to skip to the bottom to see the point totals.

Criterion One: Connection with the Franchise

Ben explains:
To determine how closely a player is connected with a franchise, one generally assesses 4 conditions:
1. Did the player play his most important years with the team?
2. Did the player play the majority of his career with the team?
3. Was the player drafted by the team?
4. Did the player retire with the team?
Skiles - 3 points (meets conditions #1, #2, and #3)

Notes: Even though Skiles was technically drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1986 NBA Draft, he was still an original member of the Orlando Magic via the 1989 Expansion Draft.
Criterion Two: Success with the Franchise

From Ben:

Judging a player's relative success across generations can be tricky, but its clear two factors are important to consider: the maximum success his team's enjoyed and his role in creating that success.

Ask yourself, "Can the story of the franchise's glory days be told without mentioning this player?"

To weigh both the team's success and the player's role in that sucess, I gave 5 points to a star on a championship team, 5 points to a starter on championship team, 5 points to a star on a finalist team, 4 points to a role player on a finalist team and 4 points to a starter on a finalist team.

Skiles - 2 points (courtesy)

Notes: Scott didn't meet any of the requirements, so he was given 2 courtesy points for bridging the gap between the start of the franchise and the Penny/Shaq era, where he played an important role in doing so.
Criterion Three: Statistical Body of Work

Golliver:

Ask yourself, "How dominant (and for how long) was this player?"

In assigning the points in this category, I took into account: league-leading tallies, franchise/league records, double-doubles, 10+ year careers, and anything else that truly jumps out of the box score/ stat sheet.

Skiles - 3 points

Notes: Similar to how I deciphered how many points Darrell Armstrong deserved, I gave a similar point total to Skiles due to the fact he had similar statistical accomplishments to Armstrong. Scott had yearly leader board appearances in free throw percentage, and periodically, in three point percentage, assists per game, assists percentage, & total assists. Because Armstrong didn't have any franchise records, but Skiles did (and an NBA record), that is the reason why I awarded the latter with an additional .5 point.
Criterion Four: Individual Awards

Golliver:

Ask, "What are the standout individual achievements on this player's resume and how do they compare to other franchise greats?"

Skiles - 3 points

Notes: Scott received 1 point for winning the 1991 Most Improved Player Award, and received 2 points for setting the NBA record (which still stands, today) by getting 30 assists in one game against the Denver Nuggets during the 1990-1991 regular season. A special accomplishment deserves such recognition.
Criterion Five: The Intangibles

Golliver:

This section takes into account the player's personality, contributions to the community and investment in the organization.

Ask yourself, "Is the player a credit to the organization, the city and the league?"

[....]

While this category is certainly subjective, it is only 20% of the overall picture so haggling over a point up or down should not make or break a candidate's application.

Skiles - 5 points

Notes: Skiles was an original member of the Orlando Magic, a fan favorite, a local legend, and more. Scott left the organization with no negative feelings or sentiments, and was justly honored by the team in 2006 with a night remembering his accomplishments as a former player of the franchise. Skiles hasn't been able to do much within the Central Florida community, but that is due to the fact he is currently a head coach in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks (ironically, the team that originally drafted him).

Conclusion:

Scott Skiles - 16 points

Notes: Cutoff for "eligibility" is in the 15-17 range on the scale.

To putt Scott Skiles' number in perspective, conducting the same test, Darrell Armstrong was alloted 15 points. There's almost no argument that Armstrong was a better player than Skiles with the Magic, but the main reason why Scott ended up with an additional point was due to one thing and one thing only - his 30 assists game, which remains a franchise record AND NBA record. That accomplishment, alone, garnered Skiles more points, subsequently tipping the scale in his favor. In the end, the difference in point totals is minute, but it's worth discussing why the difference.

In the end, Scott is like Darrell, a "fringe" candidate to have his jersey retired by Orlando.

Orlando Magic & Retired Jerseys: Scott Skiles, Part V

erivera7 — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:13:49 -0000

Photo is courtesy of the Orlando Magic.

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Requested by the community.

Scott Skiles, as described by Shaq:

Scotty Skiles, then the team's starting point guard [...], was a leader.

Before there was a player that performed with heart and hustle, another individual embraced a gritty and gutty style of play.

For local fans, Scott is fondly remembered for being around during the birth of the franchise and the growth of the franchise. Skiles has the rare honor of being drafted twice, first by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1986 NBA Draft and second by the Orlando Magic in the 1989 Expansion Draft. Although Scott didn't accomplish much with the former organization, he did accomplish much with the latter organization.

It took a year with the Magic for Skiles to get his feet wet and make an impact with the team. At the beginning of his first season with Orlando, Scott was a bench player that didn't see much time on the court - 14 minutes here, 10 minutes there, etc. Sam Vincent, coincidentally Scott's teammate at Michigan State, was the starting point guard for the Magic for roughly half of the year (45 games, to be exact).

However, Skiles showed the ability to be a deft passer, even in limited minutes. There would be plenty of games early in the regular season where Scott would have 7-8 assists in roughly 20-25 minutes a game, more or less. Somewhat of a side note but certainly relevant within the post, Skiles is a perfect case for per minute statistics being relatively the same no matter how many minutes are played.

Look at the numbers.

Moving on.

As the year went along late in 1989 and early in 1990, Scott began to see more and more minutes, which meant he was able to accumulate more and more assists. Points too, but Skiles was always known more for his passing than his scoring. Finally, near the end of his first year with Orlando, Scott became the starting point guard - a position he didn't give up until Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway was around.

The next season, of course, Skiles famously made NBA history. In a game against the Denver Nuggets late in the month of December in 1990, Scott had thirty assists:

With about seven minutes remaining, I threw an alley-oop pass to Reynolds, who scored. It was my 29th assist, tying me with Porter. Coach Matt Guokas called me over and said that if I got one more assist, he would take me out, because we were winning big.

It was announced that I had tied the record, which put some pressure on me to break it. I made a few passes that could have earned assists, but either the shots were missed or one of my teammates would dribble the ball toward the basket before shooting, negating a potential assist.

Time was running out, and my total was still 29. Finally, with 19.6 seconds left, Reynolds scored on a 20-foot jumper off one of my feeds, and I had the record. I was very happy, and the crowd was yelling and cheering loudly for me.

Aside from setting a league record (which still stands, to this day), Skiles had a good year in 1991 - he achieved career-highs in points (17.2) & assists (8.4) and was named the NBA's Most Improved Player. It was the first time a Magic player was bestowed with the award (wouldn't be the last time, either). During that season, Scott was arguably the team's best and most visible player. However, that changed quickly when current players progressed (like Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott) and new players arrived (like Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway).

After the jump, a look at Skiles' remaining years with the Magic.

Although Scott was blossoming as a player, Orlando was struggling to compete as a team. In Skiles' first three seasons with the team, the Magic won 18 games, 31 games, and 21 games, respectively. However, with misfortune (losing season after season) came fortune (winning the 1992 NBA Draft lottery) and with the addition of Shaq, came success. For Scott, he helped usher in a new era for the franchise.

In Skiles' first year with O'Neal, he was able to achieve new career-highs in field goal percentage (46.7%) and assists (9.4). Seems rather logical, really - with Shaq's presence, it's no surprise that Scott's shooting and passing improved. It helped to have a big man that could draw attention and that could score at will. Granted, it also benefitted that Skiles played the most minutes in his career in 1993 (39.6) than in 1992 (31.7), but still. O'Neal's presence had an effect, and that's all that matters.

Scott's role with the team remain unchanged with Shaq's arrival in 1993, but the same wouldn't be the case with Penny's arrival in 1994. With Hardaway on board, it was clear that Skiles' days with the Magic were numbered. Orlando had drafted Penny with the full intention of making him the point guard of the future, but the team needed Scott to groom the rookie before making a permanent switch. As such, Skiles mentored Hardaway for the first half of the 1993-1994 regular season. After that, Scott returned to the bench, Penny started at the point, and that was that.

Once the year was over, Skiles was traded to the Washington Bullets and in 1996, he retired.

Scott will probably never be remembered for any team success with Orlando, because quite frankly, there wasn't much of it during his tenure (no playoff wins). But Skiles surely will be recognized for helping the Magic transition to the Penny and Shaq era. Scott Skiles was a key stepping stone-type player for the city and for the Orlando Magic.

That's something fans won't forget.

Beginning:

Credit goes to Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference for the statistical plus/minus data.

Historically, Scott Skiles was a more efficient player than Nick Anderson and Darrell Armstrong, when looking at the stats. During his five-year tenure with the Orlando, Skiles posted Offensive Ratings of 112, 114, 106, 115, and 111 - all numbers except for the median were above-average compared to the rest of the NBA. What fueled Scott's efficiency? Good three point shooting and excellent free throw shooting, for the most part.

Although Skiles was never known as a star of any sort, his numbers do compare somewhat favorably to other players in the NBA that have had their jerseys retired. This is not to suggest Skiles should be honored by getting his numbers hanging in the rafters, but at the very least, he warrants being considered because he experienced the best years of his career with the Magic. For a person and player like Scott, it seems only fair and just.

Middle:

Skiles hasn't been able to do much in the Central Florida community, but that's by no means a slight on the city. Scott has just been a little busy coaching, mostly in the NBA, which he's been doing since he retired as a player in 1996. The Orlando Magic thought enough of Skiles that the organization honored him in 2006 with a tribute to his time spent with the team. Although Scott was unable to attend the proceedings, he was more than grateful for being recognized by the franchise.

"It’s not that I’m not grateful but I have a game that night," Skiles said. "It’s a little different than say me flying into (his alma mater) Michigan State to be honored for something. I have a game that looks like right now that we’re going to need to win (to qualify for the playoffs)."

End:

- People have wondered whether or not a player in today's NBA has a chance to break Skiles' single-game assist record; one thing is for sure, it'll be tough. What aided Scott in his ability to snag 30 assists against the Denver Nuggets in late 1990 was the the fact that the Nuggets a.) played absolutely no defense (last in the Association in defensive efficiency; surrendered 114.7 points per 100 possessions) and b.) played at a ridiculously fast pace (first in the Association in pace; totaled 113.7 possessions per 48 minutes). To put the latter number in perspective, last season the Golden State Warriors led the NBA in pace with 98.2 possessions per 48 minutes. Even the Phoenix Suns, during Mike D'Antoni's 'Seven Seconds or Less' era, didn't play at that frenetic of a tempo. Scott Skiles had a perfect storm scenario against Denver in a league that played at a much faster pace back then.

- Skiles was remembered, historically, for his point guard play but when looking at the numbers, did you know that Scott finished in the top ten in different assist categories (assists per game, assist percentage, and total assists) just twice in his career? People may have guessed it'd be more, but that's not the case. The reason for that is due to a factor that has been already mentioned; the Association played at a much faster back back then, which increased assist totals across the board. The average pace factor in 1991 was 97.8 possessions. The average pace factor in 2009 was 91.7 possessions. Big difference. If Skiles averaged 7.3 assists per game and had a 34.4 AST% like he did in 1992, he'd be in the top ten for each category in today's NBA somewhat easily. However, that wouldn't be the case in Scott's era (and wasn't).

Awards:

1991 Most Improved Player

Franchise Records:

Assists (2,776)

Assists per game (7.6)

Most assists made in one game (30)

NBA Records:

Most assists made in one game (30)

Poll

Does Scott Skiles deserve to have his jersey retired by the Orlando Magic?

Yes

112 votes

No

95 votes

207 votes | Poll has closed

Orlando Magic & Retired Jerseys: Recap

erivera7 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:57:03 -0000

Photo is courtesy of the Orlando Magic.

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For roughly a week's worth of time, I analyzed the worthiness of four former Orlando Magic players to see if one of them deserved to have their jersey retired. I examined their impact on the court and off the court to decipher whether or not there was an individual that possessed the "complete" package to be honored - a.) having comparable numbers to other players in the NBA that have their numbers hanging in the rafters and b.) having impacts in the Central Florida community.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

To supplement the posts, I included polls to figure out what people thought of each individual.

Here are the results, so far:

It's clear, when looking at the poll figures, that fans believe Nick Anderson is a former Magic player that most deserves to have his jersey retired by Orlando.

No surprise.

Darrell Armstrong received slightly favorable support, Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway was in the middle of the pack, and Shaquille O'Neal received heavily unfavorable support. None of these results should be too surprising for those that follow the Magic, given that they fall in line with the feelings and perceptions of each player.

I wanted to conduct one last exercise in this mini-series before concluding things, and that was to utilize Benjamin Golliver's jersey retirement formula from Blazersedge & figure out how each former Orlando individual fared in the calculations.

Ben performed a number-crunch for Nick Anderson so I went ahead and tallied up the data for Darrell Armstrong, Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway, and Shaquille O'Neal.

Click after the jump for the results.

Introduction:

Criterion One: Connection with the Franchise

Ben explains:
To determine how closely a player is connected with a franchise, one generally assesses 4 conditions:
1. Did the player play his most important years with the team?
2. Did the player play the majority of his career with the team?
3. Was the player drafted by the team?
4. Did the player retire with the team?
Armstrong - 3.5 points (meets conditions #1, #2, and #3 [sort of])
Hardaway - 4 points (meets conditions #1, #2, and #3)
O'Neal - 2 points (meets conditions #3)

Notes: Even though Armstrong wasn't drafted by the Orlando Magic, he still did begin his career with the team as an undrafted free-agent. As for Penny, he was with the squad for six full seasons and was with the Phoenix Suns for five & a half full seasons (traded mid-season to the New York Knicks in 2003-2004).
Criterion Two: Success with the Franchise

From Ben:

Judging a player's relative success across generations can be tricky, but its clear two factors are important to consider: the maximum success his team's enjoyed and his role in creating that success.

Ask yourself, "Can the story of the franchise's glory days be told without mentioning this player?"

To weigh both the team's success and the player's role in that sucess, I gave 5 points to a star on a championship team, 5 points to a starter on championship team, 5 points to a star on a finalist team, 4 points to a role player on a finalist team and 4 points to a starter on a finalist team.

Armstrong - 2 points (courtesy)
Hardaway - 5 points (star on 1995 NBA Finals team)
O'Neal - 5 points (star on 1995 NBA Finals team)

Notes: Darrell didn't meet any of the requirements (side note: technically, he was on the roster of the 1995 NBA Finals team), so he was given 2 courtesy points for being the face of the "Heart and Hustle" era.
Criterion Three: Statistical Body of Work

Golliver:

Ask yourself, "How dominant (and for how long) was this player?"

In assigning the points in this category, I took into account: league-leading tallies, franchise/league records, double-doubles, 10+ year careers, and anything else that truly jumps out of the box score/ stat sheet.

Armstrong - 2.5 points
Hardaway - 5 points
O'Neal - 5 points

Notes: Darrell's numbers with the Magic were comparable to Nick's numbers (not aggregate, but per minute), but he did not possess any franchise-records. However, Armstrong was among the league-leaders in free throw percentage and steals percentage during his prime. In total, Darrell Armstrong matched Nick Anderson in some ways, but not in others. Ben gave 3.5 points to Nick; I gave 2.5 points to Darrell.
Criterion Four: Individual Awards

Golliver:

Ask, "What are the standout individual achievements on this player's resume and how do they compare to other franchise greats?"

Armstrong - 2 points (1999 Most Improved Player Award, 1999 Sixth Man Award)
Hardaway - 5 points (click here for list)
O'Neal - 5 points (click here for list)

Notes: N/A
Criterion Five: The Intangibles

Golliver:

This section takes into account the player's personality, contributions to the community and investment in the organization.

Ask yourself, "Is the player a credit to the organization, the city and the league?"

[....]

While this category is certainly subjective, it is only 20% of the overall picture so haggling over a point up or down should not make or break a candidate's application.

Armstrong - 5 points
Hardaway - 2 points
O'Neal - 1 point

Notes: Hardaway and O'Neal were certainly local legends, fan favorites, and playoff heros during their time with Orlando, but their amiable departures penalize both players. Armstrong possesses as much intangibles, if not more, than either Penny and Shaq had, but without the negative sentiments attached.

Likewise, Darrell gets rewarded for becoming a coach in the NBA.

Conclusion:

Darrell Armstrong - 15 points

Penny 'Anfernee' Hardaway - 21 points

Shaquille O'Neal - 18 points

Notes: Cutoff for "eligibility" is in the 15-17 range on the scale.

The total points awarded to each individual pass the eye test.

Even though Penny did leave Orlando on shaky ground, the amount of collateral damage he caused doesn't quite compare to Shaq's handiwork. As for Darrell, his intangibles, which were excellent, make up for his numbers, which were good but not great. It can be argued that Armstrong is, at best, a "fringe" candidate to have his jersey retired by the Orlando Magic. As for Hardaway and O'Neal, it'd be a no-brainer to honor both players by hanging their numbers in the arena rafters if it wasn't for the fact that both players burned bridges on their way out of the City Beautiful.

Between the two, Penny probably has the better chance of possibly getting his number retired since he hasn't - ahem - said almost anything derogatory or negative towards Orlando since he was traded four scores and seven years ago 10 years ago. Heck, former Magic rookie Courtney Lee even went out of his way to honor Hardaway by donning Air Penny's during the 2009 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. That should count for something, right?

"So you're telling me there's a chance."

Yes, Penny.

A Second Opinion on Nick Anderson

Ben Q Rock — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:00:11 -0000

Earlier today, Eddy gave you his take on the possibility of the Orlando Magic retiring Nick Anderson's uniform number. He laid out the facts with a little help from Jon Nichols and Neil Paine. Now, using a slightly different approach, I'll take on the same subject.

Before we continue, a confession. Nick Anderson is absolutely one of my favorite Magic players, ever. A poster depicting him dunking adorned my wall as an eight-year-old, alongside one of Penny Hardaway, but I always liked Nick just a bit more. Although I'd like to keep sentiment outside this evaluation, it might find ways to creep in. And ultimately, would that be so bad? Jersey retirements are, by nature, sentimental events.

I'll have help in this process, as Eddy had in his. I've shamelessly lifted the "jersey retirement formula" Ben Golliver of Blazersedge devised over a year ago, which Eddy too has mentioned. But as Ben explains in the post, the "formula" uses only addition, and is wholly uncomplicated. Golliver awarded anywhere from 1 to 5 points in 5 distinct categories, for a possible maximum score of 25. After the jump, we'll see how Nick fares.

Criterion One: Connection with the Franchise

Ben explains:
To determine how closely a player is connected with a franchise, one generally assesses 4 conditions:
1. Did the player play his most important years with the team?
2. Did the player play the majority of his career with the team?
3. Was the player drafted by the team?
4. Did the player retire with the team?
So it's readily apparent that Anderson satisfies items 1, 2, and 3 on the list. Counting the playoffs, he played 736 of his 849 games with Orlando, which made him the first draft selection in franchise history. Because he did not retire with the team--which shipped him to Sacramento for Tariq Abdul-Wahad 10 years and 10 days ago--I cannot award him the maximum 5 points for this category. For meeting the other components here, however, he gets 4 points, and we move on.
Criterion Two: Success with the Franchise

From Ben:

Judging a player's relative success across generations can be tricky, but its clear two factors are important to consider: the maximum success his team's enjoyed and his role in creating that success.

Ask yourself, "Can the story of the franchise's glory days be told without mentioning this player?"

To weigh both the team's success and the player's role in that sucess, I gave 5 points to a star on a championship team, 5 points to a starter on championship team, 5 points to a star on a finalist team, 4 points to a role player on a finalist team and 4 points to a starter on a finalist team.

Even Anderson's harshest detractors--the ones who never forgave him for missing four crucial free throws in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals--would concede it's impossible to omit Anderson's name from discussing that era in Magic history. Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal were the superstars, but Anderson was arguably the next-most-important player. And if you're going to mention Dennis freakin' Scott in this conversation, you can't very well overlook Anderson.

The real question becomes, for our purposes, "was Anderson a 'star' or a 'role player'?" In the year Orlando made its first trip to the Finals, Anderson averaged 15.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.6 steals, while shooting 47.6% from the field and 41.5% from three-point range. All solid numbers, but not enough to justify the "star" label. Thus, for being a starter/role player on a finalist team, he gets 4 points in this category. Onto the next one.
Criterion Three: Statistical Body of Work

Golliver:

Ask yourself, "How dominant (and for how long) was this player?"

In assigning the points in this category, I took into account: league-leading tallies, franchise/league records, double-doubles, 10+ year careers, and anything else that truly jumps out of the box score/ stat sheet.

One can use any number of words to describe Anderson's playing career, but "dominant" is not one of them. In 10 seasons with the Magic, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 steals, while shooting 45.4% from the field and 36.3% from three-point range. Again, not dominant, but also respectable.

And, in terms of totals--not averages--he's Orlando's franchise leader in games played, minutes played, points scored, field goals made, field goals attempted, and steals. We also must point out the negative: by virtue of his long tenure, he has the dubious distinction of leading the franchise in the turnovers and personal fouls categories, although Dwight Howard will most assuredly pass him in both early in the coming season.

So, what's it boil down to? How do we reconcile his modest (by jersey-retirement standards) averages with his franchise-best totals? We split the difference between the two: 3.5 points in this category for Anderson.
Criterion Four: Individual Awards

Golliver:

Ask, "What are the standout individual achievements on this player's resume and how do they compare to other franchise greats?"

We'll discuss this category briefly, and by necessity: it suffices to say that Anderson never won any individual honors during his career. About the best we can say for him on this score is that he was among the league-leaders in three-point field goals made during three separate seasons he spent with Orlando. But no All-Rookie appearances, no All-Star game appearances... nothing. No points for Nick here, sadly.
Criterion Five: The Intangibles

Golliver:

This section takes into account the player's personality, contributions to the community and investment in the organization.

Ask yourself, "Is the player a credit to the organization, the city and the league?"

[....]

While this category is certainly subjective, it is only 20% of the overall picture so haggling over a point up or down should not make or break a candidate's application.

Here, Anderson makes out like a bandit. He's the first draft pick in franchise history, a fan-favorite in his decade with the team, and still in its employ as a Community Ambassador. The list of Magic players Anderson's equal, in terms of popularity in the Central Florida community, is short, and includes Bo Outlaw (also a Community Ambassador), Scott Skiles, Horace Grant, Darrell Armstrong, Howard, and maybe Hedo Turkoglu. O'Neal and Hardaway were popular in their prime, but the decidedly less-than-amiable ways in which they parted with the franchise--O'Neal with his infamous "small pond" comments, Hardaway with his trade demands--have forever diminished their standing in the community.

Finally, in 1996, Anderson became the first winner of the Rich and Helen DeVos Community Enrichment award.

In short, Anderson earns the full 5 points here easily.

Conclusions:

Nick Anderson sustained a high--but not elite--level of play for a decade with the Orlando Magic. He was a key component of their first NBA finalist team, in the franchise's first truly successful stint.

Whether those credentials are enough to merit jersey retirement is up for interpretation. Some people, justifiably, believe that sports franchise should only retire jersey numbers of Hall-of-Fame players. My counter is that jersey retirement honors players for their contributions to a specific franchise, rather than to the sport as a whole; that last bit is the Hall of Fame's responsibility. And, when viewed in this light, Nick Anderson's number 25 jersey absolutely deserves to hang from the rafters of Amway Center when it opens in 2010.

Orlando Magic & Retired Jerseys: Nick Anderson, Part III

erivera7 — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:00:27 -0000

Photo is courtesy of the Orlando Magic.

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Let's just get this out of the way, right now.

If there is one player in the history of the Orlando Magic franchise that is a near-unanimous choice to have his jersey retired by the organization, it's Nick Anderson.

Anderson is beloved by the community, by the fans, by the team, etc.

For the first two days of this mini-series, two players have been examined - Darrell Armstrong and Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway. As has been pointed out, one player had more of the intangibles than the numbers (Armstrong) and the other player had more of the numbers than the intangibles (Hardaway). Thus, no one should be surprised that the reactions have been mixed with either player; each with flaws (to be expected). Anderson, however, may represent the best and near perfect balance of a former player for Orlando that had the numbers AND the intangibles.

First-ever draft pick in franchise history.

Vital role player on a NBA Finals roster.

Owner of a multitude of franchise records.

A community ambassador, a local legend, a playoff hero.

Let's also just get this out of the way, right now. Nick Anderson, when debating the merits of whether or not he deserves to have his number hang in the rafters, should NOT be penalized for the infamous four missed free-throws in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals. It's no different than when Courtney Lee was unfairly criticized for missing a difficult game-winning layup in Game 2 of the 2009 NBA Finals. In both instances, those plays weren't THE reason for the losses. In both instances, the Magic still had a chance to win either game in overtime against either opponent. They were A reason for the losses, and certainly costly but that's it. It should be stated that the plays aren't being compared, but the moments themselves. Moving on.

Nick is easily best known for arguably the greatest moment in franchise history.

The Steal.

Nick Anderson, via the Orlando Magic:

The Bulls inbounded at their baseline and Jordan got past me, bringing the ball upcourt under pressure. I was pursuing the ball down the floor, figuring that Jordan had made so many last-second shots he was just going to pound the ball all the way to the rim. But he didn't, which allowed me to catch up and move into a blind spot behind him.

Jordan turned to look over his left shoulder, but I was on his right. I poked the ball away from MJ. Penny gathered it after it sprung loose and passed ahead to a streaking Grant, who dunked to give us a one-point lead with six seconds remaining.

The turnaround was shocking. Not only did we deny the Bulls any points to extend their lead, we took away the ball. And not only did we take away the ball, but we scored an uncontested basket to take the lead.

[...] I give a lot of credit to our fans. They were so loud that even though the other Bulls were yelling at Jordan that I was swooping down on him, he couldn't hear their warnings.

Anderson certainly had his ups and downs with Orlando, seemingly magnified during the 1994-1995 postseason - starting with the series against the Chicago Bulls and ending with the series against the Houston Rockets. Due to Nick's misfortune at the charity stripe in the championship series, his statistical production declined precipitously until everything bottomed out during the 1996-1997 regular season. Anderson's fall from grace was accentuated from the free-throw line, where it became a struggle mentally (saw a sports psychiatrist) and statistically (shot 40.4% for the year). One wondered if Nick could ever bounce back as a player.

But Anderson did, and there's one game that stands out.

Beginning at the end of January of 1998, Anderson's career rebooted, so to speak. Nick's "off" switch turned "on" and he began to play like himself again. Finally.

Then February 22nd came, which meant one thing.

The return of Shaquille O'Neal to Orlando since he left for Los Angeles in 1996. As expected, it was an emotional event for all parties involved. Before a nationally-televised audience, Anderson cemented his return by scoring 30 points and hitting a game-winning three with 7.1 seconds left to catapult the Magic to a victory.

With Nick, he always had his fair share of memories during his time with Orlando.

The following, above, were just a few examples.

I turned to Benjamin Golliver's "formula" made in a write-up over a year ago at the superb Blazersedge to ascertain whether Anderson deserved an analytical and a statistical breakdown. After I noted that Nick met a majority of the criterion listed in Ben's post (for example, Anderson was the Magic's first-ever draft pick & was a role player on the 1995 NBA Finals team), I surmised that Nick deserved an examination.

Before I begin, I want to make it explicitly clear that I'm not advocating against or for an Orlando player in this mini-series. The main purpose of these posts is to figure out who in Magic history has a legit argument for such an honor, and let the community decide accordingly (there will be a poll so that people can chime in).

So, without further ado, let's begin.

As I stated in my post yesterday, I enlisted the help of Jon Nichols of Basketball-Statistics and Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference to a.) add an APBRmetrician's unbiased perspective and b.) provide statistical data.

Beginning (by Jon Nichols):

His PER numbers were very similar to those of Darrell Armstrong, although he was a bit more efficient. In the two seasons from 1994-96, he posted impressive Offensive Ratings of 119 and 112, thanks to his excellent three-point shooting. Like Armstrong, Anderson had a relatively long tenure with the Magic and was involved with a number of winning teams.

The same statistical comparisons that I used for Armstrong apply for Anderson. These guys were solid role players that played a lot of years for their team but were never spectacular. Also like Armstrong, Anderson did not finish his career with the Magic, which usually goes a long way toward a player getting his jersey retired. Statistically, he definitely is no lock for getting his jersey retired. However, he did not face serious legal trouble and now works for the Magic’s front office. There are enough positive feelings associated with him and he plays a prominent enough roll in Orlando to be a reasonable candidate.

Middle:

Credit goes to Nichols for the PER graph and Paine for the statistical plus/minus data.

Here's another statistical nugget, via Basketbawful:

He's the only player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game off the bench. It happened on April 23, 1993. On a night in which Shaq busted his second backboard of the season, Nick exploded out of his warmups to shoot 17-for-25 from the field, 4-for-7 from distance and a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. Mind you, he scored that 50 points in only 33 minutes. That's one freaky efficient performance. And the Magic won 119-116. Shaq had only 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting and nearly fouled out. Orlando's second-best player that night was Scott Skiles (19 points, 9 assists and only one fewer rebound than Shaq). Bernard King had his best game of the season for the Nets (24 points, 10-for-16) and would play only four more games before retiring.

End:

What else needs to be said?

As was stated in the beginning of the write-up, Nick had the numbers AND the intangibles. Anderson has remained a part of the Central Florida community and has served as the Community Ambassador for the Orlando Magic since 2006, hanging around the Amway Arena during games and making various appearances for team events.

Nick was the first-ever draft pick for the Magic in 1989.

Nick was the first person to be recognized during the Magic's "Committment To the Past Nights" in 2006.

Nick was the first player to have his jersey retired by the Magic in ???

The last sentence is what every Orlando fan is waiting for.

Franchise Records:

Games (602)

Minutes Played (22,444)

Field Goals Made (4,075)

Field Goal Attempts (8,976)

3-Point Field Goal Attempts (2,480)

Steals (1,004)

Personal Fouls (1,354)

Points (10,650)

Poll

Does Nick Anderson deserve to have his jersey retired by the Orlando Magic?

Yes

413 votes

No

100 votes

513 votes | Poll has closed

Orlando Magic & Retired Jerseys: Darrell Armstrong, Part I

erivera7 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:00:20 -0000

Photo is courtesy of the Orlando Magic.

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If Orlando Magic fans had to choose one player that epitomized and exemplified the "Heart and Hustle" era for the franchise, the individual chosen would probably be Darrell Armstrong. Known for his energy, grit, and intensity, Armstrong endeared himself to his peers in the NBA & the local fans for always giving his all and exciting crowds with his dunking ability, despite his small stature (6'0''). As such, Darrell is probably most famous for a few things, like accidentally making a layup in the 1996 NBA Dunk Contest and stealing a game (figuratively & literally) away from the Philadelphia 76ers in the closing seconds (3.3, to be exact) of a game in 1999.

Armstrong was a perfect underdog to root for - he attended and played college ball at a small school (Fayetteville State University), didn't get drafted by an NBA team, was forced to play in the GBA (Global Basketball Association), in the USBL (United States Basketball League), and in Europe before being signed by Orlando as a free agent during the 1994-1995 season. Even then, Darrell didn't see significant playing time with the Magic until the 1997-1998 season.

Talk about paying your dues, right?

I turned to Benjamin Golliver's "formula" made in a write-up over a year ago at the superb Blazersedge to ascertain whether Armstrong deserved an analytical and a statistical breakdown. After I noted that Darrell met a majority of the criterion listed in Ben's post (for example, Armstrong played the majority of his career and his most important years with the team), I surmised that D.A. deserved an examination.

So, without further ado, let's begin.

As I stated in my preview yesterday, I enlisted the help of Jon Nichols of Basketball-Statistics and Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference to a.) add an APBRmetrician's unbiased perspective and b.) provide statistical data.

Beginning (by Jon Nichols):

During his nine seasons with the Magic, they never finished with a losing record. Statistically, he was solid but not superb. He was never particularly efficient (excluding his very short 1994-95 appearance, his single season career high in Offensive Rating was 112). However, he produced enough (usage rates hovering around 20) to post solid PER’s. Hs best seasons came from 1998-2001, when he posted PER’s of 22.2, 19.5, and 18.6. However, none of these statistics really reflect his strong defensive ability.

Statistically, there are other players who have had their jerseys retired who have posted numbers similar to Armstrong’s. Austin Carr played nine seasons with the Cavaliers and posted numbers at a level below Armstrong. However, he was known as "Mr. Cavalier," works in the Cleveland front office, is the team’s color commentator, and was a college superstar. Clearly his jersey was retired for reasons beyond his on-court production.

Brad Davis had similar numbers in 12 years with the Dallas Mavericks and had his jersey retired. However, he too works for his team’s front office and is a television personality. Ditto for John McGlocklin of the Milwaukee Bucks. Finally, we have Dennis Johnson, who posted regular season numbers inferior to those of Armstrong. However, he won multiple championships with the Celtics and even won a Finals MVP Award once.

So to sum up Armstrong’s situation: his numbers are on par with the lower level of players who have had their jerseys retired. However, he has two factors working against him: he did not finish his career with the Magic nor does he still hold a position in the team’s front office. It doesn’t help that his Magic career ended around the time he was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. Also, you could probably find other players with numbers like his that never had their jerseys retired. It all comes down to how much he means to the Magic franchise: was he just a pretty good player or did he mean something more? I’d probably vote against retiring his jersey.

Middle:

Credit goes to Nichols for the PER graph and Paine for the statistical plus/minus data.

As a rule of thumb, it's best to compare PER's of players who play the same position and/or compare PER's of the same individual over a span of a few seasons because issues do arise in other situations where comparisons are being made. In this case, the only glaring problem comparing these crop of guards is that blocks and steals weren't an official NBA statistic until the 1973-1974 season, which skews Jon McGlocklin's career PER. Nevertheless, Darrell's career PER and career statistical plus/minus compare favorably to other guards that have had their jerseys retired. In fact, Armstrong fares best among the quintet in two separate linear metrics. It'd be great to use more advanced statistics to see how Darrell lines up among his peers, but limitations in retrieving that data is a problem.

With that being said, some of the numbers DO speak for themselves.

End:

Armstrong didn't end his career with Orlando on a high note as was pointed out, but it's clear that he means something more to the city and to the franchise.

Off the court, Darrell continues to make an impact in the Central Florida community (for example, the Darrell Armstrong and Chucky Atkins, 2009 11th Annual Basketball Camps & the 10th Annual Darrell Armstrong Classic Weekend) and remains a favorite with Magic fans. On the court, Armstrong bridged the gap between the Shaquille O'Neal era and the Dwight Howard era, played alongside a pair of #1's (Anfernee Hardaway and Tracy McGrady), and steered Orlando through many, many, many years of ups and downs.

Darrell played the majority of his career and the most important years (in other words, his prime) with the Magic. Armstrong's teams weren't remember for being extremely successful, though, that's what happens when an individual is a product of his environment. Which is to say, it's not Darrell's fault that Hardaway got traded, Hill was injured, and so on and so forth. When looking at Armstrong in a vacuum, his statistical body of work hovered between good & great during his tenure with Orlando and Darrell was rewarded justly, when he became (and still remains) the only player in the history of the Association to win the Most Improved Player Award and Sixth Man Award in the same year (1999). Impressive.

Random thought. Remember when Tim Hardaway of the Denver Nuggets was ejected in the third quarter of a regular season home game in 2002 against the Orlando Magic and promptly threw a courtside monitor onto the court during his temper tantrum?

Who picked up the television and plugged it back in where it belonged?

Darrell Armstrong.

Awards:

1999 Most Improved Player Award

1999 Sixth Man Award

Poll

Does Darrell Armstrong deserve to have his jersey retired by the Orlando Magic?

Yes

250 votes

No

144 votes

394 votes | Poll has closed

NBA Summer League Day One Recap - It's A Grind

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:31:38 -0000

Alright, I'm back in the saddle. It's 9:00 Saturday morning. I have had my run, swim, shower, shave, and coffee. I almost feel human again. The long road trip caught up with me last night and I wasn't able to do the Day One Recap on time. Here it is now.

Summer League - What's It Like?

It's something else. The first day of games was played in Cox Pavilion. This is a smaller gym attached to the Thomas & Mack Center. The atmosphere is relaxed which put me in a strange position as somebody with press credentials for the first time. The weirdness was that the protocols were not apparent. Where could I go? Where couldn't I go? Who could I talk to? When could I talk to them? Who was in charge? All these things were a bit paralyzing for me. So, I just hung out in my spot on the baseline at the media table and watched the games. I didn't talk to any representatives from any of the teams. I chatted some with of the other media guys and took notes. And observed.

The strange thing about me, even though I am an outgoing person, is that I like to know what I am doing and I like to know whether I SHOULD be doing it. I can't just wander around and wait for somebody to tell me I can't do something. I'm a rule follower. I can't help it. It's not exactly the best trait to have in an environment this informal.

The Nature Of Play

The first thing that jumped out at me in the Rockets - Warriors game was how physical the play was. I didn't know if it was being so close to the action under the basket or if it was because Joey Dorsey was playing. After watching the rest of the games the answer became apparent. This is how the game is played. They flat-out beat the crap out of each other. I mean, there was a ton of hard contact that was not called as a foul. Tons. The most physical players, guys like Joey Dorsey, didn't even blink at the hard fouls they dished out and received. They didn't get angry. They didn't scowl. They just whacked the holy bejeezus out of each other and then helped the other guy up, asked him if he was ok, and patted him on the rump.

On one play, Dorsey went up for the dunk and Anthony Randolph came over hard for the block. Randolph got some ball, a lot of Dorsey's chest and arms, and kicked him square in the testicles. Dorsey kneeled down, Randolph came over and gave him a hand and asked him if he was Ok. Joey just shook his head like "Yeah, I'm fine. No problem". I would have been in the hospital if I had been on the receiving end of such a collision.

Somebody commented in the live thread about the number of fouls. I can only say that they didn't seem to call many cheap ones from what I could tell. My impression is that getting fouls is a matter of positioning. If you move your feet and stay in position, then they won't call a foul on you. If you get out of position, you either have to give up or you will get a foul if you continue to be physical with a guy.

In the Mavericks game, the Dallas coaching staff seemed to make a point of having Aaron Miles play physical pressure defense against Brandon Jennings. Jennings also returned the favor on the other end. It seemed like those guys were in a UFC match the way they were bodying up. I'm surprised Miles only ended 8 fouls.

Game One - Warriors vs Rockets

I already recapped this one. So I won't have much to say about the game itself. Just some impressions about the players.

Joey Dorsey - The guy was impressive. Not only was he physical,as I mentioned, but he only picked up 4 fouls even though he was involved in numerous collisions. He did a good job of moving his feet to get in position on help defense when he was responsible for containing the penetrator. He blocked shots coming from the weak side. He was just very solid. He doesn't have much of an offensive game though. He could really use a 8-10 foot game. Unfortunately for him, he's on a team that has two guys in front of him who do what he does in Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry.

James White - As I mentioned in the recap, I thought James was putting off a prima donna attitude. I got the vibe mostly in the first half. It's hard to describe exactly what gave me this impression. I can't point to one thing definitively that says, "Man, I can't believe he's acting like that". It was more a sum of the parts. The attitude toward the officials, the way he interacted with a coach, etc. Just some little things. In his defense, he seemed to put that behind him in the second half and just play. He was also very supportive of his teammates from the bench.

Chase Budinger - He didn't seem like he was able to handle the physical part of the game and got pushed around. The knock on him at Arizona was that he wasn't assertive or aggressive. Those traits will get you killed in the NBA and they got him killed here. He got trapped with a physical double team and turned it over. Later in the game, his man was attacking him and going right through him to the basket. He didn't seem quite quick enough to get position and not strong enough to hold his position. It seems like you need to be able to do one or the other.

Stephen Curry - Curry was the big name in this game. He seemed just a bit uncomfortable. Not overwhelmed like he didn't belong. Just uncomfortable. He spent a lot of time at the point for the Warriors in the first half. He was very competent handling the ball. He was able to initiate the offense without problem. On the other hand, I think the play making duties, when they fell to him, kept him from getting comfortable with his shot. I don't recall him getting any spot up opportunities off of other players. Everything he got was off the pick and roll, and him breaking down his man. He forced a couple shots and even airballed an 18-footer after a step-back move. I think he'll be a good one, especially when he is able to play off other guys.

Joe Ingles - One of two men from down under in the game. He has a nice feel for the game. He sees the floor well and he is pretty long. His stroke seemed very erratic and, as a guess, will probably be the thing that determines whether or not he makes it into the league. His first 3 was an airball and his second barely drew rim. They were both wide-open in-the-flow shots. Not forced at all. He drained his third 3-ball.

Anthony Randolph - The stat sheet stuffer almost recorded a triple-double. 20 points, 10 rebounds, 9 fouls. Randolph is a thin player, but he didn't shy away from contact in this game at all, which was impressive to me. He has a great ability to score in the paint on the move and was almost impossible for the Rockets to defend. He had 12 first quarter points on 8 shots, then seemed content to work on his outside game. I'm not saying he necessarily drifted. I think the Warriors weren't running sets for him to receive the ball on the move. I think they were wanting to get looks at other guys. That's my guess. I'd need game film to really know.

Game Two - Pistons vs Kings

Another physical game with 61 total fouls. Remember, NBA games are 20% longer as we are only playing 40 minute games out here in the desert. The Pistons, much to my surprise, whipped up on the Kings. The Kings feature several "name" players. 2008 first round draft pick and second year man -- and a player many around here wanted instead of George Hill -- Donte Green. Another 2008 first round draft pick and second year man, Jason Thompson. This year's #4 pick Tyreke Evans and #23 pick Omri Casspi. The Pistons, on the other hand, feature mid-first round pick Austin Daye and pair of second rounders in DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko -- teammate of James Gist at Angelico Biella.

DaJuan Summers - He had to have been the most impressive player of the day. He had 24 points and 7 rebounds, on 9 of 15 shooting, and completely dominated Jason Thompson. He had a nice jumper, he banged his way inside for points, he's rough and tough, he got to the line, and he owned this game. You should keep an eye on this guy. It didn't look like anything he was doing was a fluke.

Austin Daye - He showed both why he was drafted and what he has to work on. He's an offensively gifted version of Tayshaun Prince. However, he needs to get a little stronger to handle the contact and to work on his defense. If you are a Pistons front office guy, you have to like what you saw from him on day one.

Jonas Jerebko - He wasn't making his shots -- 1 for 6 in 13 minutes -- but he might be able to make it. He's a tough guy who isn't afraid to mix it up. He's not a "soft Euro".

Michael Bramos - While bones may be familiar with this former Miami, Ohio player, I sure wasn't. He's a 6'5" guard, and he was very impressive. He scored 13 points in 15 minutes and he did it by attacking the rim AND hitting the outside shot. I doubt he will make the team, but he probably opened some eyes in Europe.

Jason Thompson - He was in a war with Summers and he got the worst of it. He only had 3 rebounds and was completely unable to contain Summers. I'll be interested to see how he does in the next couple games.

Donte Greene - Donte is known for his shooting, including a monstrous 40-point debut in last year's Summer League, but he only went 3 for 9 in this game and missed both his 3-ball attempts. The big knock on Donte last year was his defense, or that thereof, so I found it humorous that on numerous occasions he was telling the guys on the team how to position their bodies and where to be. The best part, is that he was dead on.

Tyreke Evans - I was very impressed with Evans. He's a very big and strong point guard. He probably needs to work on the passing part of the game, but he seemed Ok in every other way. He's big enough to be aggressive going to the rim and draw fouls -- he went to the line 10 times, he was immune to be bodied by the opposing point guard bringing the ball up, and showed great athleticism.

Game Three - Raptors vs Lakers

While this was the closest game of the day, it was also the least impressive. These teams would have been crushed, almost literally, by the previous four teams. The game was far less physical. In addition, there were not many players of interest. The Lakers' team features Adam Morrison -- who was sporting a Rage t-shirt so he has gone way up on my list of guys I like (very coveted list to be on, I know) -- and that is it. The Raptors have #9 pick DeMar DeRozan and point guard Roko Ukic who you may remember from the torching he gave the Spurs this year in Toronto.

The Lakers won this back and forth game 85-84. The best part is that with 5:00 left and a tie game I called the game winner. Meet Ben McCauley from North Carolina State.

Ben McCauley - Ben scored the Lakers first 6 points and, along with Morrison, carried the team. McCauley finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds. He hit the game winner with 14 seconds left, just as I said he would. Other than the fact that the guy seemed to never miss, I don't know how good he is.

Adam Morrison - He played a team-high 33 minutes and also scored 24 points. For a guy known as a shooter, he seems to have the most off-balanced looking shot. He hit big shots for them down the stretch though. He had an interesting match up with DeMar DeRozan as they went head-to-head on both ends. DeRozan is a better athlete, but not as good a shooter and not as experienced. On on one drive to the hoop, Morrison blocked the crap out of DeRozan's shot.

David Monds - 17 points in 14 minutes. He had a great stroke from 18 feet. Thick guys who can shoot from that range have a knack for sticking around.

DeMar DeRozan - He played decent defense against Morrison in the first half, but was invisible offensively. In the second half, he was a bit more aggressive with the ball and showed some flashes. He can also jump and liked to attack the offensive glass coming up with very nice put back slam, but also had a missed put back slam.

Roko Ukic - He ran the point. Maybe a couple 3's, didn't miss free throws. Unspectacular, but solid.

Smush Parker - Yeah, that Smush Parker. He made some of the nicest passes of the day on the pick and roll leading to dunks by Patrick O'Bryant. He hit 1 of his 2 threes. Missed a bunch of free throws. Had 6 assists. Only 2 turnovers. He's an enigma for me.

Patrick O'Bryant - He's a very long man at 7 feet with very long arms. He's not a big thick guy, but he's not too thin as he comes in at 250 pounds. He showed the ability to finish against the Lakers under-sized front line. He made 7 of this 9 shots on a variety of dunks and nice moves in the post.

Brent Petway - Try to find video of his dunk to end the first half. He tried to throw down over somebody and wasn't able to get all the way to the rim and ended up THROWING IT IN from about 2 feet away.

Game Four - Bucks vs Mavericks

This game promised the most interest and turned out to be horribly painful to watch. The Bucks have a lot of big names participating in Summer League with Brandon Jennings, Joe Alexander, Amir Johnson, Luc Mbah a Moute, Jodie Meeks, Chris Richard, and Salim Stoudamire. The Mavericks have Rodrigue Beaubois -- Spurnando's teammate from Cholet -- and Ahmad Nivins, a second round pick from St Joseph's.

This was a hideous brick fest with tons of fouls and sloppy ball handling. Alexander went 4-18 from the field and Jennings got hot late to go 3-12. The teams combined for 65 fouls and 46 turnovers. Both teams erupted in the fourth quarter, 21 for the Bucks and 20 for the Mavs, to push the scoring all the way up to 65-59 in the Bucks victory.

Joe Alexander - A superb athlete. He just couldn't make a shot. He was the focal point of the Bucks offense and received many isolation opportunities. He routinely got by his man but wasn't able to finish over the help defender near the basket. He was a fiend on the offensive glass and made his free throws.

Amir Johnson - He fouled a lot and turned the ball over a lot. He blocked a couple shots, but his 4 rebounds in 21 minutes is disconcerting.

Luc Mbah a Moute - He can still play some defense.

Brandon Jennings - He didn't blow me away but he was quietly effective. That's what I thought at least. He shot a poor percentage, but he handled the pressure defense I mentioned earlier, drew a lot of fouls -- Miles and Beaubois combined for 16 fouls -- and only had 2 turnovers. He's electric quick but doesn't seem able to use it to get his teammates open as evidenced by his 3 assists in 25 minutes.

Jodie Meeks - The dude has a sweet stroke. When he shot it, you knew it was going in. I don't know what else he has to give them, but he'll knock down shots if people leave him open.

Salim Stoudamire - An unspectacular 13 minutes with 6 points, 5 fouls, and 3 turnovers

Rodrigue Beaubois - Easily the most disappointing player of the day. He turned the ball over on the first 2 possessions and only his teammate's hustle kept him from the first three possessions. He was passive defensively in the first quarter to the point that Darrell Armstrong, who is coaching the Mavs team, was yelling at him (from the bench to the court to be heard, not to chastise) to play attacking defense. He showed poor shot selection and not a good ability to finish around the rim. He finished with 6 turnovers, and while he over penetrated the way Tony does some, he did show decent court vision.

Ahmad Nivins - He looked like a serious player. He was just a notch below DaJuan Summers for most impressive. He was 8 of 10 from the field. He had some nice put back dunks and showed a really nice jumper from 17-18 feet. He'll probably step right into Brandon Bass' role. He screams keeper.

Random Observations

In each game, there was one female referee. Never zero, never two. Always one.

Acie Law IV hit his head so hard on a quarter-ending play I could hear it at the other end of the court with a loud WHUMP (some onomatopoeia for you, I know you guys have been into it lately).

In the very last play of the last game, I wasn't watching, the guy next to me says, "Did Jennings just give him a late elbow?" Luke Jackson was bent over holding his face. It looked to me like a broken nose. It will be interesting to find out if there is anything to it.

The crowd was more or less tame, and by the last game the gym was pretty empty. A group of about 6-8 guys were harassing Jennings loudly in the last seconds of the game. One hollered, "Jennings, you aren't even the best #3 on the court" -- Beaubois and Jennings are both #3. Jennings looked up and laughed. I'm thinking if you are going to taunt somebody like that, at least be accurate.

That's all for day one. On to day two.