SB Nation - Richard Hendrix

Revisiting Our Previous Draft Boards

Stop-n-Pop — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:00:27 -0000

Every now and then I think it's a good idea to go back and look at who we hoped for in drafts past. It's a good way to maintain some quality control around here and it allows us to learn from what went right (and wrong) in order to make this year's draft board as good as possible.

The action begins below the fold.

Our first draft board was broken down into a simple two-tier system: Guys to Take and Buyer Beware. Here are our top players in the 2008 Draft:

Michael Beasley
Kevin Love
Derrick Rose
Brook Lopez
Joe Alexander
Mareese Speights
Mario Chalmers
OJ Mayo
DJ White
Chris Douglas Roberts
Roy Hibbert
Richard Hendrix
Brandon Rush
Ryan Anderson
Joey Dorsey
Pat Calathes

We were one of the few sites that didn't rank Rose at the top of the draft. I think people tend to forget two things about Rose's only college season: he had a relatively slow start and he wasn't the best guard on his own team. I still believe that in 5 years, and if he can maintain his sobriety, Michael Beasley will be the class of this draft in the mold of a better rebounding Carmelo Anthony.

Our biggest miss is obviously Joe Alexander. Thankfully, were we selecting for the Wolves, Kevin Love and Brook Lopez would have saved us from making the Alexander pick. If we were drafting for the Wolves, here is how the picks would have broken down:

3- Kevin Love

31- Mario Chalmers

34- Chris Douglas Roberts

The bottom line for the top pick, in our eyes, was that the Wolves had to walk away with Love, Rose, Lopez, or Beasley or they should trade down for a value pick like Speights or, regrettably, Alexander.

Here's who we had in the Buyer Beware category:

I'm thinking that was a fairly solid stab at players who haven't quite yet turned out. Some of them have shown flashes but I don't think there are any Alexander-esque FUBARs on that list.

What say you? Were we on track with our 2008 Draft Board?

In 2009 we updated the Hoopus Score to account for different positions: guard, wing, and bigs. We also broke the score into two sections: net stats and efficiency. We then broke the picks down into three tiers:

Blake Griffin: 45/18.196 (63.196-big)
Stephen Curry: 42.6/13.203 (55.803-guard)
James Harden: 38.4/10.393 (48.793-guard)
Demar Derozan: 31.3/13.879 (45.179-wing)
Ty Lawson: 35.275/10.616 (45.668-guard)
Hasheem Thabeet: 42.7/14.703 (57.4-big)
DeJuan Blair: 37.825/15.578 (53.403-big)

Tier Two (picks 11-20):

Tyler Hansbrough: 39.375/13.766 (53.141-big)
Nick Calathes: 33.3/10.575 (43.875-guard)
Eric Maynor: 32.875/9.558 (42.433-guard) (17.2/13-22)
Jeff Teague: 35.525/7.813 (43.358-guard) (15.2/8-22)
Marcus Thornton: 31.875/9.685 (41.156-guard) (26.3/23-2nd)

Tier Three (picks 21-30):

Jordan Hill: 33.999/12.451 (46.45-big)
Lee Cummard: 30.6/11.359 (41.959-guard)
Chase Budinger: 29.575/10.953 (40.528-wing)
Tyreke Evans: 31.4/8.414 (39.814-guard)
Jonny Flynn: 31.825/7.285 (39.11-guard)
Gerald Henderson: 30.5/7.808 (38.308-guard)
Sam Young: 29.8/8.196 (37.996-wing)
Terrence Williams: 26.775/11.06 (37.835-wing)
James Johnson: 29.375/10.77 (40.145-big)
Toney Douglas: 31.25/8.842 (40.092-guard)
Wayne Ellington: 27.3/8.828 (36.128-guard)

Were we picking for the Wolves, and without taking into consideration a certain Spanish point guard, we would have taken Stephen Curry and Demar DeRozan at 5 and 6. With Rubio available at 5, it would have been a tough choice between Curry and DeRozan at 6 and we would have went with DeRozan.

For the life of me I will never understand how Ty Lawson and DeJuan Blair were allowed to get past the Wolves' later picks. Two tier one guys fell into their laps with a mid round pick and a late round pick. We also had Marcus Thornton rated well above Wayne Ellington with the last 1st rounder.

In terms of screwing the pooch, it appears we did so with Tyreke Evans. Although, we did write this at the time:

You will probably notice that we do not think very highly of Jonny Flynn and Tyreke Evans. Evans was a tough call. On one hand, we all know the positives: He has upper-level height, length, and strength for his position and he can score the damn ball. On the other hand, he can't shoot. It's not just that he can't shoot from outside, but he can't shoot from anywhere. From spot up situations to isolation, Evans shoots roughly 25% on jump shot opportunities. This wouldn't be so problematic if jump shots didn't account for 40% of his possessions. On top of that, he's not exactly the world's greatest isolation player, scoring 0.54 ppp in these situations. This stat especially worries me in light of the physical display that Evans put on during his workout day with the Wolves. Against smaller guards he was able to muscle his way to the rim but he wasn't able to do this as efficiently as we'd all like to believe while at Memphis. When you don't have a jump shot and when you are inefficient in iso situations, where are you getting your points? Transition, transition, transition. Last year's game against Missiouri was a perfect template for what Evans brings to the table. He will torch teams in transition and in free-flowing opportunities into the lane, but he will torch his own team with his jumper and relative inability to create his own shot in a half court setting. The caveat here is that Evans' poor score is almost entirely dependent on his awful shooting. Unlike Flynn, who was somewhat underwhelming across the board, Evans is held back by one major thing. If you believe his shot is fixable, then he moves up the board. Since we here at Hoopus don't exactly have the type of scouting ability to answer this question, we'll stick with his college record. In terms of the Wolves, Evans is not a good pick. He is more in the D-Wade model than Randy Foye ever was or will be, but he's not a good shooter and his isolation abilities are not up to snuff enough to make up for the awful, terrible, no-good jumper.

It turns out Evans can create his own shot fairly well. Plus, I don't think I had a handle on just how much his size would be a positive at the next level. He physically dominates his position like few other players.

I will never, ever get the Flynn pick. It didn't make a lick of sense before the draft, during the draft, and right now. Imagine a team two years from now with Rubio and DeRozan in the back court with Rudy Gay on the wing. The 2/3 needs to be 6'7" and above with superior athleticism. Now they're stuck with a 5'11" guard who doesn't appear to know how to play the point and whose high usage rate seems to be correlated to a large negative +/- number (more on that later).

Well, that about does it. We have made a few more tweaks to this year's formula. Going back and applying the new formula to players in 2008 and 2009, we have Blake Griffin as the top rated prospect of the past 2 years by a fairly significant amount. Kevin Love comes in 2nd with Evan Turner coming in at a close 3rd. John Wall is off to a ridiculous start and if he improves his turnover ratio he'll likely be very near the top.

Anywho, the reason why I'm putting this up is so people can look at our track record and see whether or not we should be taken seriously with our draft analysis. Also, I'd like to see what format is preferable to our readers. Do you want the Buyer Beware list? Should I leave it out? Do you like things broken down by wings, guards, and bigs or do you like a single score?

What say you?

Orlando Magic's 2009 Pro Summer League Proves Fruitless, as Top Performers Sign Elsewhere

Ben Q Rock — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:00:12 -0000

It's high time we take a quick look around the world to see where the Orlando Magic's summer-leaguers have wound up. If you recall, Ryan Anderson was the only player on the team with an NBA contract, and the Magic's bevy of open roster spots meant that their summer-league invitees stood a great chance of receiving an invite to training camp. Here's how I assessed each individual performance.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as though any of the standouts will return to Orlando, as they've received jobs elsewhere.

Small forward Kasib Powell, who earned second-team all-league honors that week, reached an agreement with a Greek team, per this Greek link.
Big man Richard Hendrix signed with a Spanish team.
Russell Robinson spurned the Magic, who offered him a spot in their training camp, for the opportunity to play with Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, and former Kansas teammate Darnell Jackson in the Cleveland Cavaliers' camp instead.

Jeremy Richardson, the only other NBA-caliber player from the Magic's team, said he expects to sign with the Magic. That was a month ago. Still no word on his chances of reprising his 15th-man role once again, as Orlando is more concerned with filling its third-string point guard vacancy.

And in much less surprising news, Levance Fields, who did not have an exceptional week, signed with Spartak St. Petersburg after not receiving an offer from the Magic.

Indeed, based on these recent signings, it appears as the Magic accomplished two things in summer-league: they provided assistant coach Patrick Ewing with some head-coaching experience, and they served as a showcase for Anderson, who was arguably the best player in the entire camp. Unfortunately for him, the Magic signed power forward Brandon Bass on the last day of camp, a move which appears to have squeezed the 21-year-old Anderson out of the immediate rotation.

Ridiculous Transactions: 7/25-7/31

Jon L — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:00:10 -0000

Every week (starting about a week ago), we here at RU will take a look at some relevant player transactions from the past week. Players signing with the D-League, D-League players going to Europe, transactions involving the odd Summer League player (odd meaning we're not going to cover all of them, not meaning, like, Robert Swift), trades of a similar ilk, etc. This one should be interesting because I just finished writing that Jam coach post and I'm still in a state of annoyance.

July 26: Richie Frahm - signed with Mersin Buyuksahir Belediyesi (Turkey); Stephane Lasme - signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)

This is the same team that Jimmy Baron signed with last week, and given Frahm's signing Baron has now a mentor and a guy who's going to take all of his minutes. Frahm's a very good three-point shooter, though he doesn't contribute much else. Then again, he likely won't have to. Lasme was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 2007, didn't play much there and went to the D-League for awhile and then getting a 10-day contract with the Heat before playing in Europe last season. He was a solid shot-blocker and rebounder in Serbia last year, though he didn't produce all that consistently in Summer League a few weeks ago. He played for the Spurs team, though, and I'd bet they're keeping an eye on him.

July 27: Trent Plaisted - signed with Reggio Emilia (Italy); James Augustine - signed with Gran Canaria (Spain)

Plaisted was drafted in 2008 by Seattle then went to Detroit as part of the DJ White deal. He played for the Pistons' Summer League team, though that team was focused on more recent draft picks and he didn't get a ton of playing time. He finished with pretty good per-minute rebounding numbers, though. Augustine's has bounced between the D-League and the NBA, and he's the University of Illinois' all-time leading rebounder. His offense went steadily downhill at Summer League this year (scoring 21 points in the first game and zero in the last), but he can definitely rebound.

July 28: Othyus Jeffers - signed with NGC Cantu' (Italy); Richard Hendrix - signed with Granada (Spain)

Sigh. Look, I may not always seem like it on this site, but I'm a fairly realistic person. Some (many) people would
(did) say "cynical." So when I talk about Summer League rosters and how, say, a D-League did well or how his
skills might fit in with a specific NBA roster, I'm doing it because it's something to talk about. I know that for a lot of guys it's still a longshot, and that there just aren't enough NBA teams who pay attention to the D-League for these guys to get enough looks, and that teams are still apparently willing to explore signing a retired-and-not-all-that-good-anyway Jason Williams instead of a solid D-League player.
I know all that. I get it. But it's still disappointing to see guys like Hendrix and Jeffers go overseas. And not because Italy and Spain are bad places to play - they're not, in fact. But Hendrix had a great Summer League (both in Orlando and in Vegas) and was a top rebounder in the D-League last season, and Othyus Jeffers is a solid all-around offensive player in addition to being a lockdown defender. Both of those guys can play in the NBA right now. I don't know whether it's a function of the shrinking salary cap or that teams are still stuck on "names,"* but it seems like this offseason more and more of last year's D-League stars are headed to Europe. The league's going to look a lot different come the fall.

*And yes, I'm away of the contradiction of going after the Jam for hiring a "no-name" coach while going after NBA teams for not signing "no-name" players. But that's because...you see...it's different in that...shut up.

July 30: Nick Fazekas - signed with JDA Dijon (France)

Fazekas played well for the Celtics at Orlando Summer League, but they have a lot of forwards so that wasn't ever really a realistic option (see? I'm realistic). Still, despite not having the strongest upper body, Fazekas produces pretty well on the court. For some reason in my head I could've seen him fitting in with Oklahoma City while they give DJ White and Serge Ibaka a little more development time, but that's just me.

July 31: Kevin Rogers - signed with Panionios (Greece); Chicago Bulls - waived DeMarcus Nelson and Linton Johnson; Bakersfield Jam - hired Will Voigt as head coach

Seeing both Nelson and Johnson cut is a little tough, though Johnson's being released isn't a total shock. He was trying to make the roster this time around as a defensive stopper at power forward, and while I didn't see the results, remaking your body that way (he would've had to bulk up to succeed in that role) in a short period of time can be tough. It would've been nice to see Nelson step into a reserve shooting guard role after Ben Gordon left for Milwaukee, but the Bulls apparently thought a Pargo brother would be better for that. Kevin Rogers is a little raw for the NBA, but with a season or two in the D-League he could've become a solid player. He was decently efficient in Orlando Summer League this year, and he had solid shot-blocking and rebounding numbers.

Most of my thoughts on Voigt's hiring can be found in the post announcing the hire, but since that dealt mostly with how he was hired I'll just add that he did win a few ABA championships, which I don't know what kind of talent level he had but at the very least shows he didn't screw up a good thing (if he had one), and while there are other former head coaches and promising assistants out there who deserve a shot, and while I personally would've tried to snag a talented or at least well-known coach this year to a.) bring in fans and b.) justify their ticket prices, the Bakersfield ownership may not have wanted to go that route given the uncertainty over whether their plan will work or not.

A Look Back at Vegas Summer League: Part 2

Jon L — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:15:07 -0000

Jawad Williams, shown here playing for the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers, played well for Cleveland at Vegas Summer League.

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In the wake of Vegas Summer League being over, and as I did with the Orlando Summer League, I've been taking a look at some noteworthy performances from "non-NBA" players. Part 1 dealt with guys who have been playing in Europe or who otherwise aren't currently under contract anywhere. Today examines the players from the D-League who were in Vegas, either on the D-League Select team or on an NBA squad's roster. Again, I'm only concerned with players who played three or more games, in order to get some semblance of sustained (such as it is) success (this means no Othyus Jeffers or Trey Johnson, who each played very well in two games for the D-League squad). I wanted to limit it to ten guys, but I cheated a bit and threw in an honorable mention category (which makes even less sense since the 10 guys aren't ranked in any way), which we'll look at first.

Honorable Mention: Brent Petway, Romel Beck, Mouhamed Sene, Will Conroy

Petway complemented Raptors rookie DeMar DeRozan fairly well, and while his scoring wasn't very consistent, he showed off his elite shot-blocking ability and averaged 3.6 blocks per 48 minutes, slightly more than he did last season with the Stampede. Beck made 43 percent of his three-pointers and 52.8 percent of his field goals overall, though he didn't contribute much other than scoring. Sene got a ton of blocks compared to his playing time, eight in 35 minutes, but while I didn't expect to see many points from him he didn't get many rebounds, either. Conroy was a solid point guard either starting or coming off the bench, and he made 52.2 percent of his field goals, but his assists were down a little bit from what they were in the D-League on a per-minute basis.

The rest of the players are after the jump.

Richard Hendrix (6'9" F, Denver Nuggets) - Hendrix had perhaps the best overall Summer League out of anyone, playing very well with the Orlando Magic team before repeating that performance in Vegas. He appeared in four games for Denver and started three, though he played the second-fewest minutes on the team. He still managed to shoot 63.2 percent from the field, average 13.4 rebounds per 48 minutes, and most impressively, turn the ball over only once in those four games.

Coleman Collins (6'9" F, D-League Select) - Collins was very solid for the D-League team, and I've said this before but it bears repeating: I don't understand why he didn't play more last season. Collins was one of the leading rebounders on the team and averaged 24 points per 48 minutes, all while picking up only six fouls in five games. He made 51.4 percent of his shots, too.

CJ Giles (6'11" F/C, Denver Nuggets) - Giles rebounded the ball very well for the Nuggets, averaging 15 rebounds per 48 minutes, and he made half of his field goals. He also averaged just over five blocks on a per-minute basis, though he also committed the most fouls on the team.

Kurt Looby (6'10" C, D-League Select) - RU binky Kurt Looby did what he does best, which is block shots and rebound. Looby grabbed as many rebounds as Collins did but in about 40 fewer minutes, and finished averaging 17 rebounds on a per-minute basis. He also blocked nine shots in five games. I keep repeating this, but while the offense isn't there right now, Looby will be ready to take on the NBA very soon.

Coby Karl (6'5" G, Denver Nuggets) - Yeah, yeah, he should've been listed with the "Europe" players rather than the D-Leaguers, but what are you gonna do? Coby Karl had a somewhat shaky Orlando Summer League, but he did very well in Vegas, making 61.5 percent of his field goals and half of his threes, as well as picking up rebounds and assists at decent rates for his position.

David Monds (6'8" F, Los Angeles Lakers) - Monds was a very solid player for the Lakers, though he didn't start any of the games. He led the team in per-minute scoring, shot 60.4 percent from the field and averaged 13.3 rebounds per 48 minutes, and only turned the ball over twice in five games. His free throws could use some work, as he shot 54.5 percent from the line.

Ronald Dupree (6'7" F, Denver Nuggets) - Yes, that Nuggets team was pretty stacked. Dupree was the team's second-leading scorer on a per-minute basis (and came in only .2 points behind Ty Lawson), and he also rebounded the ball fairly well, though he didn't do much beyond those two things.

Malik Hairston (6'6" G, San Antonio Spurs) - Hairston did a good job shooting the ball, shooting 52.8 percent from the field and averaging 21.4 points per 48 minutes. He didn't offer the kind of rebounding that he usually does, though that my be because he was sharing the court with two monster rebounders in DeJuan Blair and Ian Mahinmi.

Jawad Williams (6'9" F, Cleveland Cavaliers) - Williams showed off his scoring and rebounding in Vegas, making half of his three pointers and averaging 28.2 points and 10 rebounds per 48 minutes (that scoring average was best on the team). He's generally a solid defender as well, though Summer League isn't really the place for that.

DeMarcus Nelson (6'4" G, Chicago Bulls) This is also cheating a little bit since the Bulls called Nelson up before the end of last season, but he showed himself to be a pretty good all-around guard in Vegas. He had some off nights, but ended up shooting 48.1 percent from the field and tied for the second-most assists on the team. He finished averaging seven rebounds and 5.5 assists per 48 minutes, though he could stand to cut down on the turnovers a little bit.

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 9

Jon L — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:00:30 -0000

Curtis Stinson running the point for the D-League Select team.

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Denver Nuggets 94, D-League Select 90

Jasper Johnson led the Select team with 21 points on 7-13 shooting. He shot 3-7 on threes, which means he actually shot 66 percent inside the arc. He also had four rebounds. Kurt Looby still has some work to do on the offensive end, as he shot 3-7 from the field and 4-7 from the free-throw line, but he also had 11 rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes. Only one rebound and one turnover, too, which is a positive. Gary Forbes has played very well the last few games, and yesterday he finished with a solid line of 19 points on 5-9 shooting, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Coleman Collins didn't have a great shooting night (3-8), but he had seven rebounds in just under 17 minutes.

One could argue, though, that with so many D-League players on Denver's roster this was a win for them anyway. Ronald Dupree was excellent for the Nuggets team, shooting 10-15 and scoring 23 points, with four rebounds and only one turnover. Coby Karl wasn't bad in Orlando, but to me it feels like he's improved since then, or at least put together some all-around solid games. Yesterday was one of those, as he shot 5-9 and added nine rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Richard Hendrix played only six minutes (anyone out there know why?), but he had four rebounds in those six minutes along with four points.

The rest of the games are after the jump.

New Orleans Hornets 100, Minnesota Timberwolves 96

Anthony Tolliver shot 100 percent in this game. For serious. He made all of his threes, all of the rest of his field goals and all of his free throws. Yet another Anthony (in addition to Randolph and Morrow) who's had a scoring achievement in Vegas. He ended the game with 20 points on five shots, four rebounds and two assists. Jonny Flynn's been playing well for awhile, and he had 24 points on 10 shots, including shooting 4-5 from behind the arc, and he had four rebounds and four assists, though also six turnovers. Julian Wright had a solid game with 19 points on 12 shots, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Darren Collison also played well, with 18 points on eight shots (in a little under 16 minutes), though he only picked up one assist. Devin Green didn't have a great shooting night, going 2-5 (for seven points), but he had six rebounds in 20 and a half minutes, which is decent for a guard.

Washington Wizards 74, Los Angeles Clippers 64

JaVale McGee was fantastic in this game, particularly on defense against DeAndre Jordan. McGee never bit on pump fakes and ended up with seven blocks, along with 19 points on 9-11 shooting, though only four rebounds. Dominic McGuire did most of the rebounding for the Wizards with 11, and he added three steals, two assists and a block of his own. Blake Griffin's final line looks okay, with 19 points on 16 shots, 10 rebounds and four steals, though Washington essentially made it their business to stop him, and Griffin got most of his points in transition and off of broken plays. Nik Caner-Medley played fairly well once again (it's happened a few times in Vegas), with 13 points on eight shots, eight rebounds two steals and a block. Nick Young had an okay day, with 19 points on 14 shots, though he made only two of his eight three-pointers

Chicago Bulls 90, New York Knicks 84

Brandon Costner had a good game off the bench, with 21 points on 11 shots, including going 3-5 from behind the arc, and he had three rebounds as well. DeMarcus Nelson had a nice game of his own 14 points on 5-8 shooting, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jordan Hill has struggled with his shot in Summer League, but yesterday he straightened it out somewhat and scored 14 points on eight shots,. He had nine rebounds and two blocks as well, but also nine fouls. Nikoloz Tskitishvili had a game that was mostly positive, with 14 points on eight shots, seven rebounds and two blocks, though he also missed all four of his three-pointers. Ron Howard had a rough game a few days ago, though his scoring improved in this one with 11 points on seven shots.

Memphis Grizzlies 97, Phoenix Suns 60

Sam Young's had an up-and-down Summer League, but he was up yesterday with 20 points on 7-12 shooting. Trey Gilder had a nice game, shooting 4-5 for 10 points and grabbing four rebounds in 16 and a half minutes. Hamed Haddadi grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes. Goran Dragic hasn't been very consistent, and some have even said that Zabian Dowdell may have made a case to usurp his backup role once the season starts (though Dowdell hasn't shot the ball particularly well), but yesterday Dragic had 17 points on 6-11 shooting. Only two assists, though. Marcus Williams didn't have a great game scoring-wise, though he picked up nine assists and six rebounds. Jiri Hubalek came down to earth a little bit from the other day shooting-wise, though he did have seven rebounds in 17 minutes. Erik Daniels finally got some Summer League run, and he shot 2-3 for four points with three rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes.

Portland Trail Blazers 91, San Antonio Spurs 74

Jeff Pendergraph ended the game with 14 points on six shots, 10 rebounds and three assists, and he played fairly solid defense throughout, particularly on DeJuan Blair. Blair, by the way, grabbed 11 rebounds in 25 and a half minutes, though he shot only 6-16. Pooh Jeter played solidly again, with 19 points on 8-13 shooting, four assists, three rebounds and only one turnover. Jerryd Bayless had 18 points on nine shots and five assists, though he also turned the ball over seven times. San Antonio's problem in this game (or one of them, anyway) was that they didn't share the ball. George Hill's three assists were a team high.

Dallas Mavericks 73, Oklahoma City Thunder 54

Roddy Beaubois hasn't played very well the last few games for Dallas, but he bounced back yesterday with 23 points on 9-12 shooting, including 4-6 on threes. Ahmad Nivins shot a perfect 4-4 from the field and added a free throw for nine points, and he also had four rebounds and two blocks. Oklahoma City has been scuffling in Vegas. I believe it may be fatigue from playing in both Summer Leagues (and the absence of Russell Westbrook), but I haven't been watching the games so there may be something else going on. They had only two players score in double figures yesterday. The best performance on the team was probably DeVon Hardin's, with 10 points on four shots, eight assists, two steals, an assist and a rebound.

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 8

Jon L — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:00:15 -0000

Gary Forbes has played well for the D-League Select team at Vegas Summer League.

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Phoenix Suns 95, D-League Select 89

So, it finally happened. The D-League team lost, and to a team featuring Robin Lopez and Taylor Griffin. The Select squad was actually ahead for most of the game, but were outscored by 11 in the final quarter. The D-Leaguers were missing Othyus Jeffers and Trey Johnson due to some minor injuries, though, so I'm confident that a full squad would've won last night. Coleman Collins and Gary Forbes held things down in their absence. Forbes finished with 26 points on 18 shots, five rebounds and a pair of assists. Collins had 19 points on 11 shots, six rebounds, zero fouls and only one turnover. Jasper Johnson's final line isn't great (11 points from 12 shots), but he was pretty solid in the first half. Kurt Looby had five rebounds in nine minutes. He's close to being in the NBA, people. Walker Russell and Curtis Stinson both struggled with turnovers, picking up seven apiece, though Stinson also had ten rebounds and Russell's passing was otherwise on point, and he shot 10-11 from the free-throw line.

For Phoenix, Micah Downs saw his first extended action and made it count, scoring 19 points on 8-11 shooting and picking up five rebounds, five steals and three assists. I had never heard of Jiri Hubalek before yesterday, but he had 20 points on 11 shots, four rebounds and four blocks. Reading about Hubalek, his game sounds a little similar to Oleksiy Pecherov, in that he's a 7'0"(-ish) guy who shoots and rebounds, and that's about it. Former Dakota Wizard Carlos Powell played well for the Suns as well, with 10 points on five shots.

The rest of the games are after the jump, as usual.

Sacramento Kings 84, New York Knicks 71

If nothing else, Jon Brockman is a rebounding monster. He had 15 in just under 33 minutes yesterday, which makes up for his 1-5 shooting a bit. Nikoloz Tskitishvili has actually been really consistent in Summer League. Three games with 12 points, and each time it came on either eight or nine shots. The only real difference is how many threes he takes (anywhere from five to eight), and whether he blocks any shots (he had two yesterday). The numbers are all right in line through three games, which is sort of interesting (sort of) considering how flaky he was in Denver. Warren Carter's rebounding has been pretty good in Vegas, and he had six yesterday in under 14 minutes along with seven points on 3-5 shooting and a pair of blocks. If he doesn't get a preseason contract out of this, he might want to spend the season in the D-League, because I think he'd do well there and get some more NBA notice. Blake Ahearn finally had a decent shooting game, with nine points on five shots, though he also had five turnovers in 10 and a half minutes. Sigh.

Denver Nuggets 111, Portland Trail Blazers 93

Ty Lawson played well and has generally impressed people watching these games, and he had 26 points on 16 shots, five assists and five rebounds. Jeff Pendergraph also has gotten people talking, and while he didn't shoot the ball particularly well, nine rebounds in 23 and a half minutes is pretty solid. Denver has a fair amount of D-Leaguers on their squad, and they all played fairly well yesterday (to varying degrees). Sonny Weems did his thing to the tune of 24 points on 17 shots, four rebounds and two steals, and while he made only one of his five three-pointers, he was a perfect 9-9 from the free-throw line. Coby Karl was solid, shooting 5-6 and picking up four rebounds and three assists. Richard Hendrix shot 3-3 and grabbed three rebounds in 11 minutes. Ronald Dupree had 16 points on 10 shots and six rebounds, though he also picked up eight fouls. I don't care what people say, I still like the way Pooh Jeter's been playing in Vegas, and he had 15 points on 10 shots and five assists with only two turnovers in 30 and a half minutes.

Minnesota Timberwolves 89, Washington Wizards 82

TrueHoop's David Thorpe commented on Twitter that Nick Young is "too good" for Summer League, and while that may be true talent-wise, he's learning a new offense this year and will have to come off of screens a lot probably for the first time in his career. He's looked pretty good doing it, and yesterday he had 23 points on 17 shots, and he finally picked up some assists (which was worrying the Wizards fanbase) with three. Jonny Flynn has been playing well overall here, showing some nice speed and generally good decision-making. His shot hasn't always fallen but it did yesterday, as he had 21 points on 11 shots along with five assists and five rebounds. Wayne Ellington also has played well. John Edwards started off well before starting to foul a lot, and he finished with 11 points on 5-7 shooting, six rebounds and seven fouls. Garrett Siler had what some people refer to as a "Kevin Martin game," wherein he scored 11 points on two shots by going 8-9 from the free-throw line. Adam Parada's been rebounding really well, and he had seven in a little over 16 minutes, though he's not doing much else

Detroit Pistons 92, Cleveland Cavaliers 86

Austin Daye had another game in the point-rebound department, with 20 points on 14 shots and 10 rebounds. He had seven fouls and four turnovers, though, so there are still things to work on. Darnell Jackson has been pretty inconsistent this last week or so, but yesterday scored 13 points on seven shots and grabbed 11 rebounds. Jonas Jerebko was solid as well, with 19 points on eight shots and five rebounds. The Pistons had two players play 10 minutes each and combine for zero points and four rebounds. I reallllly hope Dwayne Jones isn't playing because he's injured (I don't want him to be injured, but you know what I mean). Jawad Williams has been playing fairly well, and he had 13 points on 11 shots yesterday (and made two of his three shots from behind the arc) and grabbed five rebounds, though he also had four turnovers. I haven't mentioned David Harrison much, because he hasn't done a whole lot (though he played okay the day before last), but he got two technical fouls yesterday. I don't know if that's an ejection, since you can't foul out of Summer League games, but he got two technicals. In a Summer League game. Think about that.

Chicago Bulls 80, Oklahoma City Thunder 74

James Harden has looked like a really solid pick for the Thunder, scoring efficiently along and picking up assists, rebounds and steals at a decent rate. He shot 7-15 yesterday, including 49 on threes, and had five assists. DJ White has had a solid Summer League of his own, and against Chicago he had 15 points on 11 shots, eight rebounds and two blocks. James Augustine was a perfect 4-4 from the field and 1-1 from the line, and he added 10 rebounds and two steals. Linton Johnson has apparently bulked up a bit in order to play some power forward this season, and he doesn't seem to have been too negatively affected by it. He shot 5-8 yesterday with five rebounds. DeVon Hardin had a "Kevin Martin game" of his own, with nine points on two shots along with four rebounds.

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 6

Jon L — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:00:48 -0000

See these guys? These guys are better than your guys.

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So...we're officially past the halfway point with this Summer League thing. It both feels like it just started and like it's been going on forever. Orlando probably had something to do with it. I had a pretty interesting conversation (well, sort of) on Twitter that got to the heart of what Summer League should be about. I've talked about this before, but there are several competing goals that teams have: see how their new draft picks look on the court with other NBA players, help young NBA players continue to develop, and see if any D-League guys or "Europe" guys can fill in the back of the roster. Is it worth playing your second-year center 35 minutes if he's generally having an awful game and you have undrafted free agents or D-League guys you could look at? Or do that center's struggles mean that he needs more on-court development, and as such should stay out there and lean from his mistakes? I'm not completely sure of what the answer is, but looking at the box scores and seeing so many DNPs makes me go back to the question of whether Summer League is worth it for players who don't already have NBA contracts. If you play a lot and play well, like Kasib Powell did in Orlando, then sure you could say that was a good decision. But too often guys end up sitting on the bench for the entire game, unable to show what they can do while that second-year center shoots 20 percent from the field and an undrafted free agent plays five uneventful minutes. And because teams are playing either every day or every other day, there aren't really any practices to show what a player can do. Perhaps the solution is for the D-League to field several Select teams, thus ensuring that guys get playing time in which they can show they can hang with NBA players.

By the way, if these recaps have seemed shorter the last few days, it's because a.) A lot of these teams have relatively few D-League guys (hence the Select team, I guess), and b.) Not a lot of guys have been playing well, D-League or otherwise. There are players who I expected to have been talking about a lot, but because I'm trying to avoid harping on poor performances (ahem, Blake Ahearn) I'm left with little to focus on. If this keeps up I'm going to have a hardedrtime writing a "which non-NBA players did well in Vegas" post than I did with Orlando. Unless of course I just talk about the Select team, which beat another NBA squad yesterday. Hit the jump for the recap of that one and the rest.

D-League Select 105, Sacramento Kings 89

The D-League team was actually down by seven at the half, but they dominated the second half, including a 31-14 fourth quarter. And hey, I can actually tell you who played well in this one! Othyus Jeffers, Othyus Jeffers, Othyus Jeffers. (That wasn't meant to be a Clarence Carter reference, but feel free to make it one if you wish.) Jeffers again led the D-Leaguers with 21 points on 7-12 shooting and a perfect day from the free-throw line, plus seven rebounds and two steals. I'll be really, really surprised if he spends all of next season in the D-League; a call-up (or an outright signing) should be soon in coming for this guy. This was the first game where Trey Johnson played well without caveat, and he shot 8-10 for 20 points and added a pair of rebounds. Gary Forbes has been playing pretty well, both in Vegas and in Orlando, and yesterday he had 17 points on 11 shots and four rebounds. Coleman Collins shot 100 percent on the day, shooting 3-3 from the field and 4-4 from the line.Kurt Looby took zero field goals, which is probably for the best, but I'll take six rebounds and three blocks in less than 15 minutes any day (though I could do without the six fouls). Curtis Stinson has started both official games at PG, and he's been solid enough, but Walker Russell has been really impressive generally

Jason Thompson had a fairly solid game, with 31 points on 23 shots and 10 rebounds, but also nine fouls. Marcus Landry has played relatively well, and yesterday he had 10 points on 4-6 shooting, though he didn't do much else. Tyreke Evans is a very good rebounder for his position, but the shooting still isn't there. He cut down on his turnovers, though. Did I mention that the D-League team beat another NBA squad, this one also featuring several first-round picks

Denver Nuggets 77, Washington Wizards 70

Nick Young came down to earth a little bit, scoring only 17 points, but it came on 12 shots and he also had three steals. Andray Blatche's numbers looked good again, 27 points on 21 shots, 15 rebounds (eight offensive), three assists and two steals, but he didn't look great doing it. He was exhorting his teammates to make harder cuts on offense, but he had his share of boneheaded plays as well. If you expect me to say another Wizard had a good game, I can't. Those three assists were a team high. JaVale McGee finished with eight rebounds and five blocks, but he also shot 3-12 and by all accounts looked pretty terrible overall.

Sonny Weems bounced back from a poor game to score 17 points on 15 shots and grab 11 boards. Richard Hendrix had a nice, solid game, with 10 points on 4-6 shooting and six rebounds in 19 minutes. CJ Giles also played fairly well, with 10 points on seven shots and seven rebounds, though he also had seven fouls. Ronald Dupree saw his first extended action and finished with 11 points on 4-9 shooting along with three rebounds, three assists and a block

Houston Rockets 87, Portland Trail Blazers 8

Chase Budinger Summer League Jersey Retirement Watch: Budinger had an excellent 17 points on eight shots thanks to going 2-2 from behind the arc and 3-3 from the free-throw line. Maarty Leunen also had a fairly efficient day, with 14 points on eight shots, along with five rebounds and four assists. Jerryd Bayless had 13 points on 10 shots and six rebounds, though he also had only two assists and six turnovers. James White shot 3-4 but more importantly did a good job of getting to the free-throw line, and ended up with 16 points on four shots. Four turnovers, though. Pooh Jeter finished with 15 points on 11 shots and had a game-high six assists and only one turnover. Rod Benson only played a little over three minutes, but he had two rebounds in that time.

Milwaukee Bucks 87, Chicago Bulls 72

Not too much interesting about this one. Joe Alexander's shooting has been improving gradually, and he had 18 points on 16 shots yesterday with five rebounds and three blocks, and Brandon Jennings had 14 points on 10 shots with nine assists, but neither of those are really noteworthy. Taj Gibson has rebounded the ball well so far, and he had eight against the Bucks, but he also had 10 fouls. DeMarcus Nelson has been shooting the ball and rebounding fairly well, and he shot 6-12 with six rebounds yesterday, but he's not getting to the free throw line much and his overall efficiency is suffering (more with Nelson later today). My former college chum Linton Johnson (not really, but we were at Tulane at the same time) played just under five and a half minutes, but he had three rebounds in that time which isn't bad

Toronto Raptors 74, Phoenix Suns 73

DeMar DeRozan continues to impress, with 20 points on 16 shots, and only two fouls and a single turnover. Quincy Douby's also played fairly well, and he scored 16 points on 12 shots, though he also shot 1-5 on his three-pointers. Earl Clark can rebound, I'll tell you that, with 12 rebounds in just over 27 minutes, though he also had five rebounds and needed 12 shots to get 13 points. Smush Parker has pretty much disappeared since the first game against the Lakers. Coincidence? Paul Davis was injured and had to be taken out of the gym on a stretcher, so hopefully he's okay. He always stuck me as a guy who'd do alright in the D-League

Detroit Pistons 96, New York Knicks 73

This game was all about Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers. Daye had 27 points on 17 shots and 13 rebounds despite being what one person on Twitter called "all arms and legs." Summers finished with 26 points on 21 shots and eight rebounds. Jonas Jerebko was less efficient shooting-wise, but he had 12 rebounds, and he's generally been solid in that area. Toney Douglas has been racking up the assists so far, and he had 10 yesterday, but his shooting has been pretty terrible. Saer Sene played only nine minutes, but he had three rebounds and two blocks in that time. David Noel, Ron Howard, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Dwayne Jones all got DNPs. Booooooo. Just for that I stuck this recap at the bottom.

A Look Back at the Orlando Summer League

Jon L — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:00:22 -0000

Kasib Powell, who had a great Summer League.

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Before we get too entrenched in Vegas Summer League stories and stats, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at some notable performances from Orlando. I'm going to focus on players who have seen a lot of D-League time as well as some other guys who came into Summer League without a guaranteed spot on an NBA roster (though there are a few second-round picks sprinkled in here). As with the daily breakdowns, the emphasis here is on the positive - there certainly were players who could've done better, but this is about letting you know who played his way onto NBA radars (or should've, anyway), not telling you that Terrence Williams needs to work on his defense. You'll have plenty of time to figure that one once the season starts. Oh, and I'm mainly looking at guys who played a lot. Josh McRoberts, for instance, has a decent rebounding average but he played in only two games. With all that as preface, let's take a look at ten players who did well for themselves down in Orlando.

Kasib Powell (6'7") - Yeah, yeah, he's been contributing to RU, but Powell really did play very well in Orlando. He was the Magic team's second-best player all week behind NBA-er Ryan Anderson, and while his shooting wasn't always there, he ended up shooting 53 percent on threes, and he helped out in plenty of other ways with 23 rebounds in four games, eight assists, a pair of blocks and only three turnovers. The Magic frontcourt gets more crowded seemingly by the day, but Powell would be a nice addition to the Orlando bench.

Richard Hendrix (6'9"F/C) - Hendrix had a great week rebounding-wise, averaging 15 per 48 minutes, and his 29 rebounds came about evenly divided between offense and defense, so he was taking care of business at both ends of the floor. He also shot 56 percent through four games, and had seven blocks. With Marcin Gortat headed to Dallas and Tony Battie gone as part of the Vince Carter trade, Hendrix wouldn't be a bad backup in the middle for the Magic.

D.J. White (6'9" F) - White was the best OKC rebounder on a per-game basis and was a pretty efficient scorer overall, with 54 points on 41 total shots. White had some injury problems when he was with Tulsa last season, but he's talented enough to play for the Thunder this year

Chris Lofton (6'2" G) - I didn't talk about Lofton much on a game-by-game basis, and looking back I have no idea why not. He came into camp with a reputation as a good three-point shooter, and Summer League only emphasized that - he made 60 percent of his threes. He didn't really offer much else, with a combined five rebounds, three assists and three steals in five games, but he also didn't turn the ball over (four total), and he had the best free-throw percentage on Boston's entire roster, a respectable 89 percent. If teams are looking for an outside shooter, Lofton is one of the best prospects coming out of Orlando.

Russell Robinson (6'1" G) - Robinson was running the point for Orlando all week, and he did a pretty good job of it. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but he ran the offense and distributed the ball pretty well. About eight assists per 48 minutes, and he also had five total assists, tied for most on the team.

A.J. Price (6'0" G) - I'm somewhat skeptical that Price will make an NBA roster this year (he was arrested for stealing laptops while at UConn), but if he spends a few years in the D-League he might get a shot. His Orlando performance demonstrated that he may deserve one, as he shot 57 percent on his three-pointers and led the Pacers team in assists, averaging a little under 7 per 48 minutes, which is decent for a guy who's not really a true point guard. He also had only five turnovers all week. The downside to his performance is that he shot only 8-20 on two-pointers and didn't get to the line very much (only three free throws in five games), but the talent is there.

Kevin Rogers (6'9" F) - Rogers had a few disappointing final years at Baylor, but he showed some skill in Orlando, with 43 points on 34 shots and 22 total rebounds in five games, which averages out to about eight and a half per 48 minutes, which is solid. He also led the Boston team with seven total blocks. He may need a year or two of committed development time before he's completely ready, but his performance here intrigues me, and I think a team that doesn't need an immediate contribution would do well to take a look (Houston, I'm looking in your direction).

Josh Duncan (6'9"F) - Duncan may not be all that athletic, but he did a great job scoring this week, making seven of his nine three-pointers and shooting 72.4 percent overall. He also finished with respectable rebounding and free-throw shooting numbers.

Kevin Kruger (6'2" G) - Kevin Kruger didn't finish the week with great shooting percentages, but he did a good job running the point when he was on the court and finished averaging just over eight points per 48 minutes. He didn't get a ton of playing time, but he was solid enough that he might get a preseason look. He still dribbles the ball too much, but that hasn't held other guys back. He also averaged one turnover about every 11 minutes.

Kevin Lyde (6'10" F/C) - Lyde didn't play very many minutes either, but he rebounded the ball really well when he did play - 21 total rebounds in 64 minutes, just under 16 per 48 minutes. He shot under 50 percent on free throws, though. Yikes.

Reviewing Orlando Magic Players' Performance in the 2009 Orlando Pro Summer League

Ben Q Rock — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:18 -0000

Another Orlando Pro Summer League is in the books, and the host Orlando Magic finished the week with a 2-3 record. The Magic have several roster spots to fill on the big-league team, and must fill those spots with a limited budget. Undrafted rookies, free-agents, and veterans of international ball--in other words, players who fit the Magic's said limited budget--made their cases for inclusion on the opening-night roster.

After the jump, 3QC breaks down the chances each player has of earning an invitation to training camp.

First, a look at each player's per-game statistics. They're sorted in descending order by total minutes played, in order to show which players got the longest looks from the team.

Pos.	Name	Mins	Pts	Rebs	Asts	Stls	Blks	FG%	3FG%	FT%
PF	Ryan Anderson	31	21.4	9.4	2.0	1.0	1.0	49.3%	41.4%	92.0%
SF	Kasib Powell	34	14.8	5.8	2.0	1.0	0.8	46.0%	52.9%	44.4%
PG	Russell Robinson	22	6.6	1.4	3.6	1.0	0.2	38.5%	28.6%	91.7%
SG	Maurice Ager	19	8.0	1.4	1.4	0.6	0.2	37.5%	28.6%	60.9%
PF/C	Richard Hendrix	23	9.8	7.3	0.8	0.3	1.8	56.0%	100.0%	66.7%
PG	Brian Chase	26	12.7	4.0	2.7	0.3	0.0	55.6%	75.0%	66.7%
SF	Jeremy Richardson	26	12.0	5.7	0.3	1.0	0.0	35.1%	15.4%	88.9%
PF/C	Darian Townes	15	3.6	3.6	0.0	0.0	0.2	34.8%		40.0%
SG	Courtney Fells	18	2.7	2.7	0.7	1.0	0.3	14.3%	22.2%
C	Lance Allred	10	1.4	2.8	0.8	0.0	0.0	27.3%		50.0%
PG	Jeremy Pargo	18	4.0	1.5	1.5	1.5	0.0	33.3%	0.0%
PG	Levance Fields	13	4.5	1.0	2.5	0.5	0.0	36.5%	25.0%	0.0%
C	Stevan Milosevic	8	2.0	1.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	66.7%
PF	C.J. Giles	5	2.0	3.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	50.0%

It's pretty easy to stratify the players from there.

The Sure Thing

Ryan Anderson will make the final roster, and would have regardless of how well he played in camp, because he's the only player here with a guaranteed contract. Orlando wouldn't surrender Courtney Lee to the New Jersey Nets as part of the deal for Vince Carter were Anderson not included. But even if all that weren't the case--if he were scrapping just like everyone else--he would have assured a roster spot with his play this week. He was the best player on the floor most of the time, and displayed some admirable versatility. Catch-and-shoot, pick-and-pop? Sure, that's what he did in New Jersey. But he added some strong drives to the basket, and did some work on the offensive glass. In the regular season, he'll revert to catch-and-shoot/pick-and-pop action, but he's developing an all-around game for the long haul. At 21, he could be in Orlando for quite some time.

The Likely Camp Invitees

Kasib Powell, too, looked like an all-around player. He struggles to finish near the basket, but he's a solid jump-shooter, with a better handle than at least one small forward on Orlando's roster. At 28, he has limited upside, but he's a smart player who works hard. There might be a spot at the end of Orlando's bench for him. Given his play this week, and given his familiarity with the organization--he went to training camp with the Magic in 2006--there's a darn good chance he'll go camping with them again this year.
Russell Robinson's shooting and scoring stats won't impress you, but his ability to run a team might. He turned the ball over 6 times in 109 minutes, coordinated the offense, and made smart plays. Defensively, he pressures the ball well. Coach Stan Van Gundy went out of the way to compliment Robinson after camp, and it appears as though the Magic will use their remaining free-agency dollars to address needs at small forward and at center. Maybe they'll take a flier on Robinson, hoping the 23-year-old can fill-in as their third point guard this year, and maybe develop into a backup down the line.
Richard Hendrix is neither tall nor athletic. That did not stop him from fairly quietly posting impressive numbers at both power positions or Orlando this week. He's not much of a shot creator or jump-shooter--regardless of the made three-pointer, at the end of a quarter, off a designed play-- but as a garbageman, he's efficient. Defensively, he holds his own, and has good-but-not-great instincts as a shot-blocker. The Magic could do worse than to fill their 6th big-man spot with Hendrix.
Jeremy Richardson's week ended due to a sore right foot, so his minutes played and per-game stats skew unfavorably. I thought he played better than his 35.1% shooting would suggest. Don't get hung up on his poor three-point shooting; if there's one thing he's proven in his brief NBA career, it's that he can hit the three-ball, with a career 38.5% mark from beyond the arc. His woeful percentage inside it has held him back, so to see him make almost half of his two-pointers? It's progress. He expects to sign soon, and I'm inclined to take his word for it.

The Possible Camp Invitees

Maurice Ager might have been the most vocal Magic player, in terms of yelling in either exuberance or frustration. He plays hard, and we can't fault him for that. But in 78 NBA games over 3 seasons, he's been just awful. He's a scoring specialist who doesn't score efficiently. So why might he make the Magic's camp roster? It's only someone else's hunch: one media member at RDV this week said Ager and his agent wouldn't have chosen to join Orlando's summer-league team without some sort of "wink/nod" agreement with GM Otis Smith.
Brian Chase elevated himself from "Everyone Else" to "Possible Camp Invitee" status with his play on Friday. On the court for the final 31 minutes after Robinson started, he put on a clinic against the Pacers. 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, with 1-of-1 from downtown. He's quick, he can finish, and he has a nice handle. What he isn't, however, is a playmaker. But sure, he can make a professional career out of being a scoring guard. Professionally in Europe, in all likelihood.

The Wildcard

Milovan Rakovic didn't play a single minute this week, apparently due to a paperwork/clearance issue. The Magic might want to see how their 2006 second-rounder performs in their own camp, if that paperwork is resolved. The more likely result is that Rakovic will spend another year with Spartak Saint Petersburg, and Orlando will take another look at him next summer.

Everyone Else

Lance Allred was a step slower than his contemporaries all week, didn't rebound or defend especially well, and didn't do much besides hit some elbow jumpers. On the plus side, he's the only published author on the Magic's summer roster.
Courtney Fells did not meet a shot attempt he didn't like. 3-of-21 shooting, 2-of-9 from three-point range, no free throw attempts, and as many turnovers as points (8). He sure can jump, though.
Levance Fields played reasonably well in limited minutes--if we're honest, he's a cut above the other players in this section--but Robinson and Chase outperformed him. He'll catch on somewhere overseas and might get another opportunity in the NBA next season.
C.J. Giles appeared in one game, for 5 minutes. Not to be too glib, but that's about all you need to know about his chances of making the team.
Stevan Milosevic is a big guy, and that might be the extent of his positives, in terms of NBA potential. He was involved in arguably the two most embarrassing plays of camp: the Celtics' J.R. Giddens threw down a vicious tomahawk dunk on him on Wednesday. Later in the week, he made an impressive spin around Pacers center Scott Vander Meer, had a wide-open look to the basket... and airballed the layup. He threw the ball straight up in the air. One of the more spectacular misses in summer-league history. I hate to rip the guy, because he tried his best, but his best isn't going to get it done in the NBA.
Jeremy Pargo hardly played this week, and in limited minutes, did not do much to distinguish himself as a better shoot-first point guard prospect than Chase did.
Darian Townes started at center in 3 of the 5 games, but usually gave way to Hendrix in crunch-time situations. Defenders block his shot all too easily, even at the rim, which helps to explain his 34.8% shooting despite hardly taking any jumpers, that I can recall. There's room for a few offensive zeroes in the NBA--think Chuck Hayes--but they have to be able to do something else extremely well. Hayes, for instance, is one of the league's best post defenders despite standing only 6'06". Townes didn't distinguish himself as a rebounder, defender, or shot-blocker.

Okay, that's out of the way.

So, 3QCers, who would you like to see invited to Orlando's training camp in the fall?

Recapping the Orlando Summer League: Day 5

Jon L — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:00:15 -0000

Yesterday was the final day of games for the Orlando Summer League. Some of the players looking to make an NBA roster are now headed for Vegas to play for other teams, while everyone else heads back home and prepares for the preseason. As I mentioned yesterday, I'll take a look back at the Orlando league's games, probably to run on Monday, but there's still the matter of the last three games to recap. Onward!

Boston Celtics 92, Philadelphia/New Jersey Frankensteins 79

Chris Douglas-Roberts got his scoring back on track in this one, scoring 15 points on 9 shots, and he also had four assists and three rebounds, which is good to see from him. Gabe Pruitt has been pretty solid running the point (with a few bumps in the road), and he had 13 points on 8 shots, nine assists and three steals. Jrue Holiday hasn't had the best Summer League, but yesterday he shot 4-8 and threw in four assists and four rebounds. At this point the fewer mentions of Terrence Williams's offense the better, though he had six rebounds, four assists and a block.

Nick Fazekas finally had himself a good game. He's been struggling a little bit to make his mark, but yesterday he scored 22 points on 17 shots and had nine rebounds but only two fouls. Gary Forbes shot the ball very well, going 7-11, and he added three rebounds, two assists and a block, though he also had five fouls in just over 26 minutes. Jason Ellis kept up the good rebounding work with six, but he also had five fouls. Coby Karl continued to contribute in non-shooting areas of the game, with six rebounds and five assists, and he only had one turnover in just under 28 minutes, which is an improvement over the rest of his week.

The other two games after the jump.

Utah Jazz 70, Oklahoma City Thunder 60

Both Russell Westbrook and Kyle Weaver sat this one out, and Shaun Livingston did well in his natural position running the point, with 12 points on 9 shots, four assists and five rebounds. DJ White also got into the game and did very well, shooting 7-10, though he also had four fouls and three turnovers. BJ, excuse me, Byron Mullens had a rough shooting day, missing all seven of his field goals, but he grabbed six rebounds and finished with only two fouls and no turnovers.

Larry Turner hasn't been very impressive this week, but he came through in the middle yesterday with 12 rebounds and three blocks. Andre Ingram was solid all-around, with 11 points on 4-7 shooting, including 3-6 on three-pointers, and he also had four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Kevin Kruger's been pretty solid all week, and yesterday he had 10 points, made half his shots (including half of his three-pointers) and had a game-high five assists. Josh Duncan also had a solid game off the bench, going 4-5 for 12 points, including making both of his three-pointers, and adding four rebounds in a little over 16 minutes.

Indiana Pacers 68, Orlando Magic 54

Ryan Anderson finally had a bad game, at least offensively, shooting 2-11 and picking up six rebounds, though he also had 10 rebounds and two steals. Tyler Hansbrough had a somewhat-similar night, shooting 1-5 with nine rebounds. Roy Hibbert played well, though, with 16 points on 13 shots, 11 rebounds and three blocks, though he also had three turnovers in 20 minutes.

I'm sure by this point you all think I keep mentioning him because he's been contributing to this site, but Kasib Powell's been playing really well all week. He didn't have a great shooting day yesterday overall, needing 14 shots to score 12 points, but he made two of his three three-point shots, and he's versatile enough to contribute even when his shot isn't falling and grabbed eight rebounds. Richard Hendrix had a solid game off the bench, with 10 points on 7 shots, five rebounds and four blocks. Trey Johnson had an okay day shooting-wise, but he didn't do much else and also picked up four fouls in 22 minutes. Scott Vander Meer may be headed to Fort Wayne this season, and while he's been relatively quiet all week he had a decent game yesterday with six rebounds and three blocks, though he also shot 2-7.