SB Nation - Darnell Jackson

Waive Goodbye, Part 2

Jon L — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:42 -0000

Go ahead and smile, Derrick Byars. You made the team. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Today we continue our look at the players waived or, occasionally, kept by NBA teams as the regular season begins. Next up we move into the middle of the country, or as I like to call it, "America's already-bloated snackhole." (I can say that because I live there.) That's right, it's the Central and Southwest Divisions. (Except that I was looking at the wrong division list when I wrote this and it's actually the Northwest Division. Deal with it, America.) And if you're just tuning in, don't forget to check out part 1.

Chicago Bulls

Who got cut: Curtis Stinson, Chris Richard, Steven Hill

Who got kept: Derrick Byars

Forget Stinson and Hill, this really came down to Byars vs. Richard for the last roster spot. And with all due respect to Richard, they made the right call. Richard played okay, although he averaged less than seven points per 36 minutes, and given that the team that already sports Joakim Noah in the frontcourt they really probably can't handle yet another guy who can't produce on offense. Not that Richard unequivocally can't, he just didn't demonstrate that sort of ability in the preseason, which is when he needed to demonstrate it. Byars helps the team in case Deng gets hurt again, or if John Salmons starts creaking (he turns 30 later this year). I won't discuss Byars in great detail here, because you can read this. It probably makes up for the Bulls cutting DeMarcus Nelson, maybe. Stinson and Hill are both probably headed to Europe, though I could see Stinson sticking around the D-League.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Who got cut: Luke Nevill, Andre Barrett, Russell Robinson, Rob Kurz, Darryl Watkins

Who got kept: Coby Karl

See Marge? These guys get it. Karl actually didn't play particularly well in the preseason, but he had a pretty good Summer League with Denver, and he's definitely talented. He's a nice multi-faceted player who can shoot (and make) threes, help distribute the ball, pick up some steals and rebound a little bit. So in other words he's exactly the right kind of guard for Cleveland. He's also worked damn hard, and he deserves another shot at the NBA. It never feels good to get cut (I'm assuming), but it's probably especially hard for Rob Kurz, who was starting for the Warriors just last season. He'd definitely be a prime call-up candidate should he go to the D-League, as he's a 6'9" guy who can make threes, although he could stand to pick up his rebounding and defense. He also profiles well as a Euroleague guy, so he could end up there. Russell Robinson also could pick either option. He played pretty poorly both in Summer League and the preseason, with turnovers being the major problem. Another stint in the D-League could help that, as he averaged just two and a half per 36 minutes for Reno last season. I'll mention again that I haven't been including Jawad Williams in this discussion because he was signed at the end of last season and has a partially-guaranteed deal, so while he theoretically could be waived later on, the team has been somewhat more committed to him than these other guys. I'm somewhat optimistic about Williams's playing time, since at this point he's more capable than J.J. Hickson or Darnell Jackson, but Leon Powe and maybe Jamario Moon are around to take most of the backup forward minutes.

Denver Nuggets

Who got cut: James White, Kurt Looby, Keith Brumbaugh, Dontaye Draper

Who got kept: Joey Graham

Massive disappointment here, although there's nothing personal against Graham. There was just so much hope that this would be White's year in Houston, then the team decided it wouldn't be, then Denver decided it wouldn't be his year for them, either. Looby getting cut isn't a huge surprise, as he's still carpaccio-raw. But, White getting the boot on top of Sonny Weems being sent away is enough to make one question Denver's commitment to ~~Sparkle Motion~~ the D-League. That would be rash, of course, and unfair to Denver who is clearly trying to win soon. Graham's per-36 numbers are almost identical to White's NBA figures, but I guess there's still too much uncertainty over what White can do when there really shouldn't be. He's headed over to Europe now, I assume, since he's said he's done with the D-League, and who can blame him. If an NBA team says they're committed to your development, then semi-promptly gets rid of you, that would be disheartening for anyone.

Detroit Pistons

Who got cut: Maceo Baston

Who got kept: No one.

Sorry, Maceo. Have fun at your House Party. (Admit it, that's not the clip you were expecting.) (Also, note to self: when you get older, shave your head but leave the sideburns and add a mustache.) But hey, here's a crazy idea; the Pistons also waived their second round pick Deron Washington, who's a 6'7" small forward. James White is a 6'7" small forward. WHAT IF THEY'RE ABOUT TO SIGN JAMES WHITE? They're probably not, but they should be. While Austin Daye looked really, really good in Summer League, and Jonas Jerebko could be pretty good, it seems a bit crazy to rely on three rookies (remember DaJuan Summers) as key bench contributors, rebuilding or no rebuilding. And while James White doesn't have that much more NBA experience, he's been around for a few years and he can contribute. Come on, Joe Dumars. LET'S DO THIS.

Indiana Pacers

Who got cut: Rod Benson, Demetris Nichols, Lawrence Roberts

Who got kept: No one.

Rod Benson is probably going back to Europe this year, even though he didn't have the best experience there last season (although being injured didn't help). I'd guess Nichols goes the same route, and both of them are good enough to play in the NBA right now. (Roberts is already over there.) As for the biggest question, whether we'll seee a return of Boom Tho-ness, I have no idea. Personally I wouldn't expect too much except maybe a continuation of his posts over at Ball Don't Lie. If this website were FreeDarko I'd probably launch into a discussion about whether this year's return to (or first crack at) seriousness for Benson and Gilbert Arenas reflects some kind of "down to business" vibe given off by the Obama Administration, but I have neither the time nor the ability to get into that right now. Or who knows, maybe Benson could write a book that would probably be better than Paul Shirley's (which I haven't read, but Benson's a better writer than Shirley so it's pretty much a lock.)

Milwaukee Bucks

Who got cut: Marcus Hubbard, Mark Tyndale, Charles Gaines, Dominic James

Who got kept: No one.

This was bound to happen eventually, but I don't really have much to say about these guys. Hubbard could do with another season or two in the D-League and work on either a.) becoming a proper interior player, or b.) shooting better than .256 on his three-pointers. Because this in-between thing isn't working. Gaines played well for Austin last season, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes, and shot a good percentage with Maccabi Tel Aviv. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this season, but I'm not sure he's close enough to a call-up to make it worth his time. Let's see, what else can I talk about with these guys...uh hey, I think Ersan Ilyasova can be pretty good, but that's not really under the purview of this series. Three or four players likely going over to Europe. Whee.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Who got cut: Jack McClinton, Alonzo Gee, Jared Reiner, Devin Green, Mustafa Shakur

Who got kept: Jason Hart

I don't have much to say about Jason Hart since he's 31 years old now and last played in the D-League eight years ago. This is probably a stale comment by now, and the team waived Antonio Daniels so they haven't gone completely crazy, but what's the deal with Minnesota and point guards? Who are these people? Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one? I've already written about this, but whatever NBA team ends up with McClinton (and there will be one, eventually) is going to love having him, and kick themselves for not having him earlier. Reiner got a raw deal by getting cut right before the game in his hometown, sure. But Nate Jawai is in Minnesota now, and that's something, right? It's at least as much a something as Oleksiy Pecherov being there, certainly.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Who got cut: Michael Ruffin, Tre Kelley, Mike Harris

Who got kept: Ryan Bowen

I saw Kelley play a little bit, and he looked pretty good. He's very quick, and he can get to the basket. Of course, he was being guarded by Curtis Jerrells at that point so take it with a grain of bacon salt. He's almost certainly headed to Europe. Michael Ruffin, eh. I have a sort of personal animus against him through no fault of his, since Eddie Jordan overused him when they were both with the Washington Wizards, but he's already landed on his feet overseas. The question of what Bowen can give the team at this point in his career is a good one, as he's 34 years old and has been pretty inconsistent the last few seasons. I just have to keep telling myself that the Thunder still have D.J. White and Serge Ibaka, and be content with that.

Portland Trail Blazers

Who got cut: Ime Udoka, Jarron Collins, Donell Taylor, Quinton Hosley

Who got kept: No one.

I wonder what will happen to Udoka, as he's probably still good enough to contribute at the back of someone's rotation, but he's also 32 years old and most of the teams that would be interested in him are already full up. He's a solid candidate for a mid-season replacement in case some small forward somewhere gets hurt. He can shoot the three a bit, his rebounding has improved the past few years and he doesn't turn the ball over much.

What, you want me to talk about Jarron Collins?

Utah Jazz

Who got cut: Ronald Dupree, Alexander Johnson, Paul Harris, Spencer Nelson

Who got kept: No one.

Wes Matthews and draft pick Goran Suton aren't really included in this, but in the interest of full disclosure Matthews is in and Suton is out. Suton would be a solid big man in the D-League should he decide to go that route. You're probably expecting me to express disappointment at Dupree being waived, but the fact is that he didn't play well in the preseason. At all. Well, I suppose that's not completely true as he averaged about ten points per 36 minutes, but he's capable of much more than that, and he didn't really contribute much in the way of rebounds, assists or steals. He's really only had one good game, though, against the Clippers when he shot 4-7 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line, and in the rest he shot 5-13 overall. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this year, and maybe if he plays his normal solid, slashing game he'll restore some of his call-up-ability.

Cavaliers waive 3, roster set at 15

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:12:24 -0000

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced today that they have waived guards Andre Barrett and Russell Robinson and center Darryl Watkins. Barrett played in four games during the preseason, averaging 5.8 points and 4.3 assists in 17.5 minutes per game while Robinson played in five games (one start) and averaged 6.4 points and 2.4 assists in 20.0 minutes per game. Watkins appeared in four games and totaled two points, eight rebounds and one block in 28 minutes played.

The Cavaliers roster now stands at 15 -

NO PLAYER POS HGT WGT

1 Daniel Gibson G 6-2 200

14 Danny Green G/F 6-6 210

21 J.J. Hickson F 6-9 242

11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas C 7-3 260

00 Darnell Jackson F 6-9 253

23 LeBron James F 6-8 250

5 Coby Karl G 6-5 215

15 Jamario Moon F 6-8 205

33 Shaquille O’Neal C 7-1 325

18 Anthony Parker G/F 6-6 210

44 Leon Powe F 6-8 240

17 Anderson Varejao F/C 6-11 260

13 Delonte West G 6-3 190

31 Jawad Williams F 6-9 220

2 Mo Williams G 6-1 195

2009/10 NBA Blogger Preview - Cleveland Cavaliers

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:58:21 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

2 months ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' Shaquille O'Neal, left, and LeBron James laugh in the fourth quarter of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 92-87. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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Each year the fine folks at Celtics Blog head up a Season Preview of each team, written by team bloggers. They then present these previews one division at a time. So far, we have seen previews for the Atlantic Division and the Southwest Division. Now comes the Central's turn - due to be released tomorrow. Before that, however, I needed to give my thoughts on the buring questions surrounding the Wine and Gold heading into the season. Check it out!

1. What significant moves were made during the off-season?

I guess it is safe to say the Cavaliers made the biggest move of the off-season - literally. Shaquille O'Neal is a big man and a big personality. The question will be if there is enough room on the floor and shots in a game to keep Shaq, LeBron, Mo Williams and others happy. I believe this team has the character for it not to become a problem - and seeing a few Pre-Season games it appears everyone is going to be completely happy. Should the Cavaliers start losing, well, then there could be problems. I, for one, think the Shaq acquisition was the perfect move for the Cavaliers to make. There is something to having a lot of talent, but that expereince is a huge positive as well. Shaw will also take some of the spotlight off LeBron which isn't a bad thing.

There were other moves, though none got all the attention that Shaq did. Orlando exposed a huge weakness the Cavaliers roster had - length on the perimeter. Mo Williams and Delonte West are both undersized. This, of course, can be camouflaged during the season because, A) most teams don't have the players to expose the Cavs, and B) LeBron makes up for most vulnerabilities. Orlando, on the other hand, did have the players and LeBron could make up for Hedo, and Rashard Lewis, and Pietrus. The Magic simply had too much length.

In steps Anthony Parker(6-6) and Jemario Moon(6-8). Both guys add significant length to the defense and more spot-up jump-shooting from the outside. Now the Cavaliers can matchup much better in the post with Shaq and on the outside with LeBron, Parker and Moon.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

LeBron James. Seriously. The reigning MVP would be the strength to any team he plays on so we have to start there. It isn't the only strength, however. The Cavaliers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA< and that was when they were undersized in the back-court. Now that they can matchup with bigger, 'longer' teams they could be even better defensively this season than they were a year ago.

The Cavs are also a deep unit, especially up front with Shaq, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. Darnell Jackson provides some muscle, while J.J. Hickson is on his way to being a premier low-post scoring threat.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

Back-court depth. What was considered a strength just a few weeks ago must be considered a weakness with the uncertainty surrounding Delonte West. In a perfect world, West would be the starting SG, with Moon, Parker, LeBron et al shuffling around the 2 and 3 spots. The Cavaliers could go small, with James at the 4, or go big with James at the 2 and Moon at the 3. West is also the Cavaliers best option at PG behind Mo Williams.

Without West, the team has been forced to start Anthony Parker. He can do the job, no doubt, but it significantly weakens the bench. It also means that Daniel Gibson is once again forced to play the point, a position he isn't very comfortable with. There isn't any real timetable on West's return, but the hope is still he comes back full strength, both physically and mentally.

4. What are the goals for this team?

Easy - Win the NBA Championship. Anything else for this group would be considered a letdown. I don't know if winning the title, or not winning it, will have any affect on what LeBron James does next summer, but this group was put together to win this season.

5. Things a non-Cavs fan might not know.

At one point last season, the Cavaliers had both of Utah's 2003 Draft picks - Sasha Pavlovic(1st Round) and Mo Williams(2nd Round)

Predicted Record: 63-19, Win the NBA Championship. If I don't believe, who will, right?

Poll

How do you think the Cavs will finish in 2009?

Win NBA Championship

428 votes

Win Conference Finals

90 votes

Lose Conference Finals

133 votes

Other

37 votes

688 votes | Poll has closed

Cleveland bar to hold "Welcome Shaq to Cleveland" event

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:41:12 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

5 months ago: FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2009 file photo, Phoenix Sun's center Shaquille O'Neal watches the NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge basketball game in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York, file)

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The Barley House at 1265 West Sixth Street will host the "Welcome to Cleveland" celebration for Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Cost for the event is $10 for general admission and $25 for VIP.

Guests invited to the red carpet affair include: LeBron James, Mo Williams, Leon Powe, Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, Anthony Parker and Darnell Jackson of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brady Quinn, Braylon Edwards, David Bowens, Joe Thomas, Kenyon Coleman, Joshua Cribbs, Brodney Pool and C.J. Mosely of the Cleveland Browns.

Kelly Shoppach, David Huff, Kerry Wood, Grady Sizemore, Chris Perez and Matt LaPorta of the Cleveland Indians.

For tickets or more information: 216 623-1700.

<cleveland.com>

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

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

Point guard Levance Fields is among the Orlando Magic's summer-league players who have signed elsewhere, leaving the Magic empty-handed.

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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.

Fear The Links - 8/1

Buckeye Brad — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:04:54 -0000

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Brian Windhorst writes about Hakim Warrick spurning the Cavs for the Bucks (and more money) and says the team is still looking for more help at power forward. He gives a few other team notes in his beat blog.
Michael Curry at Cavs HQ weighs in on the LeBron v. Kevin Durant debate, which has circulated many basketball blogs. Simple analysis: statistically not even close. Durant is a better shooter, but that's it -- LeBron easily beats him everywhere else.

The News-Herald

Bob Finnan has a nice article on Jamario Moon.

Around The Internet

Smooth at Cavalier Attitude has a preview of the Cavs' 2009-10 schedule which he says he got from a "league source."
John Krolik at Cavs: The Blog writes about Darnell Jackson.
ESPN.com's TrueHoop blog looks at an interesting question: will Yao Ming's absence this coming season hurt the NBA's global audience (which is largely centered in China)?
This is also not about the Cavs, but FoxSports.com's Charley Rosen gives his list of the NBA's most overrated players.

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 7

Jon L — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:00:19 -0000

We had two Summer League records fall yesterday. Anthony Morrow is now the SL single-game scoring record holder with, and Joey Dorsey the SL single-game rebounding record holder with 20. On the whole, though, a lot of guys played pretty terribly. I don't know if players are spending time seeing Vegas, if they're tired by day seven or whether it was just an off day. The first game was at 1 PM local time, which seems early for Las Vegas, but the rest of them were at the normal times so who knows. In honor of yesterday's "action" I'm going to leave this terrible intro and just go to the recaps.

Golden State Warriors 104, New Orleans Hornets 84

The story here for everyone is that Anthony Morrow set a new Summer League scoring record with 47 points. It actually came out of efficient shooting as well, as Morrowneeded only 26 shots to get that point total and shot 7-9 on threes. Morrow may have felt he needed to take a larger scoring role with Anthony Randolph and Cartier Marting getting DNPs (also Jared Jordan, who I had forgotten was on Golden State's roster). He also had seven rebounds, which I was somewhat surprised to see as I figured he wouldn't have done much other than shoot. Acie Law had a decent game running the point for the Warriors with nine points on 4-7 shooting and five assists in a little under 21 minutes. Neither Joe Ingles nor Connor Atchley shot the ball well (Ingles didn't make a single field goal), but they each had seven rebounds in 18 minutes for Ingles and 21 for Atchley. Almost no one played well for New Orleans. Well, that's not strictly true. Earl Calloway had 17 points on 7-10 shooting, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Other than Anthony Tolliver's six rebounds and 3-5 shooting from Larry Owens, though, the rest of the Hornets weren't very impressive. Guess what? That's a recurring theme, as you'll see after the jump.

San Antonio Spurs 85, Oklahoma City Thunder 76

DeJuan Blair focused on his scoring more than rebounding this game, and he did fairly well with 20 points on 11 shots (with five rebounds), though I would imagine that in the future he'll ask to stay in his rebounding lane a little more. Ian Mahinmi did a great job of getting to the free throw line and shot 7-8 there, allowing him to score 13 points on four shots. Malik Hairston finally showed his rebounding ability with six, and he shot 7-13 as well, but he also had four turnovers. George Hill is still a little rough around the edges, getting 20 points on 11 shots, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals but also six turnovers. DJ White had a decent game doing what DJ White does, with 17 points on 7-12 shooting and five rebounds in 18 and a half minutes, though he also had six fouls and three turnovers.

Houston Rockets 92, Los Angeles Lakers

In a world where we're pretending that these games matter, I really have no idea how the Rockets won. Sure, Joey Dorsey got the Summer League rebounding record, and he also shot 5-7 and had (a game-high) five assists, three steals and two blocks, but other than Aisander's favorite Rocket Chase Budinger the team shot really, really poorly. And while Budinger was solid scoring-wise, with 25 points on 7-9 shooting, including 3-3 shooting from behind the arc and 8-8 from the line, other than a pair of steals he really did nothing else. Will Conroy shot the ball well too, 3-4, but he missed four of his six free throws and had only one assist. Adam Morrison was the story of the first few games, but he's been tailing off the last few and he didn't even play yesterday (injury?). 14 points on 14 shots is generally considered inefficient, but I'll defend David Monds a little here in that he shot 50 percent and had six rebounds and no turnovers in 18 minutes. The problem was that he didn't get to the free throw line at all. Ben McCauley had 10 rebounds but was terrible from the field. Chinemelu Elonu had a decent game, 16 points on 10 shots and eight rebounds, but he also had eight fouls in 25 and a half minutes.

Cleveland Cavaliers 75, Dallas Mavericks 62

Another game where a lot of guys were terrible. Jawad Williams had one of the best performances, both of all the players in the game yesterday and for him personally throughout Summer League - he scored 18 points on 10 shots and had nine assists with only one turnover, though he shot only 6-11 from the free-throw line. Tarence Kinsey also played well, getting to the line a fair amount and shooting 16-18 there, ending up with 20 points on five shots, and he had four rebounds and three steals, but also six fouls and four turnovers. Darnell Jackson played okay, nine points on six shots and six rebounds, and Andre Brown shot 5-7 with four rebounds and three steals, though he also had seven fouls.

Toronto Raptors 84, Milwaukee Bucks 83

Jodie Meeks had a very strong game for Milwaukee, with 29 points on 23 shots (including 4-8 on three-pointers), as well as four rebounds. Joe Alexander also played fairly well, with 19 points on 14 shots and eight rebounds. Brandon Jennings' performance has steadily declined since the beginning of Summer League, and while he had seven assists yesterday it came with eight turnovers. It was the usual suspects doing it for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan has gotten a lot of people talking this past week, and yesterday he had 20 points on 13 shots, six rebounds, three assists and only one turnover. Quincy Douby had 17 points on 13 shots, seven assists and four rebounds. That assist number is a little unusual for Douby, but perhaps it's a sign of his further development. Patrick O'Bryant has actually had a quietly decent Summer League, and yesterday he made all five of his field goals and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block, though he shot only 1-4 from the free-throw line.

Memphis Grizzlies 86, Los Angeles Clippers 68

Someone on Twitter said that Blake Griffin has been dominating Summer League, and while I wouldn't go that far he's been fairly solid. 15 rebounds and five assists yesterday, though it came with five fouls, five turnovers, and needing 20 shots to get 18 points. Marcus Williams got to the free-throw line a lot, shooting 16-20 there, though he shot only 3-9 from the field. He also had five assists and four rebounds, which is fine, but didn't he have a lot more assists earlier on? Nik Caner-Medley had another decent shooting day, going 6-9 for 15 points, and he also had four rebounds. DeMarre Carroll shot 7-9, though the rest of his game wasn't overly impressive. Hamed Haddadi had three rebounds in a little over 10 minutes, which is solid, but he didn't do much else. Greg Stiemsma shot 3-4 for eight points and added three blocks in 11 minutes.

NBA Summer League Day Seven Preview and Live Game Thread

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:56:59 -0000

The exciting game today is the San Antonio Spurs against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The tip off is at 7:30 Spurs time in the Thomas & Mack Center. This will be my first game outside of the Cox Pavilion.

The Spurs will look to maintain their unbeaten record. You may think it is JUST Summer League, but these guys still want to win. As Ian said, "It just feels good to win those games".

The rest of the schedule gives me no excitement. We've seen everybody at least twice now.

Another 6 on tap today with the guys I would watch if you want to do your own microscope. Rosters are behind the links. The scoreboard and game feeds are at NBA.com. This will be your last chance to see the Raptors, Bucks, Rockets, and Warriors.

Raptors vs Bucks at 3:00 - DeMar DeRozan and Brandon Jennings. DeRozan is just magical. Jennings is the best point guard in the Summer League. Yeah, the best point guard in the Summer League. Nobody has better vision and ability to create easy buckets for his teammates.
Rockets vs Lakers at 5:00 - The Rockets are gritty and Chase Budinger has gotten steadily better.
Hornets vs Warriors at 7:00 - Anthony Randolph had 42 the other night. He's unstoppable with this talent level and the tight way these games are called.
Spurs vs Thunder at 7:30 - Spurs. Nuff said.
Mavericks vs Cavaliers at 9:00 - We'll see if Rodrigue Beaubois is healthy. I'd also like to see Ahmad Nivins dominate this match up with Darnell Jackson.
Clippers vs Grizzlies at 9:30 - Lot's of good young guys in this one. Blake Griffin, Mike Taylor -- who has struggled, DeAndre Jordan -- who has not, Eric Gordon, Hasheem Thabeet, Darrell Arthur, Marcus Williams, DeMarre Carroll, and Sam Young.

Recap: Bucks 80, Cavs 69

Frank Madden — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:05:00 -0000

Jennings: Young Money in Vegas

Box Score / Liveblog / Paschketball

Vegas has seemingly been a perpetual buzzkill for Bucks fans--from Andrew Bogut's poor showing against the immortal David Harrison in 2005 to Joe Alexander's non-showing last year, there's rarely been much to get excited about when it comes to July basketball. So it was perhaps not surprising that the Bucks' first outing of the 2009 Vegas league was once again a lackluster performance, "highlighted" by a conservative but uninspiring 10 points and three assists by Brandon Jennings and a 4/18 shooting night from Joe Alexander. Yes, they won the game, but when you've got six roster players in Vegas that should be expected. And yes, the fact that I had flown all the way from Boston to see it made it a bit more of a letdown.

Thankfully, Sunday was a brighter day in spite of less-than-ideal travel planning on my part. I was booked for a redeye flight back to Boston at 10:30 Vegas time, and knowing I was headed straight to work from the airport, I was forced to don pants and a collared shirt in the 100+ degree heat. Not that I was actually outside much--no one ever goes outside in Vegas, afterall. Still, knowing I had 36 mostly sleepless hours ahead of me added a bit more anticipation to the Bucks' 7 pm tipoff. A good showing from the young Bucks would make it a bit easier to deal with--and while not perfect, it is at least something to build on.

Brandon Jennings
30 min, 7/18 fg, 4/8 3fg, 5/6 ft, 23 pts, 8 ast, 2 rebs, 5 stl, 3 to, 3 pf

This was everything Bucks fans thought they'd be getting from their 19-year old lottery pick--the explosivness, the confidence, the playmaking, and the inconsistency, all rolled into 30 minutes. While other players may have had better performances in Vegas over the weekend, few could claim to have so controlled the flow and style of a game the way Jennings did on Sunday night. Jennings pushed the ball immediately off every Cleveland rebound or turnover, creating a slew of transition chances himself thanks to his five steals. But he also looked at ease in the halfcourt, setting up his shooters coming off curl screens or settling for jump shots himself while turning it over a not-unreasonable-for-Vegas three times.

Which brings us to perhaps the most controversial side of BJ's game: his jumper. David Thorpe tweeted during the game that Jennings "flings" it, which hasn't bother me as much since I'm used to Michael Redd's even more exaggerated slinging motion. Half the time Jennings' hands end up at his hips when he shoots, providing more of a pose than a follow through. And don't even get me started on his feet. I'll probably make reference to this about three million times this season (and I've already brought it up a dozen times), but he has this perpetual need to kick his legs out and put himself off balance when he shoots. It's not even that he's fading away per se, but he almost always ends up with his body 20 or so degrees off of vertical. I'm sure coaches have already drilled him on this a million times, so we're probably just going to have to get used to it.

Not surprisingly his inconsistent mechanics mean he's incredibly streaky; this is afterall a guy who once hit 13 threes in a high school game. So it wasn't all that surprising to see him start the contest 1/7 from the field, only to then turn the game around almost single handedly. The Bucks trailed by 10 in the waning minutes of the first half, but a three by Jennings followed by a breakaway lay-up helped bring the Bucks back to within 41-39 at the intermission.

And perhaps his most impressive play of the half wasn't even one where he scored. In the final minute of the half he caught Darnell Jackson by surprise in the post, tearing the ball out of big man's hands for his fourth steal. Sprinting the other way, he cut inside a couple of Cavs defenders and went for the up-and-under lay-in, only to have it blocked by Green. But Jennings was now in his rhythm, and eight points in the opening two minutes of the third quarter put the Bucks up ten. Kelvin Sampson curiously took Jennings out just a minute later, but his statement had been made.

Of course, it wasn't all good. Jennings is a gambler on defense, which leads to steals and transition opportunities, but also sees him get caught behind the play at times. In the middle quarters his offensive flow seemed to make him all the more zoned in defensively, but by the time the fourth quarter rolled around he started to look a bit, dare I say, slow on defense. We can probably chalk it up to lagging effort in the late going of a meaningless blowout, but he can do better.

We also haven't seen Jennings take it to the hoop much, his quickness evident more in pushing the ball up the court than in taking it to the rack. Then again, with so many non-roster players having 10 fouls to spare, it might not be the best idea to send your slightly built PG into the heart of the defense all the time.

Joe Alexander
29 min, 1/7 fg, 1/1 3fg, 5/6 ft, 8 pts, 5 reb, 0 pf, 2 to

Alexander once again struggled to make the most of his good looks, back-ironing a pair of contested dunks (one where he got a charitable foul call) and going without a field goal until he hit an open triple late. He did once again bully his way into the paint on a couple occasions, and has now made 11 free throws in two games, but overall the story was again a disappointing one. At PF Alexander has been more active crashing the offensive glass, and I even saw him box out once or twice on defense. But he's still leaving something to be desired on defense, where his main positive is that he's quick enough to show/recover well on the pick/roll.

Jodie Meeks
32 min, 7/14 fg, 0/1 3fg, 2/2 ft, 16 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 to

Meeks looks to be enjoying his new backcourt partner, and I'd guess the feeling is mutual. Five of Jennings' eight assists came courtesy of Meeks, who continued to show a Rip Hamilton-like ability to catch and shoot from mid-range. For a guy who frequently shot from well beyond the college three point line we've seen only 1/2 three shooting in two games, but that's perfectly fine. Meeks is now averaging 15 ppg on 56.5% shooting from the field in two games, the kind of perimeter scoring consistency the Bucks will probably need a few months from now. Meeks also showed he could put the ball on the floor a little bit, most notably when he drove and scored on a left-handed scoop in the second half.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
29 min, 3/6 fg, 6/8 ft, 12 pts, 8 rebs, 2 stl, 3 pf

Just another quiet but solid all-around game from the Fresh Prince. He even made a quick catch-and-shoot jumper from the wing in transition, which would be a nifty shot to have in his bag of tricks. Other than that he mostly did his thing around the bucket--slicing and squirming his way around defenders to get layups or get to the line.

Amir Johnson
24 min, 4/9 fg, 1/3 ft, 9 pts, 6 rebs, 8 pf, 3 stl, 1 to

I think it's safer if we all just accept that Amir is what he is--a physically talented guy who's probably not going to stay on the court long enough to be a big impact player. He's definitely got the talent to be more than that, but expecting him to suddenly become a star would make us no different from...well, Pistons fans for the last three years.

But that's OK. His contract is modest and he can block shots and rebound when he is on the court, which is more than we can say for any of our other bigs not named Bogut. To his credit, Amir did finish with more points (9) than fouls, and all of his buckets were pretty nice--a righty hook in the lane, a couple nice catch and finishes around the bucket, and a drive and score that started all the way out by the three point line (it's in the clip above).