ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Magic - Vegas Summer League 7/7/2022

Higgins is impressive. Seems really smart.

 

Their lives changed that day, they will never know why....

 

It's game day.

 

Garuba OUT tonight = out of shape / mind.

SMH

Guess we'd be looking at a starting lineup of:

Nix
TyTy
JC
Tari
Jabari

???

 

I'm going to be very disappointed if Garuba really did show up that out of shape. He isn't who we thought he is if he did that.

 

Yeah super disappointing if that's the case but there is 82 games in a season so he can work his way back to being in good shape. The Shaq routine lmao

 

Did I miss something? Why is Jalen not playing?

 

Garuba is looking like a miss

 

Where does it say he's out?

 

Sorry. Was a hypothetical "if Garubas out"...

Hope he plays.

 

Has NBA bloodlines. He's the son of NBA player and GM Rod Higgins.

 

Same reason Cade and Mobley is not playing

 

Is the game on NBA TV?

 

ESPN.

 

Cant wait for the "does anyone have a link to the game" posts...

 

• When the Rockets opened up their practice to the media earlier this week, during the final minutes of an intrasquad scrimmage, second-year center Usman Garuba was not on the floor. He’s expected to be the team’s starting center in Vegas for summer league. Those who have watched him work out this offseason swear he’s looked and played better now than at any point during his injury-riddled rookie season. Even with that rave review, Garuba must show that his game can translate, not only to summer league but also to training camp and the regular season.

The level of basketball on display this month isn’t up to NBA snuff, but it’s still an opportune time to see how far he’s come along as a player. Between Vegas and playing for Spain internationally, Garuba will have a lot of games to hopefully catch up to the rest of his teammates.

• If we’re penciling in Garuba, I’d expect Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Daishen Nix and Josh Christopher to round out the starting lineup. That group might struggle to generate points at times, but there’s no doubt the defensive intensity will be high, especially with the quartet of Garuba, Christopher, Eason and Smith. Silas might not be coaching, but he’ll be paying close attention to how his rookies perform (TyTy Washington Jr. included). The Rockets drafted Eason and Smith, having been blown away with their defensive ability and pro projections, and Vegas will be a decent early test.

“Just the voice you can have and the energy you can bring affecting the team defensively is real big,” Smith said Tuesday. “At this level, everyone can score, everybody can put the ball in the cup. Just gotta find ways to separate yourself and affect the game in different ways.”

There will, no doubt, be times during the season where the rookie duo shares the floor with Christopher or potentially Garuba, so getting some early chemistry is good. The Detroit Pistons, for example, are taking this competition quite seriously, and it makes sense. Give your guys an upper leg heading into camp.

 

None of the top 5 picks are playing as they have nothing to prove. Ant didn't play last year either. Honestly the only top 5 pick that should be playing is Suggs. He had an abysmal rookie season.

 

Thanks for sharing J.R. I think think is a good outlook going into Summer league. Most of these guys are defensive guys and not high level NBA scorers at this point. I hope to see them getting after teams in Vegas. I'll be ok with some low scoring games if they are showing that defensive intensity. We don't have to worry about scoring points once KPJ and Green are out there doing their thang.

Things i'm looking for over the next week:
Garuba - Rebounding and challenging shots in the paint
Nix - running the offense consistently, scoring when opportunity arises
Eason - staying in front of the wings and getting to the FT on his drives, hit a few open 3s
TyTy - running the offense and using his change of pace to get in the paint and dish
Holman - can he be our backup C? rebound, challenge shots in the paint, show good shooting stroke on open 3s
Smith - it doesnt matter, he gon be alright!
JGup - we already know what we getting from him (just improve on decision making)

 

So is Garuba playing tonight or no?