^ can't edit titles after 3 minutes...for obvious reasons. btw: wasn't kidding about Donte Greene Here's an idea of what you can learn at Summer Camp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donté_Greene "In the pick that they received from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the Pau Gasol trade, the Memphis Grizzlies selected Greene with the 28th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft.[1] [Shortly after the draft] He was later traded by Memphis to the Houston Rockets.[1] Greene signed with the Rockets on July 15, 2008 and proceeded to score 40 points in his summer league debut at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. He hit 12–20 field goals, including 5-of-10 threes, to go along with 11-of-12 free throws.[12][13] On August 14, 2008, Greene was traded to the Sacramento Kings."
SL Hall of Fame: Dan Langhi, Donte Green, John Lucas III, Jeremy Lamb, who else? BTW, one guy who sucked big time in SL was Carl Landry. Had pretty decent NBA career... SL means nothing...
If Jaron Johnson were six inches taller, he might become Dennis Rodman with a better offensive game and without the fashion sense.
Watching him throughout summer league, I learned... "Rockets' Johnson aggressively attacks opponents' cookies"
I learned Nick Johnson and Isaiah Canaan could be ready to contribute by mid season. Johnson needs to work on that outside shot and handles a bit more so that he can play the 1 and 2 off the bench. Canaan needs to sit down with the coaches while they dissect every good and bad decision he made in the summer league. Too many times he made poor choices, although he has the talent to do otherwise. It's the kind of thing you have to cut out early in a player's career so they don't become habits. Unfortunately I also learned that D-Mo has not added anything new to his game, and looks like he's being prepped for a backup C role. If he continues to improve defensively, it might not be a terrible thing because his skills translate better as a replacement for Howard off the bench, than a starting complimentary player.
Well, I disagree with pretty much everything you said and after watching every game this past season I honestly have no idea what you're talking about or what you see out there. Jones was by far more consistent and more effective than DMo. There's a reason why he started at the 4 all season (which was his first season playing meaningful minutes) and DMo barely sniffed the floor at times. And it's not because McHale is racist towards Euros. Jones doesn't play much defense, but DMo is much worse. And at least Jones will give you rebounds and a much more reliable offensive game. DMo has just been awful these last two years, I hope he can improve.
Rockets need to replace Asik's production from the backup 5 and sometimes 4 when he played late last season. If they can do that, they will be a better team than last year. NicJo and Canaan are both upgrades over JLin. Or at least they are pushes. They are not world beaters yet by any means but JLin was hot garbage most of the year last season. I like some of the end of the bench pickups the Rockets have made. Defensive minded guys that can play the pick and roll pretty well.
1) Canaan: poor finisher, questionable decision maker, great 3 pt shot. I believe NJ will surpass him in the rotation 2) NJ: excellent defense, terrific athletic talent, needs work on 3 pt shot. Higher potential than Canaan. 3) Covington: Big disappointment...D league player forever. 4) DMo: Best player on the court in every game I saw. His defense looks to have improved...but this is summer league. If nothing else, his trade value should be pretty high right now. 5) no one else worth commenting on
It amazes that 2 Guard in college hasn't developed NBA 3 point range while in college. You're on scholarship no job and have abt 4 or 5 classes to attend. How can you not have NBA 3 point range. The Harrison twins have that right now and had it in high school.
Covington wants no part of contact anytime anywhere. Hasn't heard of the word running and/or rebounding. Dude is a major disappoint and maybe that's because I was expecting too much. DMo is DMo, as stated previously, I'm not excited by him having an allstar summer league because we all know that doesn't translate to the regular season. He get's abused by quick power forwards who bang.
I'm not sure what y'all saw, but Canann looked like a pretty solid finisher at the rim. Did you not see him blow by Andrew Wiggins? NJ will never be able to do that. Canaan is well built for his size and has that pretty stroke. He reminds me a little bit of Kyle Lowry. He does need to be smarter with the ball, but both him and NJ looked good in their PnR's with DMO. DMO's midrange jumpshot was crisp. His main problem last year offensively was being too anxious when posting up, and I think that will improve. I would be pumped if he becomes our go to scorer off the bench. Defensively, DMO relied on taking the charge too much instead of going straight up and contesting. It may be because of his foul problem. And Covington...smh...
Wish I had watched more, but I'm intrigued by Covington. All that's needed from him is the abitilty to hit threes and play decent defense. Is he incapable of coming in and doing that for 10-12 minutes a game?
I watched every game Nick Johnson played at Arizona. I wouldn't expect too much improvement in his 3 pt shot. He's a crafty scorer who plays tough defense but I just don't see him being better than a 35% shooter beyond the arc. He's always had a flat shot and lacked consistency. Sometimes he gets hot but he's also prone to a lot of 2 for 8 nights.
Johnson need to work on his shot. SiP looked good, but seems to take personal battles over thinking about the game.
I got the same impression watching Summer League. His form and release isn't bad, but I can see how it leads to some inconsistency. But, hey, a guy who can score at the rim, play great D, and shoot 35% from 3 isn't too bad for the 42nd pick.
I'd be happy with that, but hopefully Johnson won't be. If he can bump that up to 37-38% from 3, he wouldn't be the first guy to improve after getting into the league.
