i was actually disappointed by melton's defense. very first play he didn't even attempt to go over the pick and just gave holiday a wide open 3, swish. he did get a couple blocks, but his defensive instincts were shaky all game and he ended up w/ like 8 fouls. on offense had several embarressing turnovers off his poor handles and threw up some of the worst bricks i've seen in a while.
can't believe i forgot to mention him. probably because i'm really unfamiliar with him. Can anyone speak to whether or not his production was a fluke ...perhaps someone who's really familiar with his game?
no idea, i barely even noticed when he was in. maybe roy rogers just wanted to see more of the other guys this game, or maybe deng is not really in their sights even for RGV and just a practice body? clark i assume will get big minutes next game
i think there were like 5 guys who didn't play; Deng was basically one of them. I have a feeling they'll get their time on the court next game. Too many guys to play them all for meaningful minutes. it's hard to evaluate and it's hard for the players to get in a rhythm if folks are subbing in and out every few minutes.
Apprently he is a journeyman, 25 yrs old and the cousin of Eddie House. He was on the Rox roster last year but got cut abd played his entire year with the Suns instead. We'll have to see if his shooting is a fluke or not.
All that I saw were the highlights, so my observations will be limited. Zhou is still too weak physically. He needs to get faster and improve his stamina. I got the impression that his jumper might have gotten better. I liked the way, he passed out to Duval. I got the hint, that Zhou might be getting used to the NBA summer league speed. It's all up to him, if he wants to become a NBA rotation player. He will have to show dramatic improvement in the G-League. I agree that CP3 and Harden need to tell him to take things seriously quick.
No jumper. It's good he made a couple of ones in this game, but this is his biggest weakness. I would like to see some more play making from him too. He looked quite good from the highlights.
For those that didn't watch the game. (my humble opinion.) Isaiah Hartenstein He doesn't look like the same player we saw last year. He is way more athletic than I initially thought. Very fluid movement. He is quick for his size and plays with strength. What really impressed me was his IQ. Outside of a few turnovers, his positioning was very good on the defensive end and his awareness on offense lead to easy baskets and opportunities for others. He was also very good on the boards. He seemed to have a high motor. Aside from his 5(?) blocks(!), he changed very many shots on the defensive end. He rotated very well and most importantly played BIG. He used his 7 foot frame and did not appear shy of physicality. Overall his IQ and athletic ability should give him time as backup C this year IMO. Crazy that he is only 20 years old. Very impressed. De'Anthony Melton His defense was very good. Great instincts and not afraid to be physical. He had a knack for getting in passing lanes and tracking down the ball in general. Aside from what was on the stat sheet, much like Hartenstein, his presence altered a lot of shots and you could feel his imprint on the defensive side of the ball. If he wants to bring that impact at the next level, he needs to get stronger. Not only to fulfill his defense potential but to be more effective as a cutter. He was bothered by physical defense taking it to the rack. After watching recent videos of him shooting, I was disappointed by his outside shot today. He seems very raw taking what seemed like an abundance of three pointers and missing badly. His ball handling needs a little work and his offensive awareness needs to improve a lot. However there are glimpses of potential as a secondary playmaker he just needs to refine his skills a lot. Perhaps taking a year off contributed to the rust in this regard. I thought he did a very nice job cutting to the basket today, including a nice and 1 but I think he lacks the physicality yet to do that at an NBA level. I'd say he is a little raw but I can see an abundance of potential in his game and instincts. One of the better players on the team today at any rate, which is encouraging for the rookie. Trevon Duval The minute this guy came in the game, he seemed like an NBA ready player. A lot of times what I've noticed with the progression of players in summer league is confidence. Duval didn't seem to be any less comfortable with the speed of the game. On the contrary he seemed to take over and thrive in it. His ball handling and passing were very good. He had a great sense of pacing and set his teammates up very well. I felt much more comfortable with him at point than anyone else on the squad. He seems like he has potential to be a true floor general. Very quick first step and showed nice finishing ability with an array of moves. He also played with size and was way more physical than I thought he would be. He could finish in traffic, played very solid defense and tracked the ball for rebounds very well for his size. His shooting was the big question mark and while he missed shots and shot 50% from the line, he was able to score 20 points including 2 contested three pointers off the dribble. What this tells me is that he has the right mentality to play in the NBA. He had the confidence to hit those shots and to take over the game on the offensive side. He never seemed flustered even when the Pacers were trapping, more often times than not made the right decision with the ball and was the engine for the rockets down the stretch. That is a lot of confidence to come in with as an undrafted rookie in his first game and that is the kind of mentality in the NBA that is coveted. It seems like he could be a great two way player in the NBA and I cannot believe he went undrafted. Danuel House He seemed like a good all around player however his performance did not necessarily surprise me. He was decent with the Suns last year so I expected him to play very well in summer league. He seemed more polished and complete than any of the other wings and played very smart off the ball. It looks like he has a strong body but he seems like a tweener in the worst way to me. Its hard for me to see him have the same kind of impact at the NBA level. Perhaps he could help the Rockets off the bench but its hard for me to get too excited about him even after a great performance and a monster dunk. Still, he could be a decent 3&D option next year if we are somehow really depleted at SF but I really need to see a few more games before committing to that idea. Zhou Qi Very disappointed. I had hopes for him to contribute this year either at backup C or at forward. Yes he hit some three pointers and made some nice plays around the basket but it didn't lead me to believe he could do either of those things consistently enough at the NBA level to warrant meaningful minutes in the rotation. He made a few defensive stops thanks to his length but he just seems lost. A lot of time he was out of position and didn't use his quickness and length in the smartest way after getting beat. His IQ on the defensive end still needs a lot of work. He also let players much smaller than him bully him in the post and his motor did not seem very high. At times he seemed like the weak link of the defense and that is not want you want from someone who was signed for 3 years mainly for his defensive potential. He has such great physical tools and I'm hoping he will learn in time to understand defensive positioning, how to use his length to his advantage, and to become more physical. If Qi had Hartensteins motor and IQ on the defensive side he would be in the rotation next year without a doubt. However, his overall mentality is very troublesome. He needs to play with an edge and be physical and I just don't know if that will ever be in his nature. If it is not, he does show potential on the offensive end, but again seems too raw in that respect to make a serious impact next year. I can't believe we would talk about a guy with a 7'8 wingspan as having potential as a one dimensional offensive player but he has to show a lot more and it starts with mentality. Still the potential is there on both sides, but after one game I expected much more. Vince Edwards Vince looked pretty raw I thought. I know that he missed a lot of shots and that is not encouraging as he was drafted in part because of his shooting, but he seemed nervous to me so I will withhold my judgement and watch the rest of the games. He did seem to settle down a bit during the game but he never really made an imprint. It seemed he was very passive, never looked to create and when he did, for the most part had trouble finishing. Still, he made a few nice plays and had a good overall awareness on the offensive side. I was disappointed though because his defense was further than I thought it would have been. He has good size for a small forward and was said to be a good defensive player but he lacked the physicality and awareness on that end to contribute this year in the NBA. Perhaps as the summer league advances and he gets more comfortable that will change. For a player who should look very polished coming out of college, he seemed very far from contributing to me. He seems a little raw on both sides of the ball and lacked the mental fortitude to put any kind of stamp on the game today. Chinanu Onuaku He seemed a little better than last year maybe. His body is a little better. Still seems like a massive project and with this being his third summer league, time is not on his side. He did a decent job on the boards and his offense was a little better than it had been, but he is still very raw on that end. He is already a little undersized for the C spot and lacks the skills necessary to play power forward IMO. I have trouble seeing him ever finding a spot on a roster as he is not spectacular at any facet of the game. However he is still young and he does have an athletic NBA body but I've seen this story too many times and I'm reluctantly ready to call him bust. Lets hope he proves me wrong. R.J. Hunter For a guy who made the active roster last season I was very unimpressed and expected more. He had a few nice plays but overall did not make much of an impact. I was watching him wondering where his niche would be on a roster and I could not tell. I suppose he could be a poor mans Gary Harris yet today he really did not showcase his shooting and his defense did not seem NBA ready. He has a good amount of lateral quickness and length but lacks the strength and awareness to compete at the next level. He's already too old for the Rockets to take him on as a project and don't see him making the cut over people like Melton or even House and Duval. Markel Brown I have always been a fan of Markel Brown. He is a very good athlete and he seems to have developed a better shot. I liked the way he came out today. It was a very promising start and he got the team going. I did expect him to play well given his experience. I felt way better about Duval at the point today and thats really all that needs to be said. Markel still does have good potential but it is hard to see a fit. He seems like a combo guard but lacks the refinement to play either position well. I would prefer some of the other prospects over him but I still thing he is a good player with potential.
