What's up with Minnesota? Why didn't somebody tell me this place was like Houston, Jr. weatherwise? I walk outside and my shorts are sticking become one with my skin instantly. Warm and humid. I wanted to get a hotel within walking distance of the Target Center, but for whatever reason downtown Minneapolis hotels are PACKED, so I settled for something about 3 miles away. Unknown to me it's right smack in the middle of the University of Minnesota. Wow - lucky me. Faos would enjoy it here. Anyway, oh yes - the first game of five in the 2005 Minnesota Timberwolves Summer League. Houston Rockets - 72 Indiana Pacers - 64 Box Score : http://www.nba.com/media/pacers/box_050715.pdf (I actually forgot to write down the final score, but I believe that was it... ) Top Scorers : Lonnie Baxter 20 pts, Dion Glover 18 pts Bright Spots : Dion Glover and Lonnie Baxter Missing in Action : Malilck Badiane This game was pretty uneventful. No one absolutely stood out as "the guy" but I was really pleased with the play of Dion Glover. The game was more notable for the people that didn't stand out. It's just his first game... There's nothing more I would have loved to have seen than Luther Head going off in this game - well it didn't really happen, although he provided what was possibly the best play of the game when he came flying in on a rebound (I think - I was fiddling with my camera) and used all the vertical he had to ram a dunk home over the Pacers. It reminded me so much of stuff I had seen Steve Francis do. He also reminded me of a lot of stuff we won't see from him. He controlled the ball and never made himself the focus of the play even though he probably had more talent than anybody on the court for the Rockets. Either he had jitters or he just didn't want to hog the ball because in the end his shooting percentage wasn't that great and he ended up with something like 6-10 points or so. Each quarter is 10 minutes, but Luther didn't play the entire game. There were points in the game where he became a tenacious defender, but he picked up 3 fouls partly due to that hard d. Of course he wasn't really defending NBA 1st string players, either. If I came away with anything from this game about Luther, it's that I'd need to see more. He really didn't disappoint or over impress other than the fact that he kept his poise out there most of the time. The Bad Man giveth... the Bad Man taketh away... He was still hustling and running and made a few decent plays, but really did nothing to stand out. I don't even think he scored more than 1 or 2 buckets. He just didn't seem like the Badiane of 2 years ago. The most disappointing aspect of his game was his play down low where he was manhandled by Somebody and Whatshisname on the Pacers. One of them I think was David Harrison. Malick just seemed out of position on a lot of plays and relied on his athleticism to get back into position. On many rebounding opportunities he was shoved into a position where he landed behind the backboard and really couldn't do anything. Dion Glover's 15 minutes? Dion got major minutes in this game and played pretty well. He was matched up at times with Ron Artest who was the game's leading scorer I believe with 23 pts. I loved the guy's play. He didn't really stick out or anything but he got the job done. He plays like he'd be a good fit with the Rockets, but then I could be fantasizing as I've never watched him play much (yeah right, like you'd want to watch the Hawks play and look for positives). The game was tied with 35 seconds left in the game when Dion Glover hit a couple of FT's to give the Rockets the lead and the eventual win. Leftovers in the a la carte line... Pat Carroll hit a 3 pointer or two, but bricked a couple of others. He didn't really stand out. Lonnie Baxter scored 18 points. He looked very mobile for a guy his size out there, and looked willing to bang the boards. I'll try to watch him closer in the next few games. Joe Crispin was pretty quiet for most of the game then somebody told him to wake up, I guess. He hit a couple of long-range bombs and broke his defender down on drives a couple of times as well. Crispin and Hollis Price did most of the PG duties. Head took on PG duties briefly but played the 2 most of the game. Chuck Hayes came in at the end of the game and played for about 20 seconds I think. WTH was that? lol. Quote of the game... I'm sitting about 2 rows behind Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Rick Carlisle, etc. and I hear McHale say something like "I'd hate to be the next team that pays him". "Him" was Jerome James. Now it sounded like McHale said someone else said that, so I'm not saying those were McHale's words - it sounded like he was relaying something someone else - possibly in the Sonics organization said. FULL SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER (according to a handout at the game today): Pat Carroll Dion Glover Luther Head Joe Crispin Norm Richardson Chuck Hayes Brian Boddicker Cory Violette Chevon Troutman Malick Badiane Lonnie Baxter Nigel Dixon Mike Benton Paul Grant Hollis Price Pics and clips Give me about an hour or two and I'll put up some vids and pics I got from the game...
DoD - great recap (I'm not done reading it yet, but ). I sent you an email ... let me know if you got it.
Thanks DoD, Yeah I saw footage of Badiane covering Ron Artest on PTI today and he looked lost in both clips.
Well it's kind of like a working vacation... my real vacation will be going to San Diego later this month. This team's summer league squad could go to pretty much any state in the nation and I'd go... it was just... so ... sniffle... much more fun in Long Beach.
Nice recap, I really like Lonny B, hope to get more info on that man next time... Oh, and are there tickets to buy to get into these games?
Man, I know it is still early and Badiane still has some time, but I get the feeling we can officially put him on the "overhype" list right up there with Dan Langhi and Boki. Other than that, Head sounds good. (No pun intended, but its hard not to laugh) Thanks for the recap, DoD!
Good Stuff! Do you go to all the Summer League Games? I remember you going to the Orlando one a few years back
Thanks DoD.....I was hoping you'd be going up to Minnie Dion Glover is a player I always wanted the Rox to trade for, but unfortunately he had a bunch of injuries the past couple seasons. If he is back in good health now, he could really help us at the 2 spot. Plays lockdown D and somehow always manages to put points on the board. A real heady, efficient player.
I did? Damn, I have a doppleganger. I went to 2 Long Beach summer leagues. That was it, I think. If the job allows me, I'll be going to every one every year... unless they decide to have one in China or something. That's a bit too far for me to fly.
sounds like head may end up being more of a two. i know this is only the frist summer game but teams tend to stick players in positions.
Thank you. Lonnie wasn't dominating the post or anything, but he just seemed like a good garbage man. Every team needs a good garbageman right?! The tickets are $10 for an entire day's games. There are 3 games per day.
