[ANALYSIS] Post summer league critique of the youngsters

Yeah, White needs to show me more. He appears to have great potential, but I'm not sure where he plays. I hope he doesn't end up without a defined role. McHale seemed pretty high on the guy, however.

Agree with Lamb and Jones. Both looked like the game came easy to them. Frankly, Jones blew me away, and I agree that he's more of a 4/3, than a 4/5. Jones should grow into a plus defender given time, and perhaps not that much time, either. You didn't mention Lamb's defense, but I agree with codell's take about his defensive potential. Of the 3 rookies, Lamb is the player that looks like a future All Star to me.

I thought Motiejūnas, like Lamb, looked like a future star player, perhaps an All Star someday. He needs to get stronger, and adapt to the NBA game, but seems well on his way. Donuts looks like a model for the 4/5's of today's NBA. I wish he'd quit diving on the floor for every loose ball, though. Ordinarily, I'd praise him for that attitude, but let the shorter guys do it, Donatas. Seven footers with your skills are simply too rare to risk. Maybe I've just become paranoid after the last several years of injuries to our best players.

Morris? I'm still trying to figure the guy out, and haven't a clue as to what he'll end up doing. He could turn out to be solid, eventually, or he could end up managing a chain of taco stands. Been waiting for him to show us what he is capable of. Still waiting.

Machado might be this year's Von Wafer. The guy that comes in for a few minutes and makes you sit up in your chair. Then, after a few minutes, you realize why he comes off the bench. Maybe he'll end up better than that, but I doubt it.

 

true, but also, you can never double passers, so as long as he can pass he will only have to beat single team.

see how that works?

 

by the way, what was this interview you mention, did he talk about his current weight? i keep seeing a lot of mixed info recently, up to 242 pounds (109kg) but nothing semi-credible, e.g. coming from him directly.
Visually I'd guess it's ~240, but still it would be nice to know a bit more certainly.

 

Nice writeup. In terms of ceiling, here is how I see each first round rookie:

Lamb: Potential all-star scorer if the rest of his game catches up. REALLY needs to work on his defense and court vision. Suffers from tunnelvision on the basket a little bit. Also needs to get stronger and more physical and drive to the bucket more often. Along with Motiejunas he's the only one of these guys with an all-star ceiling. He will never be a superstar though.

White: Very strange player. A big man who likes to run the floor, pass, and handle the ball more than he likes to bang around in the paint or even shoot jumpers. I think White's ceiling is more limited than Morey believes because he shows no signs of having a jump shot or having the advanced post moves to excel offensively despite his size. I see a 6th man, roleplayer sparkplug type of point forward off the bench. I don't think there is really anybody in the NBA right now you can compare him to. (Don't even mention LeBron; LeBron can shoot and he can score proficiently in the paint.)

Jones: Great hustle guy. He's longer than White and more willing to bang around in the paint, but he's not the passer or ballhandler White is. He can handle the rock a little and has some face-up game though. The only thing he doesn't seem to be able to do is shoot jumpers mid range and out. Don't see any one elite skill here but I like him as a versatile starting caliber PF who could average maybe 14-15 points and 9-10 rebounds given the minutes. On this team he's probably a bench player, but a useful one.

Motiejunas: My favorite of these prospects. One of the few guys I've seen his age who already has the makings of a complete offensive game. He still has a little inconsistency to hammer out, but he can run the floor, hit the glass for offensive rebounds, blow by guys in a face up game, use solid post moves to score with his height, and even shoot an outside jumper. Needs to add a little bulk (not much, I see him as a PF) and work on his defensive fundamentals a little, but his ceiling is an all star caliber PF and I'd be willing to bet he's already a starting caliber one in the NBA.

 

Yeah....a C+ would be an average score and he was definitely average.

Seemed like almost everyone put up a few double doubles and a near triple double................................................................................................................

 

I believe he was listed at 242 at the start of the Prokom season. I would have to look back through the 1800 posts on the D-Mo signing thread to get the source.

The D-Mo statement about having difficulty adding weight to his frame was made in one of the SL games on NBA tv. Post game. If I remember correctly it was the last game.

 

To add to the topic

Lamb: on offense we all saw who he is a flat out scorer. Can score within offense and in iso situations. The thing eith lamb is DESIRE. He hAs the tools to be a great defender had some highlight plays. He flashed court vision and moved the ball around too. Now if he puts it all together to be the complete player.... Wow.

White: i actually though he had the footspeed to match 3s. In the pdx game i saw him switch out and consistently stay in front of smith. If he leans down maybe he can cover 3s. However his passing game will only show in transition. His lack of finishing, post moves, and shot will let defenders sag off Aand cut lanes. He was missing point blank laups. He needs to work on his offense, pick ip gotomoves, and have confidence.

Jones: i absolutley loved him. At 6 9.5 and 252 i dont see how hes undersized. The kid is active, hustles and had great defensive rotations and awareness. If he wants to start in this league though hes gotta develop his offense. Its a good base with his faceup game but o start hell need to hit his js or have go to moves in the paint.

Dmo: loved this kid for awhile. Hes a 4 though not a 5 . With how slender he is he was getting outmuscled, but the kid still battled for position and rebs. Hes fundamentally sound. Has hooks, turnarounds, jumpshots, boxes out, plays the high low, moves to open spots, hedges screens, etc. basically im in love. Just gotta bulk up a bit and get used to the NBA

 

I see Jones as a pure 4, who has some face up skills. I don't think he's quick enough to defend threes or a good enough ball handler or shooter to play on the perimeter.

 

Lamb - A. Played very well against guys drafted much higher. Very consistent shooter, great release and follow-thru. Scorer's mentality, who attacks the basket and has a solid offensive skill set. I think this may impact his low assist total, but I don't see if taking a lot of bad shots, nor do I remember seeing him taking shots when a teammate had a better one. His shot reminds me of Rolando Blackman, 1980s Mav SG. On defense, his length is a blessing, but he seems to rely on that sometimes vs moving his feet and being in better position. This can be corrected and with some coaching he can be a plus defender.

Motie - A-. Wow, loved this guy's enthusiasm, attitude, hustle and skill set. If we had a decent PG he would have averaged 25-30 pts. Dude is constantly open and moving to the right space. Inside he's got some great moves and ability to finish, after a year with McHale this is only going to get better. His set shot is very consistent, but I never saw him shoot any jump shots. I also didn't see him use his height and position to pass much, mostly because he had best shot on the court when he got the ball. Defense was decent, he tried to draw charges, but was usually a tad late. Rebounding was good and outlet passes decent. Loved how he was usually 1st guy down the court--this will be a great way to make big slow guys pay next season.

T. Jones - A-, Love this guys game--he's kind of a more athletic Bosh w/ better handles. Has a decent jump shot with 3-pt range (needs more work on NBA 3), but his ability to take the ball to the hoop and finish was great. Also showed solid low-post skills and was a beast on o-boards. Also flashed some passing ability--baseline pass to Zoran was very nice. Best defensive rookie we have, has athletic ability and desire to guard all 4s, some 5s and a few 3s. Really excited about his potential.

R. White - B, Magic meets Chuck Hayes. Dude is a great passer and should be developed as a Pt F. He needs lots of work on his scoring game at this level, but he appears to have the work ethic. If he works on his jumper and low post game, he may develop into the star of this class. Fantastic court awareness for someone that hasn't played as much as some others. Solid rebounder and decent defender. Like others, I'd like to see him work hard on conditioning and his jump shot. Coming off the bench for a year or two, he will create some excitement.

Zoran - C+. At first I wasn't very impressed, but this guy grew on me and I'd like to see him as 11-12 man. He's smart, has great court awareness, hustles like a mad Hungarian, can take the ball to the basket and hits the open 3.

Machado - D+. I missed the last game, so I understand he broke out. He was lost early on, but started to come on. He's OK, but needs time in the D-League to develop.

Morris - D-. What a difference a year makes in the talent pool. This guy can't touch any of the 3 picks this year or Motie (drafted after him last year). Has some ability, but doesn't appear to have the mental attributes to take advantage of them. Hope he's part of whatever deal we make--I'm not seeing the potential, maybe LAL or ORL will!

 

I liked your writeup Shark44 but this part was vastly unrealistic

Bosh is one of the best PFs in the game, and he has better tools/skills across the board. Taller, better jumper, better moves in the paint, better quickness, etc. Jones doesn't have anywhere near as much game and never will. And I say this as a guy who likes Jones a LOT. Realistically Jones is closer to Patrick Patterson than he is to Chris Bosh. He's somewhere in between those 2 in actual ability, I think.

 

I saw White in person and the guy is BIG. I believe that he have to be in better game shape maybe trade some fat for muscles. And he needs to finish around the damm basket how many easy buckets did he miss? other than that this guy is solid.. Lamb needs to eat more black beans bro but his game is solid tho. Out of the four rookies Terrance J impress me the most specially being draft @18 long good athleticism good rebounder again he needs to be in better shape I think. D Mo good all around must gain weight maybe we can send him with lamb to a weight gainer vacation... overall very impress and exited for those guys

 

Z Dragic is more NBA ready than Machado. His hustle and selflessness, especially on D were refreshing. And Fortson, Simpson and Smith are not even D-League worthy.

I was surprised by what little I saw of Harrellson. Liked his energy and willingness to do the dirty work. Forbes was less athletic and skilled offensively than I anticipated. Lamb was an offensive machine, getting his shot off from almost anywhere on the floor.

White took a while to get started but was one of the most impressive the last few games, his playmaking was unreal. Jones and Motiejunas blew me away because I had no expectations. Much much better than I thought - scoring, rebounding & passing. Jones athleticism is so underrated, the guy can do it all.

Both can be better defenders (Jones on the perimeter and Motiejunas on the low post) and shot blockers tho.

I wanted to see 2nd year center Jerome Jordan. Any idea why he was not given any run? Athletic 7 footers don't grow on trees.

 

Come on Machado D+, he had a fantastic game vs the Bulls
20 and 8 I guess

 

We waived him. Now he is on the Knicks summer league team.

 

yep..

 

Yeah you missed a lot of action. Most of Lambs buckets were off screens, well at least a good portion of them.

 

i have to disagree with a lot of the posters on here. It seems like people are minimizing whites passing ability by reasoning that he wont be double teamed in the post..... i think anyone can pass out of the post while being double teamed, its not that hard.

lets not forget that that is not the only way people get open in the nba, you have pick and rolls, screens, penetration leading to rotation changes, fast breaks... in all these categories have a big that can pass will be huuugee. White leading breaks will be unique bc not many big men will be able to keep up with him. Furthermore if he is out on the perimeter and he can find the open man cutting etc, it is much easier for that person to finish bc white has drawn out one of the big man out of the paint

so just bc he wont get doubled in the paint does not mean that passing ability wont be a huge advantage for us

 

A 4 that can play some 3, at least that's how I see him.

 

If Chuck Hayes can be effective on offense, White definitely can.