[ANALYSIS] Post summer league critique of the youngsters

In my own opinion
Lamb: A
Scored....that was about it.

Jones: A+
I was bummed with this pic but wow did he come to impress. Did everything and more.

White: C+
Has a few good passes here and there. Tries to hard occasionally on passes to squeeze in. Gets alot of passes tipped. Didnt see a real aggressive attitude like I thought I would see on offense.

Montiejunas: A
All around better than I expected, very excited about him.

Dragic: C
Dude flat out hustles non stop. Prob our best defender out of these young guys. Very good cutter and can hit an open 3. Still needs work overall on shot though.

Machado: C+
When he is the only PG doing atleast "something" it makes him look that much better. Needs work everywhere, but could turn into a nice backup role player.

 

Jones was able to overpower on the block and take guys off the dribble. He has an NBA body, along with the pedigree. That he would look good out if the gate doesn't surprise. Don't get me wrong. He's been hidden on that great Kentucky team and is easily top 10 - 12 talent .... While TJ's upside might not be the highest of them, he's definitely a keeper.

With Donuts, I expected a lot, and he didn't disappoint. DM flies up and down that court for a 7 footer, crashes the boards like one too. You can tell he puts in a lot of work on his game....evidenced by his moves in the post and the ability to pop that J from downtown. Make no mistake, he'll get stronger and put on weight ...he's just a kid. Let him fill out and we'll have Dolph Lundgren on our front line. This guy will be an all star one day.

What can you say about Jeremy Lamb?

While I think Donuts will be an all star one day, Lamb has SUPERSTAR potential.
He can already stroke it with the best of them and gets to the rack, finishing strong.
And contrary to popular belief, this guy should turn out to be a helluva defensive player.....
Those Tarantula arms and mad athleticism enhance his already silky,smooth game.
Then there is the aforementioned preternatural calm of the assassin.... He will be an extraordinary closer.
He makes it all look so easy, just like the great ones.

All this at the tender age of 20.

Lastly, Rolls Royce White......Let's start with the Magic-like court vision and passes he's ripping off..just, wow.. Watching him lead the breaks is really something. Even so, White will do much more. He will hit the boards and create space against the length at the next level. I see him adjusting and once again being one of the best players on the court.(he'll fill up the stat sheet Plus White's not only an enforcer, he's a LEADER.
( just work on that J)

It's early, but Daryl appears to have connected for extra bases with all of them ...I, for one, want to see these guys go the distance as Houston Rockets.

 

LOL at Breaking Bad.

zzpot

 

DM interview after the draft 21+ days ago.

http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2012/07/19/IMG2999MOV-2161190/index.html

If Daryl Morey missed a break down on any player 19 or so days before you saw them play in summer league then post about that. I think DM for the most part "nailed" each player and what they can do 19 days or so before we saw them play a game.

History is cool.

DM seems to have known all a long what players he drafted could do right out of the box.

zzpot.

 

I think Royce's strength is not scoring, but his ability to lead the break and facilitate thus causing other teams mismatch nightmares on breaks. Jones was a beast around the basket as well as D-Mo. Lamb is a good scorer, but would like to see more ability to penetrate and finish. Machado was a surprise in game 4 and 5, didnt start off that good in games 1-3. He was very herky-jerky at first, smoothed out in the last games. All in all, looks like we got solid ball players.

 

Nice post. Agree with most of it. A few exceptions...i think terrence jones is going to be better suited for the 3 with spot minutes at the 4. I also think the opposite is true for royce white(he's better suited for the 4 with spot minutes at the 3). Personally i was fairly impressed with zoran dragic. He couldnt hit the broad side of a barn with his jumper, however, his basketball iq seemed to be significantly higher than most others on the court. He seemed to always make the right pass, i saw him take some charges, got his hands on some passes. He was our summer league mr. Intangibles. I would like to see him make the team as the 15th player and go down to the valley and get some work in.

 

I bet Rick Adelman would kill to get White.

 

Zoran was a bit of a let down. I was hoping for more. I need some sort of Dragic, dont care who.

 

ZoZo is a lot better than what we saw in his SL games. Machado was a deer in headlights his first few times on the court. Then the coaches told him to just relax and play your game and we saw what happened after that.

White was the best player overall in these games. He was told if you don't get 10 boards this game you will walk back to the hotel. Dude started putting up mad numbers that game. White almost had a trip dub 2 games in a row!

D-Mo is money. Lamb is real good all the time but not prime time yet.. give him 30 days from now and then lets see what he can do in preseason games.
Jones is a beast. He will rock and roll as a 6th or 7th man off the bench every soon.


zzpot.

 

I was the biggest ROYCE WHITE! band wagoner on here having watched a bunch of his college games but I was a little disappointed in his ability to score around the basket in SL. He seemed to get a lot of scoops blocked and tipped. I wanted him to grip the ball in one hand like a grapefruit and jam it.

He still can be a great player though, I see him as a valuable sixth man, playing point forward, changing the momentum of the game and spark plugging comebacks. (the Mario Ellie role?)

The one thing I really like about Dragic was his fearless attacks on the basket.
he could benefit from playing with Royce I think, slashing to hole.

 

Maybe some of you guys can help me out with this...(sorry to post in this thread...please move if necessary)

We are two NBA fans (1 x Rockets, 1 x Knicks) from germany and would like to come to the U.S. next year to watch the summer league games.

- Will Vegas host the Summer League 2013 again?
- How much is a ticket (1 day or complete summer league)?
- Are there some good and cheap places to stay in vegas?
- Are there any good parties around summer league?

Thx for any help!

 

Ok, yeah I was probably a little too enthusiastic with that comment. Thanks for the feedback.

 

I know I'm about to get Killed
Lamb: A
Pure Scorer, Nothing wrong with that at this point, Long arms are a plus, liked his swagger out there, will have to get stronger and learn to play D Better. But everyone knew that.

Jones: A+
I real Player on both ends. Better than I thought he would be. A load down on the block and solid handle to create for self, but also can work within offense to find scoring chances off a pick or rebounding off the glass. At the 18th pick could end up being steal of the draft.

White: C+
Good all around player, but for a Power Forward wanted to see him score around the basket better. I like his basketball IQ. Great passer I just keep wanting to see more from him. Still need to see more.

Montiejunas: B+
Loads of potential but I think he could benefit from practicing and working out with Dwight or Andrew for a Year. He is the future of the Rockets and they need to start preparing him right now by showing him All Star Center Talent in Practice. Even if it is for just a year. Needs to live in the Weight Room, Looks like his has problems with Bulky Centers like guys +245lbs. Would love to put him with KG for a year.

Dragic: C
Did everything he could as far as trying to fit in and find a role on the SL team. Hard nosed and a hundred miles a hour just like Goran. Loved that he plays both ends of the floor hard. Long term I think he may be better than Goran if given the opportunity to develop. I see a lot of Ginobilli in his game.

Machado: B-
Y'all know I like this kid's game a lot. I'm a PG purest and I think he started off slow to many turnovers but that is to be expected, I could tell he was not confident out there early on, had bad body language. A little out of control at times.

The thing I loved is that he kept playing thru it and continued to run the team and do what his coaches wanted him to do and got better every game. Once he got comfy you could see his defense picked up and team mates began to find him on the outlets and his own offense picked up. His constant was always the great passing ability and finding his team mates in positions to score. I heard someone say Ish Smith in comparison but I think more Kyle Lowry with better Offense and Passing Ability at this point in his career.

Also noticed that by the last two games he had out played both 1st rounders Lillard and Teague. Lillard in terms of running a NBA team and being a PG and leading your team to a W. He dominated Teague in all areas in my opinion. Depending on which direction(trade wise) the Rockets go I think he could be a solid backup by mid season behind Jeremy Lin this season.


Anyway, We Talking about Summer League!!!! That's Like talking about Practice!!! lolo

 

Was in Vegas till Tuesday and was able to see the Sat. and Monday game.

D-Mo = potential double double guy. Probably one of the fastest/quickest 7 footers i've ever seen. Was constantly beating players down the floor. Did a great job of being around the rim. Nice finish, lots of tip-ins. Nice little baby hook. A good rebounder. He's got a great attitude and appears to have a mean streak. This kid has Allstar potential. DO NOT TRADE!

Royce White = potential Anthony Mason. Actually, he's more fluid than Anthony Mason, but doesn't have Mason's mid-range game or post game yet. He's a fantastic rebounder (a natural with his 7 foot wingspan). Can rebound and take it to the hole in one fell swoop. Excellent court vision. A gifted passer. Best handles i've ever seen on a big. He should be able to play both the 3 and 4 positions if he can develop his mid-range game. When the ball is in his hands, good things happen. You can run the offense through White; he's that gifted. Needs to work more on his post game, but he's athletic and crafty enough to score over taller guys. Great attitude; also has a mean streak. Of all our players, Royce White is the one that is hardest for me to calculate a ceiling. If he's used properly, and works on his mid-range game, he will be a devistating weapon. Every team needs a guy like Royce White. TRADE AT YOUR OWN RISK

Lamb = no comparision. It really is impossible for me to compare Lamb to anyone else i've seen in the NBA. The game comes so easy to him. Extremely long arms that have the ability to disrupt passing lanes. Can be a really good perimeter defender (but must work and improve). Excellent mid-range game. Good 3pt game, but it can get better. He can go to the hoop, and is very creative at scoring the ball. He's a SG that will be a matchup nightmare for opposing 2's; he even has the talent to dominate 3's. Hard to be more athletic than Jeremy Lamb. Can't figure out if he's naturally laid back, or if it just looks that way (barely seems to break a sweat). Will need to develop more of a killer mentality in the NBA, but he might have the most upside of any of our rookies. Potential Allstar. DO NOT TRADE!

Morris = headscratcher. Marcus Morris is really tall. He's legit 6'9". This idea that he's an undersized PF (from a height standpoint) is not accurate. After watching him play, he really is caught between two positions. He's got a decent mid-range game, but appears too stiff to play the SF. He's got a decent post game, but doesn't appear strong enough to play the PF. It's really a headscratcher. He's a good player, and there's talent there, but he's not fluid, and there's a fundamental akwardness to his game. Perhaps he just needs more time on the court. He did improve game by game, and played very well on Monday (if i remember correctly). With guys like Parsons, White, and Jones looking much better, it's hard for me to see how he fits in with this team. GOOD CANDIDATE TO BE MOVED.

Jones = the good kind of tweener. I said this when he was drafted; Morris is a PF, and is tall enough, and strong enough to play the position. His quickness and athleticism will be a matchup nightmare for opposing 4s. He will have to be covered by opposing 3s. He can beat any 4 off the dribble. Great handles. He's talented and quick enough to cover opposing 3's and he can slide over to the 3 in certain situations because he's developing a mid-range game. One thing i didn't see from him was shot-blocking, but i have a feeling that will come; he was an outstanding shot-blocker in college. He's always around the rim. Very good rebounder, and did it a lot in traffic. Puts the ball up in traffic. Nice finisher. Has springs in his legs. Sky is the limit for this kid. Another versitile player that could develop into a double double guy. McHale loves him. TRADE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Machado = worth a roster spot. He started off terrible, but improved a lot over the last 3 games. Natrual point guard and gifted passer. Showed that he can be a thief, liked seeing him rack up those steals. Not sold on his shooting, but again, towards the end, he was displaying a solid mid-range game. can def. dribble and get his own shot. Considering how much adjustment there is just going from playing with Iona to NBA summerleague, I'd say that no one improved more over these 5 games than Machado. I think he earned a roster spot. I'm not ready to say that he's Lin's backup, but i do think he's our 3rd PG. Really looking forward to seeing more of him in preseason. If he can improve that quickly, there's a really good chance that a couple of years from now, he'll be a completely different player (and at the very least, a decent NBA player). WORTH A ROSTER SPOT

I know Kyle Fogg didn't play much, but the little i saw impressed me. Excellent defensive ability. Zoran played very smart. He's no where near as fast and athletic as his brother, but he appears to play better defense. His shot was not falling, but he seems to put himself in very high percentage positions to shoot. He won't make the team, but i really liked the way he plays basketball; and he gave excellent effort in every game.

There is no reason why we can't start the year with a 12-man roster of:

Asik/D-Mo/Johnson
Pat/D-Mo/Jones/White
Parsons/White/Jones
Martin/Lamb
Lin/Douglas/Machado

That would be a hell of a fun team to watch.

 

I think Royce was even disapointed in his short game, though he looks to find the open man more than he looks to score for himself, i think in an interview he said he was missing shots that he doesnt usually miss. I think adjusting to the pro game will take him a little bit just because he had just finally starting to get back into the game at the end of last season. (He didnt play competitive ball for 2 years) So he finally was adjusted to college ball when he got drafted. He really doesnt look to score mad points unless he feels he has too (like vs. Kentucky).

 

An interesting thread....and I hope my contribution is interesting as well:

Parsons: A+: His value as the glue to the team really showed in game 1 when he played and game 2 when he didn't. He does so many little things, so well. Valuable NBA starter.

Lamb: A: Excellent scorer, outstanding ability to get his own shot. Defense seemed average, however. NBA starter and upside potential to be very special player.

D-Mo: A-: Very impressive in most games but kind of disappeared in game 2. He has moves that you don't expect of such a young player. Really want to see him play with a good PG such as Lin and then we can get a better feel for his game, I think. Needs to add strength...too many times he seemed to fall backwards on the court when defending....but his offensive skills are very impressive. NBA starter with high upside.

T Jones: A- : Smooth, skilled, and has that knack to find the ball in rebounding situations. Outplayed just about everyone he came up against. Amazing he was the #3 option on his college team. Rotation player at first with potential to have a solid NBA career.

White: B : As everyone noted, his passing skills are unique...but his shooting skills left a lot to be desired. Mid-range jumper is not effective and his height limits his inside game. His defense showed it could potentially be excellent but at times its just average far too often. NBA rotation player...but must improve his shot in order to get big minutes and fulfill his potential.

Machado: C+ : Poor at first but came on in the last couple of games. Deserves a chance to win a roster spot in training camp...but it will be difficult for him unless the Douglas and/or Livingston duo gets traded.

Dragic: C : Showed enough to also get a shot at a roster spot in training camp. His hustle and grit might carry the day for him to help offset average or even lack of athleticism. With current competition, it will be difficult for him to get a Houston roster spot, but may catch on with another team.

Morris: D : Considering he's a second year guy, his showing was disappointing. He looked lost at times on the court...and has a difficult time without the ball. I hope he gets traded, otherwise don't see him as a rotational player on the current roster.

Fortson: F : Not an NBA caliber PG.

Harrelson: Incomplete: Showed a few interesting moments, but will have a difficult time making the roster.

Forbes: Incomplete. Also showed some nice flashes in limited minutes, but will have a difficult time making the roster.

Smith: D-League will be his destination and his upside.

 

Motiejunas: I was never sold on him based on the videos I saw of his European team play and the way people on this board tend to over hype guys early on. That being said, Donatas was extremely impressive. He doesn't play physical enough that I think he would make a legit center and he shouldn't surpass Patterson as a starter yet because defensively even at the 4 he has progress to make but I see the potential people talked about. Not to mention, based off his play and with Scola gone, he is our best post scorer by default.

Morris: Offensively, he looked good. Sadly the true sample of his play never got show up due to injury/illness. All around he was great but I liked what I saw. I don't know if I would play him ahead of White yet, because I didn't see enough of his handling the ball, but overall, I think of the two, whoever plays defense better or gels with the other backups best will get the nod at playing behind Parsons.

Lamb: Great scorer, looks almost ready to start, but based off some of is actions in the last few games, I think he could use some time getting seasoned on the bench. Work on his defense and improve his willingness to share the ball. One thing that impresses me however is his willingness to get redbounds, I hope he doesn't lose that.

White: A work in progress but potentially a great piece for our team. Based off what I've seen, we most likely will have to play him at the 3 or exclusively when both teams are playing 'small ball' because against the larger players, he was getting blocked and at times out rebounded. His rebounding improved but his offense was still inconsistent, outside of some very good passing. Which means with this roster, he won't get many looks at playing the 4 spot. I worry however as he is in the same boat as Marcus Morris and he will need to improve quickly to snag the backup SF spot or I suspect he will be in the D-league before the new year. That being said, if he can improve on the weak points, him and Motiejunas plus another big would be a helluva match nightmare for most front courts.

Jones: Honestly, I thought he was another undersized PF, with a pedigree of defensive play same as what we got when we picked up Patterson. So far, he is looking a little better then Patterson, offensively and should he defense against legit NBA big men at the PF and C position prove as good or better, watch out. I don't see him ever being a star but a solid contributor coming off the bench.

Machado: Good showing in my opinion. He has a long way to go, but should definitely stay on the roster or go to the Vipers, that passing ability would be killer and if he can develop the ability to play defense well, he'd be a good point guard in this league. Sort of hopes he doesn't develop too quickly otherwise we will get the small ball two PGs on the floor lineup that I hated McHale and Adelman for using all the time when Lowry was here.

Z. Dragic: Offensively, he didn't look good. Defensively, he was hustle and somewhat all over the place. All that together seems to me that he has potential to be a role player and defensive backup, which isn't a bad thing at all, but he might spend some time in the D-league or playing bench warmer before he gets serious minutes with any team.

 

I know its a bit late but still.....

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/07/19/summer-league-rookie-impressions/?sct=nba_t11_a1&sct=nba_bf2_a4

 

Thanks and repped coddell. I dont have lp and not in houston so i have no way to watch summer league games. Been wondering how the rooks did. Pretty excited about monti.

 

http://www.thefirstrow.eu/
You could watch it on P2P online TV.