True story. After catching a red-eye flight from Las Vegas to New Jersey, I sat on my couch this morning in an attempt to write my final thoughts on the 21-team, 10-day, 53-game tournament that is NBA Summer League, which came to a close on Sunday. But while typing, I dosed off, leaving me with four pages of the letter 'j' to delete. If summer league left me that tired, imagine how the players and coaches are feeling. With that said, it's time to honor some of my Vegas favorites. Since most of my mid-point award winners would still be my end-of-the-league award winners, here is my last batch of observations: The Lottery Picks O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies (No. 3 pick): He had two signature plays -- the dunk and the buzzer-beater -- but he also showed he has the ability to play both guard positions; the game appears to come easy to him. He is a star in the making. Kevin Love, Wolves (No. 5): He put up points (18.0 per game), led the league in rebounds (13.5) and threw a couple of his signature outlet passes before shutting it down with a sore Achilles. His footwork was perfect and he was the league's best all-around big man. Danilo Gallinari, Knicks (No. 6): He only played in one game -- stinking it up in the first half and lighting it up in the second half. It appeared he needed a couple of quarters to adjust to the pace of the game and find his rhythm. Eric Gordon, Clippers (No. 7): He was arguably the worst shooter in Sin City, making just 32 percent of his attempts in two games before getting hurt and shutting it down. On a positive note, I liked the fact that he was ultra-aggressive. Joe Alexander, Bucks (No. 8): On offense, he appears comfortable standing around on the perimeter launching jump shots. That would be fine if his shots were falling, but for the most part they weren't. However, he did demonstrate that he is a good passer. Overall, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 blocks and shot 34.6 percent from the field. D.J. Augustin, Bobcats (No. 9): Forget about his assists numbers for now, Augustin was able to get where he wanted to with the rock whenever he wanted to. He only played in three of Charlotte's five games, but when he was on the court, there was no doubt who was in charge. He averaged 19.7 points on just 10.6 shot attempts per game, while connecting on 56 percent from the field. Jerryd Bayless, Blazers (No. 11): MVP. 'Nuf said. Jason Thompson, Kings (No. 12): See "Favorite Clutch Player" below. Anthony Randolph, Warriors (No. 14): The 6-foot-10 forward was practically impossible to stop off the dribble in one-on-one situations and he showed a nice touch from the outside. He is the perfect combination of speed and height. My Favorite Sixer: Marreese Speights Even though he spells his first name funny, I was thoroughly impressed with the play of Speights, who was one of just three players to average a double-double (Minnesota's Kevin Love and Denver's Elton Brown were the other two). The 6-foot-10 power forward averaged 18.2 points and was second in the league in rebounds (10.2) and blocked shots (2.2). With his ability to finish around the rim and attack the glass, he could eventually be the perfect backup for Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert. My Favorite Bricklayer: Marco Belinelli, Warriors Although I wouldn't bet against him in a 3-point shooting contest, the guy with the pretty shot put up some ugly field-goal percentage numbers. Belinelli hit just five of his last 24 attempts and made just 39 percent of his shots from the floor overall. Mr. Efficiency: Alando Tucker, Suns Five players (Portland's Jerryd Bayless, Houston's Donte' Greene, Sacramento's Quincy Douby, Phoenix's Alando Tucker and Golden State's Anthony Randolph) averaged more than 20 points per game. Of those five, only Tucker attempted fewer than 15 shots per game (12.6) and had a field-goal percentage over 49 percent (57.1). My Favorite Gunner: Donte Greene, Rockets Greene sent a message to the teams that let him slip to No. 28 in the draft by scoring 40 points on 12-for-20 shooting in his first summer-league game. He then went out and missed 35 of 51 shot attempts over the course of his next three games. But that mini-slump didn't hurt Greene's confidence. He ended summer league with a strong 9-for-16 showing (22 points) as the Rockets topped the Kings on Sunday. Greene, who shot 42.5 percent overall, finished second to Portland's Jerryd Bayless in scoring with an average of 22.6 points per game. Not A Point Guard: Brandan Wright, Warriors Wright had a nice week, highlighted by his opening-day performance of 17 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots in a win against the Sixers. However, in four games (120 minutes), the forward failed to register an assist. Not a single one. The Body Guard: Joey Dorsey, Rockets Houston's Joey Dorsey described himself as "Ray Lewis with a basketball" and then tried to show his toughness by getting ejected from a game while in street clothes. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/01og7N-rm_o"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/01og7N-rm_o" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> My Favorite Comeback: Robert Traylor, Cavaliers After playing in Puerto Rico last season, Robert "Tractor" Traylor was in Vegas as a member of the Cavaliers. The big body, who was basically auditioning for all of the general managers in attendance, had a decent stretch of games, averaging 5.3 points and five rebounds in four Cleveland losses. Mr. Clutch of Summer League: Jason Thompson, Kings Thompson hit not one, but two game-winning shots. His three-point play in overtime helped the Kings top the Blazers, and he had a tip-in and free throw in the final 20 seconds of a three-point victory over the Warriors. The 6-foot-11 forward out of Rider averaged 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. My Favorite For Lottery-Pick Bust: Joe Alexander, Bucks As of now, this honor has to go to Alexander. Let's see what happens ... http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-33-74/Maurice-Brooks--Summer-League-Wrap-Up.html
I'll say it again: Jerryd Bayless is a pure 100% stud-ness Seattle/OKC will regret picking Westbrook over JB.
Will these two guys enter the rotation list ? or... Will they still be able to stay in Houston 1 year after ?
I never saw any potiental in joe alexander, im pretty sure he's a bust, sure he's athletic and has pretty good slashing skills. But he can't really dribble nor shoot, so how is he going to be anygood? Another bust. Like tyrus thomas, well tyrus isn't a bust yet, but soon will be. A player that surprised me that I thought would've turned out bad is westbrook, he definitely reminds me of a steve francis (younger days) but I still gotta see more of him and he still got a lot to prove
It makes me **** my pants to think how good Portland is going to be. I was stunned that not only Westbrook went ahead of Bayless but also Augustine.
Been saying that since before March Madness when he was at Arizona. Of all the combo-guard prospects, he has the surest shot of rising to stardom. Maybe even surer than OJ Mayo. So, I concur.
No its not. Have you ever seen the guy play? I have, and I can tell you that he is a miniature version of Kobe because of his shot creating ability, athleticism, and HEART. (The guy is gonna shoot atleast a LOT of FTs)
Westbrook played very well in summer league also and is a much better defender than Jerryd. IMO the defense will translate better in the NBA than the offense. We have had 2 summer league MVP's in JL3 and AB that are not likely to be allstars anytime soon. Wait till Jerryd has an NBA quality defender in his grill and we shall see how he does.
Westbrook is not than much of a better defender than Jerryd. They both have very similar athleticism and quickness, although Westbrook does have longer arms and more experience, but thats about it. However Jerryd already has an NBA ready offensive game, unlike Westbrook. Also, don't even compare him to JL3 and AB-they would be fodders for Jerryd. Jerryd is a much better athlete than both of them, not to mention he is a lot stronger and bigger also. So that was a stupid, stupid comparison. At the very least, JB is more NBA ready than Westbrook, although he may initially have to be a backup to Brandon Roy and Steve Blake. But eventually, and the Blazers said it themselves, he will take over the main point guard duties down the line, so he will get his time to shine, although he's not a particularly good floor general yet.
Here's a highlight video of JB during the Summer League action: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/A9fMvTDExpw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/A9fMvTDExpw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
No, I said Kobe Bryant because Jerryd Bayless already has a better set shot and off the bounce jumpshot than Dwayne Wade, althought he he has less size than Dwayne. Trust me, I've seen Jerryd hit some tough Kobe-esque fadeaways.
It sounds like your describing Kenny "Sky" Walker. Former New York Knick. He had athleticism off the charts and dominated in college at Kentucky, but when he got into the NBA we realized that he couldn't shoot and couldn't dribble. He had me fooled. I don't know if Joe will end up like Kenny but it's possible.
Joe Alexander can definitely shoot the ball, just not to NBA three point range consistently. I personally see a lot of similarities with David West/ Shawn Marion. Reliable shooter up to 18 feet, small/power forward hybrid, athletic for size (Joe is a better athlete than David West though, but weaker). I'd say he has a good chance to be atleast a good role player, given the right circumstances (which means he likely won't be playing a whole lot behind RJ , Redd, and possibly Villanueva).
I didn't compare Jerryd's game to AB or JL3 I just stated that they have all won the summerleague MVP and it don't mean much. I can tell you what is stupid though... your Jerryd mancrush. I would have expected more from a felow cowboy...
You haven't even seen him play against legit backups. Its a different set of circumstances when he will be asked to run plays for his young team.
