I have no idea why ppl are focusing on Beasly. What do u expect? To change his game? He is what he is. He wont suddendly develop better vision and passing or even defence.
Everyone needs to calm down. Most teams didn't even know their roster until this past weekend. Many teams at Las Vegas had their FIRST Summer League practice on Tuesday or Wednesday. So at most they had 3 practices total before the first game. So that makes this more a series of glorified pick up games. Plus, they brought in a completely new coaching staff in over the past month, so it is not like D'Antoni, Bzdelik, and Rodgers have been able to plan what to teach and how to do it. On top of that, it is currently Rodger's first time to lead the coaching at the summer league, and he has never coached with D'Antoni before, so he is not going to be able to teach the intricacies of the offense.
No kidding. Plus he's on a minimum ****ing contract. It's not like we just gave him an $80 million deal.
https://streamable.com/nzg0 I love it so much. Really want this kid to play for Houston for a lot of years.
Wasn't Walton the de facto head coach for the longest winning streak to start the season? I'm probably missing something here. I guess that wasn't official, but SL isn't either. This was his career high and it was only over 20 games, I believe. He's .452 for his career but here's to hoping he keeps up the high volume high percentage shooting in the seasons that matter.
Watched the game this morning and was expecting Dekker to do worse based on CFs comments. He was fine. He's slow but he got his. Plus he was put in a lot of isolation situations which won't be his role in the NBA. Was hoping to see more from Trez and Taylor but it's just one summer league game. No need to overreact.
First of all I would say it's pretty clear that they aren't running MDA offense yet. Beardless streetball offense is pretty hard to watch. i assume once camp rolls around things will look more cohesive and player strength/weakness will be obvious. More obvious. So let's cover the obvious. KJ McDaniels is wildly athletic. I mean he can physically do anything you need but mentally he's trying too hard. Idk if it's playing time or what but he's easily an NBA level defender and athlete. Just needs to slow down IMO, let the game come to him a little bit. His jumper looks rushed and still lacking confidence. Payton looked like an elite defender in the making. I hope they don't give up on him like they did Nick Johnson. Wiltjer is getting a little too much praise, he looked like a boy among men and wasn't exactly lights out. Onuaku and Harrell looked like they should still be at Louisville. Harrell showed some ability to drive and finish, we all know he can slam it down too but the shot selection/bricking was painful. Dekker, I thought he looked really good. Fluid athletically and seems bigger than you might think. Nice to see him score in a variety of ways. Won't be a ball stopper, has skills to drive, to run breaks, to shoot. He would be a godsend if he can keep up that kind of play in the majors. I thought he played really well and totally undeserving of the crap he got for an injury. Happy to see the rockets youth in action, hope they adopt a new playbook soon.
He plays to his strengths, attacking the basket relentlessly and getting to the free throw line. Shoots free throws very well and gets the team in the bonus early which is a real Positive.
[rQUOTEr]The Rockets should have been far more efficient with their starters on the floor. K.J. McDaniels has been around long enough and Michael Beasley has done far too much to have struggled so badly in a summer league game. They went a combined 6 of 29, but the issue was not just their shooting. After starting the game moving the ball and themselves relatively well, the Rockets bogged down badly and ended up forcing shots. Beasley never seemed comfortable, missing some of the shots he has made in NBA games for years. He looked good, slimmer and quicker than when he returned from China. And Beasley usually needs only the ball to score. But when the offense broke down, he struggled. In the first game after a minicamp, the Rockets expected to run their offense better than that, but even with four roster players in the starting lineup, they showed there will be a lot of work to do. Sam Dekker waited a year for Friday's game. He missed last season's summer league when his back troubles began and played just three games as a rookie when they required back surgery. He was thrilled to be back and did not look as if he had been out at all. Dekker made 6 of his 9 shots to lead the Rockets with 18 points. He took a knee to the thigh three times, leaving after he was hit on a strong, fast break slam through a foul. But he said he was fine and will practice on Saturday. His play was just a start, the start he could not get last season. A solid summer league game is a long way from a regular-season rotation spot. But for the first time since the Rockets drafted him, Dekker looked like a first-round pick. The Rockets will likely search for point-guard depth far from the Las Vegas summer league courts. Though the plan is to play James Harden, Pat Beverley and Eric Gordon in a three-guard rotation, the Rockets would likely need to have a reliable third point guard on the roster. Even if the Rockets add another point, Gary Payton II has a chance to get a roster spot and a chance to work for them in the NBA Development League. In his first summer game at the point, he showed some potential, with good quickness and tenacity. It was difficult, however, to see too much since the Rockets' ball movement and body movement slowed so badly. He looked like something of a tweener guard, but that can be enough in an emergency, particularly if he can defend at the point. It could be an important summer league for him. He showed enough to demonstrate why the Rockets want to get a good look. 'A legacy of range-shooter summer fours' really does not have much of a ring to it. But the Rockets have long sought power forwards to stretch a defense. In the grand tradition of Steve Novak, or at least Maarty Leunen, Kyle Wiltjer showed a terrific shooting stroke. He was forced to take some rushed, contested shots, but when he got his legs under him, he had no trouble adjusting to the NBA 3-point range. He made 5 of 11 shots for his 13 points. He should get a lot of looks as the tournament goes on, likely enough to get to camp in the fall. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/spo...hp?t=ad639f0539438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium[/rQUOTEr]
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Can he hit 52% with a larger sample? His whole career says no. For someone that forces the Rockets to play 4 on 5 on defense when he's on the court he's gotta be an offensive juggernaut to justify a roster spot and he's just not. He's a chucker that will sometimes make some shots to break even overall but other nights he won't hit them....but he'll keep chucking away while being a huge negative on the court.
Last year, being a chucker was helpful. But with this new offense involving more passing, Morey has to think he won't fit real well.
Payton looked a little tentative. KJ is a freak athlete and solid defender but not sure he's a fit on this team. I'm impressed with Harrell's ability to guard bigger players but not much else with him is worth a hoot. Onuaku is slow and middling. Pass. Beasley is what he is and should not be playing. I love Dekker's size and aggressiveness -- his shot needs some work but he has a good release. Keep him. Keepers: Dekker, maybe KJ Ditch: everyone else
Not sure Harrell fits as a 4 in our system since he isn't much of a shooter, but I could see him being an effective 5 when we go small ball. Seems to have a lot of good center traits: rebounds, blocks, scores inside, and a solid FT stroke. Never understood why he didn't at least get a chance to face up with Draymond against the warriors death lineup, bet he could matchup well.
