First off, I love these NBADL games. It's cool to see these guys playing for an opportunity to make it to the big leagues. The Vipers just made a trade and they gave away a pretty good player in Singleton, but got back Andrew Goudelock. Andrew Goudelock has a really sweet smooth stroke in his jumper, he gets to the line (ala James Harden) and played a huge difference in this first game of his. He looks to be an undersized 2-guard, but David Wesley did it so this man can as well. He was the best player on the floor tonight that included two NBA players in Cory Joseph and Terrence Jones. The game ended up at 118-108 and the Vipers had to overcome a lull in the fourth to make it a win. These Rio Grande Vipers are 7-7 and the lulls in the fourth quarter are why the record is only 500. This squad made the Singleton/Goudelock trade and I think it was the right one; these players seemed to jive together and the score showed it. The first quarter did not look good. There were turnovers galore. Chris Johnson, Glen Rice, Terrence Jones and Time Ohlbrecht all had their moments of sloppy. Rice seemed to be in a funk all night, Jones was getting some rust out of his system early, Ohlbrecht made the cardinal big-man sin and got the ball stolen on a gimme basket by holding the ball low and Chris Johnson looked like a chicken with his head cut off. The backups came in a cut a 12 point deficit to just a few points. Little man, Tajuan Porter was the spark off the bench that got things going. Later, the Austin Toros would take advantage of his size, but coach Nick Nurse knows matchups and adjusted quickly with Toure Murry. In fact, everything Nick did in the second quarter worked. That 12 points turned into a 2 point half-time lead behind big man chemistry from Vernon Macklin and Hassan Whiteside. By the time the backups were gassed, the starters found their rhythm and the team traded baskets until early in the 4th quarter. Things were looking bleak when a 5 point lead became the deficit, but then the two stars of this team did what they do: scored. Goudelock and Jones took the game over in alternating turns finishing at the rim and beyond the arc. It seems doubtful that Terrence Jones will play for the Vipers for very much longer, but if he does stay in the D-League, look for that 500 record to head north. Here's some highlights if you're interested: http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20130104/RGVAUS/gameinfo.html (The Terrence Jones alley-oop was far better than it looked in the replay angle)
I'd like to add that Tim Ohlrecht looked solid. The coaches talked to Tim after his turnover and he started holding the ball high. He never turned the ball over after that first time and finished quite a few plays at the rim. Marking up the box score with 18 and 14 is worth more mention than I gave him earlier. This guy should get a 10 day contract this year. He's solid and looks to have more polish on his game than any of the other Vipers. This tatted up German is 24, has played professionally since 2005 and it shows. At 6-11" and 255 lbs, someone will need him at some point.
Don't be obnoxious, don's providing coverage of our DL affiliate. If you don't care about the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, then don't click the link. Or, do click the link, sneer self-importantly, and then close the window without polluting the thread with trash.
Totally slept on my fellow German Tim Ohlbrecht playing in D-League and cheered when seeing he's playing really solid, he and Elias Harris always struck me as the best German prospects. Hope he'll get a chance to play under a 10 day contract soon.
He doesn't have any wow factor to his game, but he gets it done, learns quickly and doesn't go beyond himself. Do you know anything about his jumper? I don't remember watching him take one. If he's got mid-range, he's going to have a job for the next 5-10 years.
Yeah, I'm not sure what his point was, but it's been done a time or 50 around here. By evidence of his 9.85 posts per day, he obviously spends a lot of time on this board. I would think he'd seen that the 'cool-story-bro' thing has been played out. Raise the roof, BigMaloe, raise the roof.
More than solid from midrange and was comfortable shooting Euro 3s. Don't know if he's adjusted yet to shooting from NBA 3pt range but his shot is fluid and has always been one of his strenghts.
Was at the game last night also and agree with don's observation. I posted a little feedback in another thread and will re-post here... Went to the Austin Toros game tonight to watch them play the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and we (RGV/Rockets) have recently signed Hassan Whiteside. A lot of folks were high on him coming out of college. Also brought in Vernon Macklin. Whiteside didn't get many minutes but he looks to have really filled out (listed at 260) and very athletic for a big guy. Ran the floor well and was a defensive presence down low. Macklin looked solid. The starter was Tim Ohlbrecht a German player who looked pretty good. Terrence looked okay, but seemed like he has fatigue issues. He waived to the bench several times to sub him out and he was completely gassed. Not to mention their offense has him hanging out at the three point line way too much.
I watch the Vipers games online sometimes. Now that I've seen them play live this year, I have a better picture of who these players are. I'll keep an eye on his game for sure. He's the 2nd best NBA prospect on the team after Terrence Jones. Jones, btw, has pretty good potential to drive to the rim as soon as he catches up to the speed of the the NBA. He dribbles so low to the floor, it would be tough to steal.
Yeah, you are right about the fatigue thing. That surprised me because he didn't look like he did anything to get gassed the first time he asked to come out. I'd like to see Nurse's staff work on that. There is nothing more crucial to a long career than being in great playing shape.
If by Royce White, you meant Tajuan Porter, then he was fantastic. He was the spark-plug that helped the team decide they wanted to win in the first half. If by Royce White, you meant Royce White, he's still learning what humility is. He's a little like BigMaloe, if I had to compare him to a poster involve in this thread.
Anyone reading this watching league pass broadband and notice the announcer talking about 2Pat's ketchup and mustard shoes?
