Post Game 1 - Vegas League vs Portland

Almost blew a 20 point lead. Almost.

1. As usual, Marcus Smart was the best player on the floor for either team. He is really launching those 3s, some from WAY outside the arc. Last night he was 4-11 from The Bellagio and 5-17 overall. Those are more like the numbers we're used to seeing from him, unfortunately. He did run some good offensive sets and made a couple of pull up floaters in the lane, which are hard to do but is an almost necessary arrow in every NBA guard's quiver. I know, the numbers don't add up. How can he be 4-11 from 3 and 5-17 overall and hit 2 floaters? He should only be 1-6 from inside the arc, right? But I saw two floaters, two, and you cannot mistake Smart for anybody else with his body. Hey, it's summer league for the scoring table and refs too. Welcome to amateur hour...

2. J-Mick with a strong game. 15 points on 6-10 (would have been 6-9 but he took a "why'd he do that?" 3pt attempt late that hit the backboard and rim so hard they shook), 10 rebounds, 4 of them offensive. 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. Two of the blocks were help blocks (that's ok, we could use one of those too) and one of them was a straight up block on his man as he got backed down but put back the short shot. All this in 30 minutes. Not only does our 2nd rounder want an invite to camp, he wants minutes. He had a total of 3 outside shots. One was aforesaid 3pt brick but the other 2 were 19'ers. He hit one, it was contested, and missed the other. If he can hit those 50% of the time Brad will be very happy and it seems to me his hitting about 50% of those shots so far including Utah league. Arnett Moultrie, who was a #27 pick and played for a few NBA teams before playing in China last year, backed him down and scored. That does make me worry a bit. Summer league competition is so weak and small Mickey looks big out there. How does he do against real NBA-sized talent? I wanted to see him against Vonleh, but Vonleh turned an ankle and didn't play. Still, I am happy with Mickey's game so far.

3. Rozier didn't have a good shooting night, 3-9, but he is a disruptor of the Avery Bradley kind. He makes life hard for his man. So, if you take into all the non-stat stuff into account it wasn't a totally bad game for Rozier. He had a couple of rookie fouls, where he's so intent on catching up with his man he runs over him when his man cleverly downshifts.

4. Good game by Hunter. 13 points on 2-8, but he was 8-10 from the line. It seems like a lot of that was him torturing Pat Connaughton of Notre Dame. One was just a veteran baiting of Connaughton, getting him to foul him on a 3pt fga. My concern with Hunter, after having him play a few games, is whether he is strong enough. He seems to get put off by contact and there is a lot of contact in the NBA. Players like Smart play through contact. It seems like Hunter gets bumped and backs off. His shot, though, his shot. Fast, fast, fast release. I've said it before and I'll say it again, after having seen it another half dozen times, it's very Curry-like in that it is a hard dribble up to the top of the head (NOT behind the head like Smart) and then a quick wrist flick and it's away. He came from the free throw line out around a pindown pick and got off a contested 3, that went in. That is a really, really hard shot to hit. Going from right-to-left, away from the hoop and catch-and-shooting a 3pter with a guy flying at you? By a right handed shooter with the defender coming at your shooting hand from the right? Very tough shot. Brad will see him do that a few times and he'll get some of those plays called for him, guaranteed.

5. Ralph Sampson III played 7 forgettable minutes. He went up for a layup and got blocked. 6'10" and got blocked from behind at the rim. Embarrassing. What a shame. We sure could use a 6'10" player, with a 7'2" wingspan, that can defend. In this case, two out of 3 isn't good enough.

6. Daniel Orton with 9 fouls. Luckily for him it takes 10 to foul out of summer league. 6'10", 275# Orton was a #27 pick. How can you NOT take a shot at a guy that big with a late first round or second round pick? This is why.

7. Alan Crabbe with 10 fouls. Just when Daniel Orton thinks he couldn't embarrass himself worse, someone comes along and bails you out. Crabbe had some offensive moments but his foot-slow defense would get his ass sat down in the NBA.

8. James Young was a DNP. Still nursing his boo-boo.

9. Another solid game by CJ Fair. Only 3-10 shooting but 6-6 from the line to earn 12 points in 18 minutes. Of all the bubble players I've seen so far through Utah and last night in Vegas, from any team, this kid deserves an invite to an NBA camp. He has a good nose for the ball, he dribbles well into traffic, doesn't play outside himself, is left-handed (it helps) and is 6'8". If he can play SF, he should have a job somewhere.

I don't like the fact their went ice cold in the 3rd but they rallied and that's just as important. Can you pull yourself together and finish the job. They're looking more coherent every game. In a few more games that will end, most of them will head off to China or points east, but it should be a positive experience.

http://www.nba.com/games/20150711/BOSPOR/gameinfo.html


bob



.

Great write-up. Jonathan Holmes had a good game too. If the rumor is true that Danny almost bought another 2nd rounder to take Holmes, his chances of making the roster after his solid summer league seem to be at least 30%, imo.

here's a summary of the entire day:

nbadraft.net wrote:NBA Summer League: Day 2
By Aran_Smith
Sun, 07/12/2015 - 4:04am
Player of the Day:

Bobby Portis
Bobby Portis
Bobby Portis Chicago -- Portis had an excellent start to his summer league playing for rookie head coach Fred Hoiberg. His 23 points came on an efficient 9-14 shooting (including 3-4 3PT), and he also contributed 7 boards. He matched up at times with #1 pick Karl Anthony Towns, scoring over him early. The sophomore standout from Arkansas surprised many, including the Bulls that he was available at the 22nd pick. Many felt he was a lottery level talent. So far he's proving that teams undervalued him allowing him to slip so far in the draft.

Biggest Surprise:

Kelly Oubre Washington -- Despite the loss, Oubre played excellent, registering a 20 and 10 for the Wizards. He struggled from outside making just 1-7 from deep, but his 10 boards, 4 of which coming offensively helped make up for it. He shot an efficient 8-20 from the floor, showing that he's not bashful about getting involved in the offense. The Wizards are hoping that he makes them good for moving up to select him.

Biggest Disappointment:

Marcus Smart Boston -- Smart was the lead scorer in the game with 19 and the Celtics won. He did get hot early from 3 with 12 first quarter points including a 3 at the buzzer. But his overall shooting was abysmal, making just 5 of 17 shots and committing just as many turnover as assists (3). he finished 4-11 from 3, but his overall efficiency was poor.

Top Performers:

Jordan Clarkson LA Lakers -- Clarkson was terrific for the second night in a row. He had a highlight crossover, on a drive to the basket. He finished the Laker's high scorer with 19 of their 68 points. While teammate DAngelo Russell struggled with turnovers and shooting, Russell once again picked up the slack, evening the Laker's record to 1-1.

Draft Watch

Karl Anthony Towns Minnesota -- Towns was solid in the team's loss to Chicago. He was active defensively with two shot blocks at the rim and also contributed 9 and 9, again showing nice form on his hook shot. He didn't dominate as some may have hoped for from a #1 overall pick, but he's young and obviously deserves time.

Jahlil Okafor Philadelphia -- On the day it was announced that previous #3 pick Joel Embiid will miss the 2015-16 season with foot surgery, Okafor followed his standout Utah summer league with a bright start to his NBA Summer League. He was very good on the block, and also looked like he had improved confidence at the line, hitting 7-12. He hit just 6-14 from the floor, struggling on the right block with his backboard J. But overall looked like an offensive difference maker. His physicality and ability to get to the line were bright spots.

Kristaps Porzingis New York -- "Zinger" was solid in his debut with 12 pts. He showed why many are so intrigued with his upside displaying excellent fluidity in the full court and a nice shooting stroke from the perimeter. GM Phil Jackson may ultimately regret not taking Hezonja, as he's a bigtime talent who seems better equipped to handle the New York media market, but Porzingis upside is considerable.

DAngelo Russell LA Lakers -- DLo struggled for the second day in a row. He shows flashes of brilliance and is extremely slick with the basketball. But right now he appears in need to time and an adjustment to the speed of the NBA game. he made a few careless passes. He forced some shots and just was unable to find the same success he's used to. He got a little out of control, kicking the ball off his foot when he attempted to push the ball at full speed as one point. Facing the player the Lakers passed over (Okafor), in order to select him, DLo may have put added pressure on himself. He hass tremendous size and creativity for the PG position, but likely needs a transition period due to the speed of the NBA game.

Veteran Standouts

Zach LaVine Minnesota -- Our player of day one struggled in day two, hitting just 5-20 from the floor. He led the team in scoring, but didn't do so in an efficient manner. On the positive side, he did get to the line 10 times, knocking down 9. His 9 boards also matched a team high, showing his activity.

Doug McDermott Chicago -- The 2nd year lotto pick had a quality game, posting 20 points on 9-16 shooting. He didn't get the 3 ball rolling like he's capable, but showed other facets of his game.

Notes:

Jordan Mickey Boston -- Was a real bright spot for the Celtics. Beyond the excellent numbers, he showed a surprising outside jumper along with a lightning quick spin move to get to the line. His 15 and 10 came on an efficient 6-10 shooting. His length also proved to be a factor as a rim protector. Mickey could ultimately end up one of the steals of the 2nd round.

Rondae Hollis Jefferson Brooklyn -- Brooklyn let go a veteran PG Deron Williams and eeked out a one point win over the Cavs in SL. Hollis Jefferson was one of bright spots, showing better than advertised results on his jumper, as he did in Orlando. He finished with 15 pts (5-11 fg and 9 boards) to lead Brooklyn.

Bryce Cotton Utah -- Finished with 28 points, scoring in a variety of ways. he was 8-15 from the floor and 10-11 from the Ft line.

Bob,

Nice summary as usual.

Good to hear that Rozier has Bradley-like defensive tendencies.  I don't doubt that his offensive game can improve beyond a killer slashing/crossover game.  Definitely not good news for Phil Pressey.

Just based on the stats, it would seem to me that Mickey was the best player on the floor.  The Mouse really filled up the stat sheet.  Maybe it was some of the intangibles or his defense that made you anoint Marcus with that honor.

We discuss every game to such a degree that the big picture can sometimes be clouded.  But so far, in terms of the probable effect on the Celtics regular season roster (pending any deals and roster space, of course), there seems nothing shocking.  It appears likely that Mickey, Rozier and Hunter will be with the team this season, and the others won't be.  I realize that several other players have interesting qualities, but those are the three who I believe have the potential, against NBA-quality opponents, to impact games to a significant degree over time.

I'm still doubting that there will be room for both Hunter and Young on the roster; and, unless there's a dramatic reversal of fortune in the offing, I'm betting on Hunter.

The fact that they lost a lead and came back simply underscores the fact that the NBA game typically involves a series of runs.  People think the loss of a lead is the result of complacency.  I believe there's more of a physical influence.  When a team gets a big lead, the adrenalin that helped get them there tends to wane, while the adrenalin of the "backs-to-the-wall" opponents shoots upward.  Then, when the lead shrinks, the process is reversed.  Players or teams with relatively greater natural intensity are not as subject to such swings; their adrenalin tends to remain at a more constant high.

Anyway, it appears that the games are now getting into a repetitious mode—solidifying trends rather than setting them.  Another way to look at it is that it could be Rozier's, Hunter's and The Mouse's jobs to lose; and I surely hope they don't.

Sam

The Celts lost the lead because of poor shot selection.

Smart again made some great plays but his shot selection was very poor at times. He still launches too many 3 point shots.

I previously mention that hunter is a streaky shooter. He took several ill advised very deep threes. He did make a few very good defensive plays.

Rozier is still trying to find his way out there. The pick was made so I will root for him but Portis would have been a much better selection.

Mickey continues to play well at both ends. Overall he has been the best player out there.

Dboss

Mighty Mouse Highlight Reel...

The guy's definitely the goods.

Sam