Thoughts on the summer league so far?

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Natebishop3

Don't tread on me!
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CJ has looked pretty good.

Robinson is still enigmatic, but I think he has improved from last year. Needs to get that free throw shot down.

Barton is still completely out of control.

Did Crabbe make the trip? I'm not sure.
 
CJ looked great, made me rethink his level tonight. Great to see. Crabbe...Stampede for a couple of years then China.
 
CJ is playing at half-speed. Still love his potential.

Barton looks like a future 6th man. Instant offense.

Crabbe belongs with Cedevita Zagreb, not the Blazers. Yikes.

What would it take to snag Rudy Gobert from Utah?
 
It looks like they are playing good defense, and the stats back the eye-test up:
NYK: 34.3%
Houston: 35.9%

Not a trend after 2 games, but I hope it develops into one!
 
cj looks like the best player on the floor, so thats cool
 
cj looks like the best player on the floor, so thats cool

Depends on how you define "best."

Allen Crabbe is clearly the best at concealment. He is a master of disguise. You don't even know he's there.
 
as a second round pick, crabbe is chaff blending into the chaff
 
as a second round pick, crabbe is chaff blending into the chaff

He just has no killer instinct at all, which I find strange for a shooting guard. I expect a guy who's main role on a team is to take shots, to be someone more like Will Barton. That's not Crabbe though. He just seems to hang out. I wasn't particularly impressed with his D League time either. I guess we shouldn't be surprised. For the PAC 12 Player of the Year to fall to the second round, there has to be something wrong.
 
I wonder if we'll make it out of the 2nd round of the Summer League playoffs?
 
CJ is playing like a guy that knows what's going to get him on the floor next year. Knock down shots, limit mistakes and improve defensively. Think he has the best shot to see regular rotation minutes out of all these guys after Olshey and Stotts made it clear that if Kaman is healthy, he's going to eat up most of the available backup PF/C minutes.

Joel- Protects the rim well but still foul prone against quick, talanted PF's and big centers eat him alive. Doesn't give you enough offensively to make up for it.

Will and TRob- There's no doubt these guys have skills but I'm still seeing to many spazzy moments to feel comfortable with putting them on the floor for extended periods.

Crabbe- Liked what I saw from him last SL, but his confidence is down and he's floating out there because of it.
 
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CJ is playing like a guy that knows what's going to get him on the floor next year. Knock down shots, limit mistakes and improve defensively. Think he has the best shot to see regular rotation minutes out of all these guys after Olshey and Stotts made it clear that if Kaman is healthy, he's going to eat up most of the available backup PF/C minutes.

Joel- Protects the rim well but still foul prone against quick, talanted PF's and big centers eat him alive. Doesn't give you enough offensively to make up for it.

Will and TRob- There's no doubt thses guys have skills but I'm still seeing to many spazzy moments to feel comfortable with putting these guys on the floor for extended periods.

Joel definitely tries hard, but he's just not good enough. It's unfortunate that he can't consistently make a mid-range jumper.
 
Joel definitely tries hard, but he's just not good enough. It's unfortunate that he can't consistently make a mid-range jumper.

He started to in the couple months before he got hurt, but has struggled with it since.
 
He started to in the couple months before he got hurt, but has struggled with it since.

I just don't see him getting any minutes. Rolo averaged about 32 minutes per game last season. Kaman is going to soak up the rest of the 16 minutes. The only way I see Joel playing is if one of LA/Robinson/Rolo/Kaman gets injured. It's nice to have someone like Joel who can step in and play, but it sucks for him. I don't see him playing much next season.
 
I just don't see him getting any minutes. Rolo averaged about 32 minutes per game last season. Kaman is going to soak up the rest of the 16 minutes. The only way I see Joel playing is if one of LA/Robinson/Rolo/Kaman gets injured. It's nice to have someone like Joel who can step in and play, but it sucks for him. I don't see him playing much next season.

Agreed. Only chance I see is if the Kaman / Rolo combo doesn't work, which is very possible.
 
Agreed. Only chance I see is if the Kaman / Rolo combo doesn't work, which is very possible.

Eh, I don't foresee any issues. The only real rub could be if Kaman can't stay healthy.
 
Our team defense is the best result so far. I'm hoping with less Mo and no dual PG lineups that will carry over to the regular season.

CJ has looked very good. Yes he's missed a lot of three's but at some point a bunch of those will fall I have no concerns about his shot. When he has Barton or Batum on the floor with him I think he can play some backup PG too and that could help our defense.

Freeland is a great luxury to have in case of an injury. He doesn't make any mistakes. Yes he is undersized against big centers but even if he does play this coming season its likely spot minutes against other teams backups.

Thomas Robinson really concerned me out there. He still has terrible decision making. We all see the athleticism but I'm seeing him jack up 20 foot jumpers, cherry picking on defense and turning an easy layup opportunity into a reverse blunder. His shot is getting worse not better. He should never be shooting the ball outside the paint; and that hurts our offensive spacing. If Kaman is healthy I think he might take all of the backup PF minutes. Other times we might go small with Wright playing as a stretch 4. TRob will definitely have chances to earn a role next year but I'm not penciling him in for anything.
 
Our team defense is the best result so far. I'm hoping with less Mo and no dual PG lineups that will carry over to the regular season.

CJ has looked very good. Yes he's missed a lot of three's but at some point a bunch of those will fall I have no concerns about his shot. When he has Barton or Batum on the floor with him I think he can play some backup PG too and that could help our defense.

Freeland is a great luxury to have in case of an injury. He doesn't make any mistakes. Yes he is undersized against big centers but even if he does play this coming season its likely spot minutes against other teams backups.

Thomas Robinson really concerned me out there. He still has terrible decision making. We all see the athleticism but I'm seeing him jack up 20 foot jumpers, cherry picking on defense and turning an easy layup opportunity into a reverse blunder. His shot is getting worse not better. He should never be shooting the ball outside the paint; and that hurts our offensive spacing. If Kaman is healthy I think he might take all of the backup PF minutes. Other times we might go small with Wright playing as a stretch 4. TRob will definitely have chances to earn a role next year but I'm not penciling him in for anything.

I really don't think TRob is that bad. He got a few shitty foul calls, but he didn't take a ton of outside shots and in my opinion he played in control. I don't see him trying to bring the ball up the floor anymore, and he has made some pretty nice reads (like the one to Crabbe.)

His biggest weakness today? The free throw line. Good god that was horrible. 6-13 from the stripe.

Overall his line was pretty good.

14 points, 12 boards, 1 block and 1 steal

He shot 4-10 from the field, he had 7 fouls, and 3 turnovers. One of the turnovers was because someone passed him the ball while he was trying to come back in from out of bounds, so not really his fault. I like his hustle, I like his athleticism, and I like his defensive presence. When he was out of the game, the Rockets were able to get into the paint at will.
 
I wonder if we'll make it out of the 2nd round of the Summer League playoffs?

I hope so. The more games the better. What is the minimum if they lost every game? Is their a losers bracket? I assume there is and we would play 5? That's not too bad, but I would like to get Leonard some games.
 
TRob makes a lot of nice plays. But Draco is right: he also makes a lot of just bad decisions. In the NBA, you can't afford that. (Same for Will.)
 
if trob stopped trying to put the ball on the floor/ get jammed up and stripped, he would look a lot better
 
Of all of our players, CJ has looked most NBA-like. He's serious but calm and always a threat. Contrast him with, say, Hardaway Jr.: total chucker. He scored a bunch against us but does absolutely nothing but shoot. CJ, even though his shot has been off, has got himself fouled A LOT, and is really working on D, which is encouraging. He's not going to make me forget we drafted him over Antetokounmpo, but lots of teams screwed up like that, and he's making me have hope he'll be a solid contributor. (Somebody said he regressed from last year: bullshit. He's scoring less because he's trying to do more, and isn't the total focus of the offense.)

Will: wild'n'wacky. The ghetto Ginobili. Sometimes you have to let Will be Will. I'm a little worried that he'll always be out of control and thus too much of a risk unless you're desperate (the Nate Robinson effect), but he has made some nifty passes, and we'll always have the alley-oop inbound. If he's surrounded by solid-but-unspectacular players then his value increases and his risk decreases. He'll never lose my love, though.

TRob: he actually depresses me more. There are some players who will make you think they could be really good because they've worked on particular talents, and when they showcase them, you forget the rest. This is the Jerryd Bayless effect. However, they lack that essential ingredient: a sense of where other people are on the court and what that means for what they should be doing. (The Germans no doubt have a word for it.) Will, for all his out-of-controllness, has this. TRob doesn't. He's still surprised by the ball. His mind is a step behind his body. I think he'll always be Travis Outlaw: phenomenal physical gifts, but not really much of a basketball player. (The opposite extreme is someone like Kyle Anderson - not great at much but amazing sense of where everyone is.)

Joel Freeland: definitely part of the rotation, but if only he was a bit larger and could jump a bit higher.

Bobby Brown: If Crabbe's contract wasn't guaranteed, then I'd lay odds we'd offer him a place as third guard. I have a feeling he'll have a job in the NBA next season.

Nobody else is really being given a chance.
 
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Of all of our players, CJ has looked most NBA-like. He's serious but calm and always a threat. Contrast him with, say, Hardaway Jr.: total chucker. He scored a bunch against us but does absolutely nothing but shoot. CJ, even though his shot has been off, has got himself fouled A LOT, and is really working on D, which is encouraging. He's not going to make me forget we drafted him over Antetokounmpo, but lots of teams screwed up like that, and he's making me have hope he'll be a solid contributor. (Somebody said he regressed from last year: bullshit. He's scoring less because he's trying to do more, and isn't the total focus of the offense.)

Will: wild'n'wacky. The ghetto Ginobili. Sometimes you have to let Will be Will. I'm a little worried that he'll always be out of control and thus too much of a risk unless you're desperate (the Nate Robinson effect), but he has made some nifty passes, and we'll always have the alley-oop inbound. If he's surrounded by solid-but-unspectacular players then his value increases and his risk decreases. He'll never lose my love, though.

TRob: he actually depresses me more. There are some players who will make you think they could be really good because they've worked on particular talents, and when they showcase them, you forget the rest. This is the Jerryd Bayless effect. However, they lack that essential ingredient: a sense of where other people are on the court and what that means for what they should be doing. (The Germans no doubt have a word for it.) Will, for all his out-of-controllness, has this. TRob doesn't. He's still surprised by the ball. His mind is a step behind his body. I think he'll always be Travis Outlaw: phenomenal physical gifts, but not really much of a basketball player. (The opposite extreme is someone like Kyle Anderson - not great at much but amazing sense of where everyone is.)

Joel Freeland: definitely part of the rotation, but if only he was a bit larger and could jump a bit higher.

Bobby Brown: If Crabbe's contract wasn't guaranteed, then I'd lay odds we'd offer him a place as third guard. I have a feeling he'll have a job in the NBA next season.

Nobody else is really being given a chance.

I just really don't get the TRob hate. The dude rebounds. He rebounds like a madman. He had 11 last night. I don't see Travis Outlaw AT ALL. Travis had one mode, and that was to score. I see Robinson make sweet passes, I see him playing defense, and I see him improving mentally. I don't understand how you guys haven't seen any growth. Last year he was trying to bring the ball up the floor, he was jacking a ton of outside shots, and he looked completely lost. He has improved. He passes the ball immediately after he grabs a rebound, he only takes open shots, and I don't see him making as many silly turnovers. I think you guys are exaggerating.
 
I just really don't get the TRob hate. The dude rebounds. He rebounds like a madman. He had 11 last night. I don't see Travis Outlaw AT ALL. Travis had one mode, and that was to score. I see Robinson make sweet passes, I see him playing defense, and I see him improving mentally. I don't understand how you guys haven't seen any growth. Last year he was trying to bring the ball up the floor, he was jacking a ton of outside shots, and he looked completely lost. He has improved. He passes the ball immediately after he grabs a rebound, he only takes open shots, and I don't see him making as many silly turnovers. I think you guys are exaggerating.

I think it's just me, so not "you guys". [Edit: okay, me and Draco.] Yes, I agree he's doing fewer of the really bad things, and yes, he does rebound. But I don't think he's much of a team defender, and he always has to think once he gets the ball, instead of before he gets it. But we'll see. He can still be useful in small bursts. Even Travis was that.
 
I think it's just me, so not "you guys". Yes, I agree he's doing fewer of the really bad things, and yes, he does rebound. But I don't think he's much of a team defender, and he always has to think once he gets the ball, instead of before he gets it. But we'll see. He can still be useful in small bursts. Even Travis was that.

Nah, trust me, you're not the first person to express those feelings.
 
plus his name isnt tomas robinovic, so he sucks

i kid
 

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