Summer League Fun

[JMac1]

Warren has good passing ability, but still one tricky pony on offense.

JMac1: That was more jinx post from me.

trying to trick the basketball gods? Like they didn't know what you were doing

[Gorilla Warfare]

If we don't offer McConnell a guaranteed spot he's going to France. He will go to training camp if offered but if he's not on the roster of 13 he's playing (and starting) in France.

[SarcasticSun]

Warren is far from a one trick pony. The dude shoots 60 percent from the field scoring 20 a game. He has a multitude of floaters (off each foot) half hooks, turnarounds and hesitation moves. All of which are effective. Once he gets a 3 he won't be able to be stopped on that end.

I watch him and see a lot of Jamison in his game, it may not always look pretty and sometimes you feel like he's just chucking it up blindly, but he continually gets the ball in the hoop. Just a pure scorer.

It looks beautiful to me. I have never felt like Warren was chucking. He takes what the game gives him, and that's why he is so efficient. His defense has been solid. He hasn't tried any threes though cause he hasn't really had to, SL too easy for him.

[PackSuns]

Warren has good passing ability, but still one tricky pony on offense.

JMac1: That was more jinx post from me.

How can you say that he has good passing ability and then say he is a one trick pony. If he can score like he does and pass the ball around well, I ain't even mad, his shot will develop over time.

Maybe he is saying that he has the ability to pass, but just doesn't use it enough to call it another trick. His rebounding is pretty terrible, and his defense is a bit weak. Right now he has a good floater, but pretty average on other shots.

2 questions.
Did you watch the game?
Do you understand the game of basketball?
How many blocks did TJ have? How many deflections did he have? How many times was he caught out of position? How many pick and roll switches did he not complete ? How many transition assignments did he miss? How many points were scored against him? What was his +/-?

As far as rebounding is concerned there are 2 coaching philosophies. Either you want to leak out and get transition buckets(check) or you want ALL your players to crash the boards.

I will stick to listening to his coach who praised his quick hands on defense during the in game interview. I will also read the "hustle analytics" that stats geeks compile every game. I recommend some of you do the same.

[TASTIC]

How can you say that he has good passing ability and then say he is a one trick pony. If he can score like he does and pass the ball around well, I ain't even mad, his shot will develop over time.

Maybe he is saying that he has the ability to pass, but just doesn't use it enough to call it another trick. His rebounding is pretty terrible, and his defense is a bit weak. Right now he has a good floater, but pretty average on other shots.

2 questions.
Did you watch the game?
Do you understand the game of basketball?
How many blocks did TJ have? How many deflections did he have? How many times was he caught out of position? How many pick and roll switches did he not complete ? How many transition assignments did he miss? How many points were scored against him? What was his +/-?

As far as rebounding is concerned there are 2 coaching philosophies. Either you want to leak out and get transition buckets(check) or you want ALL your players to crash the boards.

I will stick to listening to his coach who praised his quick hands on defense during the in game interview. I will also read the "hustle analytics" that stats geeks compile every game. I recommend some of you do the same.

Yeah I agree - I thought he was really active and had busy hands on defense.

Also, we don't need him to rebound that much when Len or Chandler are out there, Bledsoe is also a very good rebounder from the 1. When he was playing with starters last year he was VERY good at crashing the offensive glass - basically because he was probably cutting to the cup anyway! Look at his stats - he grabbed 85 rebounds last year, 41 were offensive! That's an insane ratio.

There's no reason he shouldn't start right out of the gate and get 28-30mins, producing 12-14pts and 5-6 rebounds per, on efficient shooting from the floor and the line.

The 3pt shot will come, I also think he's a lot like Jamison with his flip shots - Jamison was 5-17 from deep over his first TWO seasons, then he became a threat the rest of his career - it can happen.

[RunDogGun]

How can you say that he has good passing ability and then say he is a one trick pony. If he can score like he does and pass the ball around well, I ain't even mad, his shot will develop over time.

Maybe he is saying that he has the ability to pass, but just doesn't use it enough to call it another trick. His rebounding is pretty terrible, and his defense is a bit weak. Right now he has a good floater, but pretty average on other shots.

2 questions.
Did you watch the game?
Do you understand the game of basketball?
How many blocks did TJ have? How many deflections did he have? How many times was he caught out of position? How many pick and roll switches did he not complete ? How many transition assignments did he miss? How many points were scored against him? What was his +/-?

As far as rebounding is concerned there are 2 coaching philosophies. Either you want to leak out and get transition buckets(check) or you want ALL your players to crash the boards.

I will stick to listening to his coach who praised his quick hands on defense during the in game interview. I will also read the "hustle analytics" that stats geeks compile every game. I recommend some of you do the same.

The game? There has been a few. In the game against Houston, he did a poor job on defense against the PF, which he has been playing the last few games with Len at the five. So me saying his defense is a bit weak, isn't a stretch, hyperbole, or anything outrageous.

His rebounding is pretty bad right now, so I don't see why that is a critique that is not valid. Why would I have to chose between leaking out players or "ALL" of the players crashing the boards? That choice sounds like it was from someone that doesn't understand the game of basketball, that that would be the only two choices. I just feel if someone is going to play the four, they should be able to finish the game with more than one rebound, which is what I was commenting on.

I'm not saying he can't learn any of those things, but my comments weren't crazy comments. So you can stop with the "game of basketball" bull.

[Saberestar]

Next game against the Bulls, I really want to see that McDermott vs Warren matchup. Portis / Bairstow are a decent frontcourt too, Len is bigger and hopefully he can dominates them on the boards.

[bwgood77]

Hornacek was on as a guest in the 2nd quarter? Missed that part thanks to the stream.

Yeah, it was a good interview. You can always watch it later if you have the nba.com summer league package and there isn't an interruption.

[bwgood77]

See this is where my original question comes about. If the DL is the same as overseas ball, why wouldn't a team just rack up players at stash them on their DL affiliate? Where they would learn the team's system,and still retain their rights?

Plus I never hear draft and stash when referring to the DL. It is almost always overseas.

The maximum you can earn in the D-League is 25,000. Stashed guys are still going to get at least 6 figures overseas. It's purely a money thing.

yup. I really think the league should invest some of the new tv money in the dleague. Make it as attractive as Europe or China and raise the level of play. Better quality of play would lead to better development for the young guys down there. I'd also like to see them add a could designated dleague roster spots for teams where you could pay a guy six figures and keep there rights while playing down in the dleague.

I'm sure they will once the cap goes up significantly. Maybe at least move it to $35K or something.

[bwgood77]

Warren is far from a one trick pony. The dude shoots 60 percent from the field scoring 20 a game. He has a multitude of floaters (off each foot) half hooks, turnarounds and hesitation moves. All of which are effective. Once he gets a 3 he won't be able to be stopped on that end.

And someone said he couldn't rebound. He is often an excellent offensive rebounder and just knows where to be to get it and put it back up.

[RunDogGun]

Warren is far from a one trick pony. The dude shoots 60 percent from the field scoring 20 a game. He has a multitude of floaters (off each foot) half hooks, turnarounds and hesitation moves. All of which are effective. Once he gets a 3 he won't be able to be stopped on that end.

And someone said he couldn't rebound. He is often an excellent offensive rebounder and just knows where to be to get it and put it back up.

No, I didn't say he couldn't rebound, I said right now, he was doing a terrible job. I said it after his game of one rebound. Let's not be one of those people, who reads what someone writes, changes what they said, and then rip according to your change.

[PackSuns]

Maybe he is saying that he has the ability to pass, but just doesn't use it enough to call it another trick. His rebounding is pretty terrible, and his defense is a bit weak. Right now he has a good floater, but pretty average on other shots.

2 questions.
Did you watch the game?
Do you understand the game of basketball?
How many blocks did TJ have? How many deflections did he have? How many times was he caught out of position? How many pick and roll switches did he not complete ? How many transition assignments did he miss? How many points were scored against him? What was his +/-?

As far as rebounding is concerned there are 2 coaching philosophies. Either you want to leak out and get transition buckets(check) or you want ALL your players to crash the boards.

I will stick to listening to his coach who praised his quick hands on defense during the in game interview. I will also read the "hustle analytics" that stats geeks compile every game. I recommend some of you do the same.

The game? There has been a few. In the game against Houston, he did a poor job on defense against the PF, which he has been playing the last few games with Len at the five. So me saying his defense is a bit weak, isn't a stretch, hyperbole, or anything outrageous.

His rebounding is pretty bad right now, so I don't see why that is a critique that is not valid. Why would I have to chose between leaking out players or "ALL" of the players crashing the boards? That choice sounds like it was from someone that doesn't understand the game of basketball, that that would be the only two choices. I just feel if someone is going to play the four, they should be able to finish the game with more than one rebound, which is what I was commenting on.

I'm not saying he can't learn any of those things, but my comments weren't crazy comments. So you can stop with the "game of basketball" bull.

Sorry for implying that you don't understand the game but when I hear words like weak and terrible when discussing TJ's game it makes me wonder. I recommend you watch that Houston game again. I agree it wasn't his best game but he was and has been playing out of his position. I am sure you have seen weak and terrible play as a Suns fan but throwing a young prospect on OUR team under the bus is weak and terrible. He is a crafty defender if you watch his game from a scouting perspective. I will also watch the Houston game again to be fair with my assessment. Any parts of his game that you think are improving? I know it's a small sample but his freethrow stroke looks much improved.

[RunDogGun]

I should have been more specific about where and when I thought he was "a bit weak" and "terrible. But to me, playing out of position is something he may be called to play, and he is currently starting as our PF. And he has been "a bit weak" while defending that position.

I'm not saying he doesn't have the ability to overcome this. I didn't get to watch yesterday's game, but from games I've watched, I don't think my assessment was outrageous. Maybe "terrible" was overstated. Is poor a better word? Below average?

[PackSuns]

I should have been more specific about where and when I thought he was "a bit weak" and "terrible. But to me, playing out of position is something he may be called to play, and he is currently starting as our PF. And he has been "a bit weak" while defending that position.

I'm not saying he doesn't have the ability to overcome this. I didn't get to watch yesterday's game, but from games I've watched, I don't think my assessment was outrageous. Maybe "terrible" was overstated. Is poor a better word? Below average?

I don't think poor or below average are justified either. He needs help with weak side Defense but that comes with time. His D against Harrell in the Houston game was serviceable. Like I said, I will rewatch the game. He will not be playing much 4 this year unless we have injuries. He has a habit of cheating on defense and that is why a lot of folks critique his defense. He will learn to stay at home more. Judging defense is very tough in Summer League and the NBA in general. A lot of defensive schemes that are being used in the team setting. Kind of trial and error for the coaches.

[batsmasher]

I thought TJ banged well with Montrezl when he played PF in the Rockets game. But the reality of the matter is: getting a pass grade in summer league more than likely means you'll fail in the NBA season. TJ's defense gets a pass (lack of awareness compensated for with good intensity). Archie's playmaking gets a pass. Len's shooting gets a pass.

If we're being realistic, we shouldn't expect to see any of this come Halloween. It's the biggest problem with SL, the level if competition is so low that good hustle and effort can mask the poor skills of a player.

TJ certainly hasn't earned the starting job with his play, but I'm not against our functioning alcoholic losing his starting spot either. Hopefully Weems will show us something in training camp so we can get some healthy competition for that starting SF job.

[PackSuns]

I believe TJ will be starting by midseason at the latest. I'm a PJ fan as well. He grew up near me in Raleigh NC. He needs to put the bottle down...trust me. I am definately a homer for my NC dudes.

[bwgood77]

Warren is far from a one trick pony. The dude shoots 60 percent from the field scoring 20 a game. He has a multitude of floaters (off each foot) half hooks, turnarounds and hesitation moves. All of which are effective. Once he gets a 3 he won't be able to be stopped on that end.

And someone said he couldn't rebound. He is often an excellent offensive rebounder and just knows where to be to get it and put it back up.

No, I didn't say he couldn't rebound, I said right now, he was doing a terrible job. I said it after his game of one rebound. Let's not be one of those people, who reads what someone writes, changes what they said, and then rip according to your change.

Well obviously I couldn't remember the specifics since I couldn't remember who mentioned it at the time of the post, but now that I look at it, it says "rebounding is pretty terrible" which is a little different than saying he did a terrible job, which could mean he is good, but not doing a good job right now, "rebounding is pretty terrible" is closer to "can't/couldn't rebound" than ""terrible job", other than the word terrible.

[bwgood77]

Warren has good passing ability, but still one tricky pony on offense.

JMac1: That was more jinx post from me.

How can you say that he has good passing ability and then say he is a one trick pony. If he can score like he does and pass the ball around well, I ain't even mad, his shot will develop over time.

Maybe he is saying that he has the ability to pass, but just doesn't use it enough to call it another trick. His rebounding is pretty terrible, and his defense is a bit weak. Right now he has a good floater, but pretty average on other shots.

See? Now you remember?

[PackSuns]

And the sound of crickets fills the air.

[RunDogGun]

How can you say that he has good passing ability and then say he is a one trick pony. If he can score like he does and pass the ball around well, I ain't even mad, his shot will develop over time.

Maybe he is saying that he has the ability to pass, but just doesn't use it enough to call it another trick. His rebounding is pretty terrible, and his defense is a bit weak. Right now he has a good floater, but pretty average on other shots.

See? Now you remember?

But I'm referring to these Summer League games. Isn't that what this thread is about? 2.8 rebounds for a starting PF isn't terrible? Many here claim Keef is a terrible rebounder, and he doubles TJ and that is in a real season.

Again, I'm not saying he can't learn these things but man......