The Official Summer League Games Thread

[Inigo Montoya]

Game #1 is in the books. I was forced to watch only highlights because I can't find a site with full replays of summer league. From what I read the Jazz players looked pretty good. Collier's boxscore looks nice.

Also, Edey is quite beastly.

[FJS]

Keyonte 5-21 Fg. Ugly.

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[AingesBurner]

Keyonte 5-21 Fg. Ugly.

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Not pretty but he got to the line at an elite number. I’m going to blame the shooting on rust.

[jazzvintage]

First game, not much analysis to do I guess.

George continues to show he's a scorer, not a lead guard. Dude got to the FT line at will, shooting wasn't there. Not sure trying for him to become a lead guard is the right thing to do. Key can and will help handle things as a combo guard, but I believe Jazz need another PG.

Kessler is what he is, he can defend and I'm sure with age his mind/character will change, but he continues to show he's too nice for this, like it or not, alpha-dude game.

Hendricks, I'm worried his flashes and tools end up being just flashes and tools. He seems disconnected for long stretches. Hope to be wrong here because all the package is there to be a very good player.

Williams, Collier, Filip, I liked what I watched. Will wait a bit probably to say anything else.

[bkohler]

I sat right behind the Grizz bench last night and had a few thoughts that I recorded :

1. Keyonte spent most of the night talking trash to the Grizz bench. He had an air about him that he considered the game beneath him.
2. The Jazz need a PG. Keyonte looked A LOT like Jordan Clarkson out there.
3. Hendricks could really use someone to set him up; he doesn't seem to be able to create on his own.
4. Sensabaugh looked good as long as he wasn't asked to bring the ball up (Again, we need a PG)
5. Collier might be a PG! He honestly looked more in control a lot of the time than Keyonte. He seemed to be the only player whose head was up in transition at any time.
6. Kessler looked fine. Fine in summer league seems not great.
7. Passing is a thing. I'm not sure if the team knew that.
8. It really felt like we're a lot farther away from contention than most anticipate.
9. We're asking many of those players to be more than they are and have expectations that really don't align with their draft status. Even Taylor Hendricks - the 9th pick, has produced five all-stars in the past 25 years. I think expecting a quality roleplayer/starter is a much more likely scenario.
10. I'm very confused by the Kessler handoff offense. It basically puts everyone else in the corner and has whoever is running the handoff game with him going one on one as Kessler wasn't rolling so it doesn't suck in the defense.
11. I again wonder how much our bigs struggles are a lack of a point guard.
12. Hendrick looked better a C than at PF

[BigJimFinn]

So Kessler, George, Hendricks did not play in the second game against OKC. I am not going to watch that tape, but boxscore tells me Kenny Lofton was the best Jazz player, somehow managing +1 in 25 minutes in a game Utah lost by 23. After the first game I wrote "Kenny Lofton is a baller who could have a great career in Europe", but maybe, just maybe he could get fit and play in the NBA? His role would be as a second-unit playmaking big. I do love his type of player, Boris Diaw is my all-time favourite. While appearing for 3 different teams last season, KLJ had 6 assists per 36, and you can really tell he has that passing knack.

[Inigo Montoya]

The Sensei looks noticeably slimmer.

[Rauxcee]

I missed the last game but my random opinions/thoughts:

-Blazely had a couple nice blocks and looked like the only one with any energy on defense.
-Brice's jumper looked smooth and I like what he did in the second quarter.
-Collier is very intriguing. Thought he had a couple flashes.
-Cody was completely invisible. Didn't even realize he was on the court half the time.
-Kyle looked awful
-Lofton looks like he could be solid 10th-12th man in the NBA.

[babyjax13]

Man, they told Keyonte to get to the line. 27 freethrow attemps across 2 games? Something like that.

[Rauxcee]

If Brice could develop more than being a blackhole, he could be nice piece.

Taylor looked good and engaged. Liked seeing him call for shots and even though they weren't falling, he didn't back down and I thought his shots were good. I hope he can develop consistency.

Of the new guys, Isiah is still the most intriguing to me so far. He has a tenacity I like, and I think he would eventually be better at running the point then Keyonte.

Cody was again invisible to me. I wonder if he can get a nice groove going in Vegas.

I kind of expected Kessler to look more dominant being this is his 3rd season. Maybe he just doesn't care as he is forced to be there... Not that he's been bad, I just expected more I guess.

Kyle looked better than last game, but I think he needs the g-league the most.

Thought Keyonte had a solid preformance.

I would love to see improvement as they continue to play in Vegas.

[Inigo Montoya]

I kind of expected Kessler to look more dominant being this is his 3rd season. Maybe he just doesn't care as he is forced to be there... Not that he's been bad, I just expected more I guess.

I had to make do once again with full game highlights but at least from what I saw and from the boxscore, Kessler is doing what he's supposed to do and apparently what the Jazz want him to do, which is to grab rebounds, play defense and block shots. I didn't expect him to do more than that especially in summer league where it's always chaotic and there is bad guard play. I don't think the Jazz ran any plays for him so I can't expect him to score anything that isn't from offensive rebounds or an errant free dunk.

What I will say is that even in the highlights I watched, his body language looked like he's really bummed, and this may be the first time I ever commented about another player's body language of my own accord.

[SoCalJazzFan]

It appears we're all seeing similar things.

Keyonte appearing above SL the first game, cocky, inefficient, but getting to the line a ton and thankfully efficient in last night's game.

Collier having glimpses of being the better lead PG and a little moxie, which is sorely missing in other players.

Hendricks quietly impressing. Would like to see some more attitude from him, though.

Williams looking smooth at times, invisible at other times.

Flip is going to need some time to develop, or at least get comfortable.

I'm not sure what to think of Sensi yet. Is it odd that I miss his old hair style?

[Rauxcee]

Another thought on yesterday's game: Tony freaking Bradley. Totally forgot he existed. Thanks Dennis for that incredible use of a pick.

(Hope he is doing well and makes a team)

[Inigo Montoya]

I finally got the watch a full game.

I thought Hendricks was pretty good, especially on defense where he bothered and altered a lot of shots.

Collier looked under control and had some nice passes.

Williams wasn't as aggressive as his 21 points may suggest but he took what the defense gave him and he looks like he's pretty accurate when open. He had a good showing.

Flip has some moves. He's not going to be a defensive presence by any means but he has some skills on offense.

The Sensei had a finger injury and was held out of the rest of the game.

The Jazz chose to have Lofton bring up the ball and run the offense for a lot of the 4th quarter and I'm not sure what was that all about, it seemed weird and unnecessary.

[Rauxcee]

I know it's just summer league, but that first half has got to be one of the worst Jazz performances in summer league ever. Absolutely brutal.

[HadAnEffectHere]

I preferred Cason Wallace and Kobe Bufkin to Hendricks at draft time, but was fine with Hendricks as the pick at the time.

But he really isn't working out at all.

[SoCalJazzFan]

I preferred Cason Wallace and Kobe Bufkin to Hendricks at draft time, but was fine with Hendricks as the pick at the time.

But he really isn't working out at all.

I also really liked Cason Wallace (and Cam Whitmore, Jerace Walker).

However, I saw a lot of potential in Hendricks and wasn't unhappy with the pick. I don't think anyone thought he would become Paul George. However, I thought he might become some hybrid of Jaden McDaniels and Jerami Grant. Now, I am starting to wonder if he has the offensive potential of Grant, it might be that he just becomes Jaden McDaniels. A good role player to have, but perhaps disappointing for a top 10 pick in a decent draft.

[red4hf]

Hendricks looked great, finally. Williams, I thought also played well, and Filipowski is looking like a steal, just like I hoped......

[Rauxcee]

Obviously Hendricks just needed some shade thrown at his offensive game.

I do wonder about his ability to be consistent on offense. Time will tell I guess.

[bkohler]

I'm hopeful that we see more of this for Hendricks. I think it's easy to forget that he's only a few months older than many of the players just drafted. He's younger than Filipowski, a few months older than Clingan, and less than a year older than Williams, Collier, Castle, Buzelis, etc.