Summer Runs and Random Player Sightings

[AkelaLoneWolf]

Gradey is going to be such a great complimentary player beside scottie and siakam

my only fear is his defence but if we can hide him on that end like the Heat does Duncan Robinson, he should be fine.

he won't play in crunch time minutes and probably will max out at 10-15 minutes a game; shouldn't be too much of an issue.

[mademan]

man Gradey is big. He looks the same height as Siakam

[AkelaLoneWolf]

Jesus every thread I open up, you’re just in there saying some dumb ass ****

He can’t put it together in an organized setting?? He’s won gold in FIBA multiple times as a high schooler and is highly decorated.

He’s going into just his 3rd year in the nba, with a similar projection to Devin booker after 2 seasons. He’s far from a finished project and yet “he just can’t put it together”

I’m genuinely shocked at how you couldn’t put two and two together and realize I was referring to the NBA. No one cares about the under-17 FIBA tournament. Lol. Green is so athletically gifted that it’s expected he would play well. Green has been an awful disappointment thus far. That doesn’t mean he can’t get better. I expect him too.

Lol ok continue to be genuinely shocked guy

Like I said, he’s played 2 seasons in the nba on a **** team. Awful disappointment… You expected superstar production from him in his first 2 years??

I’m not genuinely shocked at your usual awful player assessments

in fairness to Los, Greens numbers have been pretty underwhelming. He gets the excuse of being a young player on a bad team but this upcoming season will be interesting. with Udoka and signing of FVV, Brooks there will be expectations for that rockets team to win.

[Los_29]

Jesus every thread I open up, you’re just in there saying some dumb ass ****

He can’t put it together in an organized setting?? He’s won gold in FIBA multiple times as a high schooler and is highly decorated.

He’s going into just his 3rd year in the nba, with a similar projection to Devin booker after 2 seasons. He’s far from a finished project and yet “he just can’t put it together”

I’m genuinely shocked at how you couldn’t put two and two together and realize I was referring to the NBA. No one cares about the under-17 FIBA tournament. Lol. Green is so athletically gifted that it’s expected he would play well. Green has been an awful disappointment thus far. That doesn’t mean he can’t get better. I expect him too.

Lol ok continue to be genuinely shocked guy

Like I said, he’s played 2 seasons in the nba on a **** team. Awful disappointment… You expected superstar production from him in his first 2 years??

I’m not genuinely shocked at your usual awful player assessments

Actually my player assessments have been pretty good. Far better than the posters that have criticized me, including yourself. It's widely established around the league that Green has been disappointing. I highly recommend watching a bit more basketball and not looking solely at highlight reels. Green has a ways to go. I do think he can get there and become a Zach Lavine type player, possibly better. That doesn't take away from the fact that he's shown to be a low IQ player who is a sieve on the defensive end.

[DreamTeam09]

I’m genuinely shocked at how you couldn’t put two and two together and realize I was referring to the NBA. No one cares about the under-17 FIBA tournament. Lol. Green is so athletically gifted that it’s expected he would play well. Green has been an awful disappointment thus far. That doesn’t mean he can’t get better. I expect him too.

Lol ok continue to be genuinely shocked guy

Like I said, he’s played 2 seasons in the nba on a **** team. Awful disappointment… You expected superstar production from him in his first 2 years??

I’m not genuinely shocked at your usual awful player assessments

Actually my player assessments have been pretty good. Far better than the posters that have criticized me, including yourself. It's widely established around the league that Green has been disappointing. I highly recommend watching a bit more basketball and not looking solely at highlight reels. Green has a ways to go. I do think he can get there and become a Zach Lavine type player, possibly better. That doesn't take away from the fact that he's shown to be a low IQ player who is a sieve on the defensive end.

Those are things that usually every rookie or young player will have trouble with tho. I wouldn't say Jalen Green has been disppoainting. You can see that he projects to be a 20ppg scorer, that's an excellent thing to discover within your first two years, the next couple years should be about solidifying his game. Has he lived up to expectations, well maybe not if anyone expected him to be a 2way player right away. He doesn't even have the body frame right now to be lock down.

[Boogie!]

Watch on YouTube

Lol at the guy that got pissed and whipped the ball at the wall when he lost to the raptors squad.

Freeman liberty looks solid and good to see gradey dick swishing corner 3s.

[Boogie!]

man Gradey is big. He looks the same height as Siakam

It's all neck

[Mikistan]

Watch on YouTube

Lol at the guy that got pissed and whipped the ball at the wall when he lost to the raptors squad.

Freeman liberty looks solid and good to see gradey dick swishing corner 3s.

i laughed at that too, what i also noticed some other things i wont comment

[MonkBatter42]

So I'm 3/4 of the way through the latest Rico vid with the Raps, and Gueye looks really impressive - like a stronger Boucher with a normal looking shot. Aside from Grady knocking down corner 3s, he also had some impressive finishes at the rim. Pascal is Pascal -- doesn't seem like he's improved any aspect of his game, and was settling for pull-ups. The thing that has always aggravated me about his game is that he has no agility with the ball in his hands going north-south. He can't use the dribble to split defenders nor does he have that explosive burst to dribble-drive past a defender and get right to the rim. It's still dribble dribble dribble pull-up, or dribble dribble, get cut off, and then turn to back down his man. It's annoying seeing a bunch of these guys with these explosive forays into the paint, and athletic finishes, while Pascal is just moving in quicksand.

[Jcity08]

Dick is terrible on D lmao.

Give it time, his D will grow.

[Basketball_Jones]

So I'm 3/4 of the way through the latest Rico vid with the Raps, and Gueye looks really impressive - like a stronger Boucher with a normal looking shot. Aside from Grady knocking down corner 3s, he also had some impressive finishes at the rim. Pascal is Pascal -- doesn't seem like he's improved any aspect of his game, and was settling for pull-ups. The thing that has always aggravated me about his game is that he has no agility with the ball in his hands going north-south. He can't use the dribble to split defenders nor does he have that explosive burst to dribble-drive past a defender and get right to the rim. It's still dribble dribble dribble pull-up, or dribble dribble, get cut off, and then turn to back down his man. It's annoying seeing a bunch of these guys with these explosive forays into the paint, and athletic finishes, while Pascal is just moving in quicksand.

There isn’t much space on these small courts, so I find Siakam is kind of meh in these runs. It’s good for shooters or short burst explosive guys like Montrez Harrell or something.

[WuTang_CMB]

Pascal looks stronger. Nowell is annoying when he defends he was solid there. Dick was in the groove. Once he adds weight its going to help him on both ends. JFL is quick.

[HiJiNX]

Watch on YouTube

It’s interesting that Rico Hines’ speech at the end reflected what I was seeing—that most of these guys were playing selfish, no-pass basketball. This isn’t the quality of basketball you expect from professionals. Just disjointed and not playing together.

Anyway, some observations:

-Siakam despite easily being the best player in the gym still takes shots that aren’t his shots. The more he dribbles, the lower chance he has of making the shot. When he does less it equals more. That said, it’s really nice to see him playing with Dick, Dowtin, Gueye and Freeman-Liberty
-Dick was getting worked by the super quick guy on the 76ers squad (who was that?). His defence is a little shy, which you expect from a 19 year old kid in his first open run of this calibre. Definitely a learning experience defensively. I’d argue that his offence was a bit shy, too, but he looked great on that end nonetheless. Soft stroke. Needs to take it more confidently. Still, what impresses me the most about him is his finishing ability and ability to know what he should do and where he should be in relation to his teammates. That last part is very hard to teach.
-Nowell still looks like a sublime passer, but he needs to be more consistent in delivering passes accurately. He understands what it means to be a PG. He swished a couple deep threes which he will need to do with consistency to stay in the league. Defensively, he moves his feet but needs to get stronger so he can be harder to drive against. Doesn’t look like an NBA calibre player yet but you can see a path to get there.
-Dowtin did Dowtin things. Nothing flashy, just smart basketball. He doesn’t make bad decisions and always knows where to be. Jeff Dowtin is a guy that knows how to space the court for others and find open pockets to receive a pass and convert. Like I said about Dick, it’s hard to teach players to do this. I wish he was a bit more dynamic as a creator but his pnr skills are pretty damn good.
-Gueye looks like Boucher but under control. This can be good and bad. Boucher’s frenetic play is what makes him impactful because it’s not his basketball skills. Gueye on the other hand seems to be smarter with the basketball, understanding when to pass and when to shoot. Also, his stroke looks like it has potential.
-Freeman-Liberty is incredibly fast from end to end. Probably the fastest guy in the gym, which is saying a lot when Jalen Green is also in the gym. Didn’t really stand out otherwise.

As for non-Raptors:

-Jalen Green needs to want it more. Clearly the second most talented guy in the gym, started off hot, then seemed to coast once he realized he was better than everybody. You would wish that upon that realization he would commit to dominating instead. With Green, it’s not a basketball ability thing, it’s how he approaches the game that gets in his way. Hopefully having a guy like Fred around on his team can help him learn how to approach the game as a professional.
-KJ Martin is ridiculously explosive. Effortless athleticism. Can be a great complimentary player if he just focuses on making open jumpers, attacking closeouts, getting out in transition and making smart cuts. I wish he’d play the other end more intensely. He has all that athleticism yet isn’t trying to dominate the paint defensively. That’s where he needs to focus to be a mainstay in the league. Lots of guys are athletic and can finish. Not that many guys can do that while playing good defence.
-Looney is such a smart, winning player. Sets magnificent screens. Makes the right play and is never out of place. He’s like water—he fits around any set of guys he plays with. Rico always talks about mastering being a complimentary player and Looney is a perfect example of this.
-Thomas Bryant is a guy with skills who plays like he’s on an island. I’ve always thought he had potential but there’s just something missing. Not sure it’s motor or basketball intelligence but he just doesn’t blend in well even when he’s doing individual things well. It’s hard to quantify but also probably the reason (besides his health) he hasn’t found a consistent role in the league.

Overall, it was bad basketball, but like Rico said, it was a Monday and will probably get better throughout the week. Hopefully the next four days don’t take forever to be released. I’m anxious to see Scottie’s footage. Hopefully he’s made some improvements.

[hyper316]

Watch on YouTube

It’s interesting that Rico Hines’ speech at the end reflected what I was seeing—that most of these guys were playing selfish, no-pass basketball. This isn’t the quality of basketball you expect from professionals. Just disjointed and not playing together.

Anyway, some observations:

-Siakam despite easily being the best player in the gym still takes shots that aren’t his shots. The more he dribbles, the lower chance he has of making the shot. When he does less it equals more. That said, it’s really nice to see him playing with Dick, Dowtin, Gueye and Freeman-Liberty
-Dick was getting worked by the super quick guy on the 76ers squad (who was that?). His defence is a little shy, which you expect from a 19 year old kid in his first open run of this calibre. Definitely a learning experience defensively. I’d argue that his offence was a bit shy, too, but he looked great on that end nonetheless. Soft stroke. Needs to take it more confidently. Still, what impresses me the most about him is his finishing ability and ability to know what he should do and where he should be in relation to his teammates. That last part is very hard to teach.
-Nowell still looks like a sublime passer, but he needs to be more consistent in delivering passes accurately. He understands what it means to be a PG. He swished a couple deep threes which he will need to do with consistency to stay in the league. Defensively, he moves his feet but needs to get stronger so he can be harder to drive against. Doesn’t look like an NBA calibre player yet but you can see a path to get there.
-Dowtin did Dowtin things. Nothing flashy, just smart basketball. He doesn’t make bad decisions and always knows where to be. Jeff Dowtin is a guy that knows how to space the court for others and find open pockets to receive a pass and convert. Like I said about Dick, it’s hard to teach players to do this. I wish he was a bit more dynamic as a creator but his pnr skills are pretty damn good.
-Gueye looks like Boucher but under control. This can be good and bad. Boucher’s frenetic play is what makes him impactful because it’s not his basketball skills. Gueye on the other hand seems to be smarter with the basketball, understanding when to pass and when to shoot. Also, his stroke looks like it has potential.
-Freeman-Liberty is incredibly fast from end to end. Probably the fastest guy in the gym, which is saying a lot when Jalen Green is also in the gym. Didn’t really stand out otherwise.

As for non-Raptors:

-Jalen Green needs to want it more. Clearly the second most talented guy in the gym, started off hot, then seemed to coast once he realized he was better than everybody. You would wish that upon that realization he would commit to dominating instead. With Green, it’s not a basketball ability thing, it’s how he approaches the game that gets in his way. Hopefully having a guy like Fred around on his team can help him learn how to approach the game as a professional.
-KJ Martin is ridiculously explosive. Effortless athleticism. Can be a great complimentary player if he just focuses on making open jumpers, attacking closeouts, getting out in transition and making smart cuts. I wish he’d play the other end more intensely. He has all that athleticism yet isn’t trying to dominate the paint defensively. That’s where he needs to focus to be a mainstay in the league. Lots of guys are athletic and can finish. Not that many guys can do that while playing good defence.
-Looney is such a smart, winning player. Sets magnificent screens. Makes the right play and is never out of place. He’s like water—he fits around any set of guys he plays with. Rico always talks about mastering being a complimentary player and Looney is a perfect example of this.
-Thomas Bryant is a guy with skills who plays like he’s on an island. I’ve always thought he had potential but there’s just something missing. Not sure it’s motor or basketball intelligence but he just doesn’t blend in well even when he’s doing individual things well. It’s hard to quantify but also probably the reason (besides his health) he hasn’t found a consistent role in the league.

Overall, it was bad basketball, but like Rico said, it was a Monday and will probably get better throughout the week. Hopefully the next four days don’t take forever to be released. I’m anxious to see Scottie’s footage. Hopefully he’s made some improvements.

Great observations and I agree with a lot of it

Siakam - his game hasn't evolved from a year ago Rico run. he does dribble too much, saw him yell ayee a few times in a pick up game lol! he settles way too much for midrange shots, whereas I thought he should be punishing shorter guards to the rim. what I'm most disappointed is his defensive effort, he got scored on around the rim at ease

Dick - great to see he is knocking down corner 3s - something he struggled in college. finishing around the rim was good to see. Dick also got punished on defense repeatedly. This is going to be an issue, he is thin and isn't quick laterally

Dowtin - I can't believe he is not on the 15-man roster, does all he right things as a back-up pg. even hitting 3pts in gleague last year

Gueye - need to see more, I like his shot release form.

Freeman-Liberty - video didn't show much to comment

I really know KJ Martin - Imagine KJ Martin on Nuggets, a guard version of Aaron Gordon. backdoor dunks for days

[Dalek]

Watch on YouTube

It’s interesting that Rico Hines’ speech at the end reflected what I was seeing—that most of these guys were playing selfish, no-pass basketball. This isn’t the quality of basketball you expect from professionals. Just disjointed and not playing together.

Anyway, some observations:

-Siakam despite easily being the best player in the gym still takes shots that aren’t his shots. The more he dribbles, the lower chance he has of making the shot. When he does less it equals more. That said, it’s really nice to see him playing with Dick, Dowtin, Gueye and Freeman-Liberty
-Dick was getting worked by the super quick guy on the 76ers squad (who was that?). His defence is a little shy, which you expect from a 19 year old kid in his first open run of this calibre. Definitely a learning experience defensively. I’d argue that his offence was a bit shy, too, but he looked great on that end nonetheless. Soft stroke. Needs to take it more confidently. Still, what impresses me the most about him is his finishing ability and ability to know what he should do and where he should be in relation to his teammates. That last part is very hard to teach.
-Nowell still looks like a sublime passer, but he needs to be more consistent in delivering passes accurately. He understands what it means to be a PG. He swished a couple deep threes which he will need to do with consistency to stay in the league. Defensively, he moves his feet but needs to get stronger so he can be harder to drive against. Doesn’t look like an NBA calibre player yet but you can see a path to get there.
-Dowtin did Dowtin things. Nothing flashy, just smart basketball. He doesn’t make bad decisions and always knows where to be. Jeff Dowtin is a guy that knows how to space the court for others and find open pockets to receive a pass and convert. Like I said about Dick, it’s hard to teach players to do this. I wish he was a bit more dynamic as a creator but his pnr skills are pretty damn good.
-Gueye looks like Boucher but under control. This can be good and bad. Boucher’s frenetic play is what makes him impactful because it’s not his basketball skills. Gueye on the other hand seems to be smarter with the basketball, understanding when to pass and when to shoot. Also, his stroke looks like it has potential.
-Freeman-Liberty is incredibly fast from end to end. Probably the fastest guy in the gym, which is saying a lot when Jalen Green is also in the gym. Didn’t really stand out otherwise.

As for non-Raptors:

-Jalen Green needs to want it more. Clearly the second most talented guy in the gym, started off hot, then seemed to coast once he realized he was better than everybody. You would wish that upon that realization he would commit to dominating instead. With Green, it’s not a basketball ability thing, it’s how he approaches the game that gets in his way. Hopefully having a guy like Fred around on his team can help him learn how to approach the game as a professional.
-KJ Martin is ridiculously explosive. Effortless athleticism. Can be a great complimentary player if he just focuses on making open jumpers, attacking closeouts, getting out in transition and making smart cuts. I wish he’d play the other end more intensely. He has all that athleticism yet isn’t trying to dominate the paint defensively. That’s where he needs to focus to be a mainstay in the league. Lots of guys are athletic and can finish. Not that many guys can do that while playing good defence.
-Looney is such a smart, winning player. Sets magnificent screens. Makes the right play and is never out of place. He’s like water—he fits around any set of guys he plays with. Rico always talks about mastering being a complimentary player and Looney is a perfect example of this.
-Thomas Bryant is a guy with skills who plays like he’s on an island. I’ve always thought he had potential but there’s just something missing. Not sure it’s motor or basketball intelligence but he just doesn’t blend in well even when he’s doing individual things well. It’s hard to quantify but also probably the reason (besides his health) he hasn’t found a consistent role in the league.

Overall, it was bad basketball, but like Rico said, it was a Monday and will probably get better throughout the week. Hopefully the next four days don’t take forever to be released. I’m anxious to see Scottie’s footage. Hopefully he’s made some improvements.

Great observations and I agree with a lot of it

Siakam - his game hasn't evolved from a year ago Rico run. he does dribble too much, saw him yell ayee a few times in a pick up game lol! he settles way too much for midrange shots, whereas I thought he should be punishing shorter guards to the rim. what I'm most disappointed is his defensive effort, he got scored on around the rim at ease

Dick - great to see he is knocking down corner 3s - something he struggled in college. finishing around the rim was good to see. Dick also got punished on defense repeatedly. This is going to be an issue, he is thin and isn't quick laterally

Dowtin - I can't believe he is not on the 15-man roster, does all he right things as a back-up pg. even hitting 3pts in gleague last year

Gueye - need to see more, I like his shot release form.

Freeman-Liberty - video didn't show much to comment

I really know KJ Martin - Imagine KJ Martin on Nuggets, a guard version of Aaron Gordon. backdoor dunks for days

I can't get mad at Siakam for playing whatever way he feels like during these open runs. He is out there training with the rookies and end of bench guys and that is a testament to him, because he does not need these types of runs the way guys are playing such non-NBA defense. He does look to be in great shape and has a confidence to him. Maybe this is a a big year for him where he enters into an even more elite group in the NBA. Fred is not here, so he may need to score close to 27-28 per game which is close to MVP level.

Kind of interesting to see the back and forth with the Philly group who obviously wanted to knock Toronto's team out. I could recognize Jaden Springer who cooked Dick but honestly Gradey is never going to defend ones. Melton looked like he was there, and my guy Terq Smith wanting to dunk on guys - still mad we didn't sign him over Nowell. I think it was Louis King who was talking trash with Pascal. He had a play where he took the ball at Siakam and replicated a Siakam spin move and talked trash after. Serious disrespect. This is why I don't get why Siakam plays these runs against guys trying to make a name for themselves. He has nothing to gain.

It would have nice to see Scottie and Pascal together. Those two need to figure out how to play together more than anything.

[AbC?]

Imagine nitpicking Siakam’s shot selection during a Rico Hines run lmao

[Mikistan]

Imagine nitpicking Siakam’s shot selection during a Rico Hines run lmao

The say practice like you play in game.

His defense is also garbage

[hyper316]

Imagine nitpicking Siakam’s shot selection during a Rico Hines run lmao

Haha, this is realgm in the offseason, do you expect anything else?

I must say, Siakam brought the ball up the court a lot last year. I think Siakam's advantage back in 2019 championship years was he got easy points in leakouts because he was faster than his opponents. I would rather see Siakam bring up the ball less and get down the court quicker where he can utilize his bigger advantage in full court. in half court offense, siakam has shown to be willing to pass out of the double team and making the right read. in 1on1 half court offense is where I see Siakam settle a lot for midrange. when siakam does drive, he doesn't absorb contact very well and yells ayee hoping to get foul calls but often be bumped away from the basket throwing up a bad shot instead of finishing through contact.

[sbsat]

Imagine nitpicking Siakam’s shot selection during a Rico Hines run lmao

The say practice like you play in game.

His defense is also garbage

I mean this is unorganized basketball he cannot play the way he would in season. Common sense.

What you are looking for here is new additions to his toolkit or other things he may have been working on. Didnt see much there

[Mikistan]

Imagine nitpicking Siakam’s shot selection during a Rico Hines run lmao

The say practice like you play in game.

His defense is also garbage

I mean this is unorganized basketball he cannot play the way he would in season. Common sense.

What you are looking for here is new additions to his toolkit or other things he may have been working on. Didnt see much there

What you will see in this video that is consistent during the season is

-ball stopping and crouching over in his triple threat then iniating moves
-on defense, keeping his hands down at his side when Nowell entered the paint thereby not contesting or even being ready to react to Nowell pass over Siakam's head for an easy layup to his own man.
-Pascal not using his body on d, he never rim protects and if a big has position on him he let's them score with minimal impact.
-getting caught on screenss then chasing, not calling helps or switches