2016 NBA Summer League

[JJ13]

Was at the game today, awesome seeing the young guns in person, especially book who is legit and was leading these guys all they. Have to disagree with peloton on bender and chriss. Bender pushed the ball well but looked a little lost. Has a long way to go to have an impact for the team. chriss played with tons of hussle, rebounded, blocked, and had a few really good offensive sequences. Overall, very optimistic about these guys...but they are visibly young and will take 1-2 years to be impact players

I would have to disagree with you. I thought Pelton was spot on. Bender was very impressive despite not being able to make a shot. He still has a long way to go but I never expected to see the fluidity and game maturity I saw from him.

Chriss was impressive in his few highlight moments but pretty much lost the rest of the time. He's clearly as advertised, incredible athlete but clueless. I can only hope we're going to give him the basketball education he so obviously lacks. And that does not include throwing him to the wolves, he simply isn't ready for NBA court time yet. Hopefully we hire a full time basketball tutor to work with him in addition to frequent D League assignments. Granted, this was just one summer league game and he might show better as the games progress but right now, he looks to be a full-on project.

[Saberestar]

If Tyler Ulis plays the rest of the Summer League similar to yesterday's game we are gonna say "Bye Bye Ronnie Price" easily.

We were really lucky that he was available at #34. True steal.

[Saberestar]

This summer has been going right to plan for coach Earl Watson and the Suns players. After spending most of a week in San Diego, many of the Suns veterans showed up at Vegas to support the pups for Summer League.

http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/7/9/12137902/most-of-suns-vets-show-out-at-vegas-summer-league-to-watch-summersuns

[Kjdills13]

Bender shot poorly but player well, I love how he moves without the ball. He defiantly plays more like a 3 with the height of a 4. He kinda plays like a small guy with his array of shots which makes him have a chance to be special BC it will be tough for people to effect shots of his when driving to the hoop.


Bad shooting game but he showed ability and brains.

[NTB]

Think about Booker, Warren, Bender with Ulis at PG, Ulis would get 15 assists with those great off-ball cutters.

[Frank Lee]

Can't believe I have to do this again already...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REMEMBER THAT DRAGAN BENDER AND MARQUESE CHRISS ARE 18-YEAR-OLDS. DON'T TURN ON THEM AFTER A **** SUMMER LEAGUE GAME!

Seriously, these guys showed exactly what you want out of 18 year olds. They were in the right place most of the time, took good shots and hustled on both ends of the floor. Nerves probably played a factor, but that's to be expected. This was a very encouraging showing.

I expect to this posted at least once every other game this season

Make it a part of the game threads, right at the top.

So...you going to do game threads for the NA-Suns now?

[JMac1]

Bender shot poorly but player well, I love how he moves without the ball. He defiantly plays more like a 3 with the height of a 4. He kinda plays like a small guy with his array of shots which makes him have a chance to be special BC it will be tough for people to effect shots of his when driving to the hoop.


Bad shooting game but he showed ability and brains.

Exactly. You have to know what you are doing to get wide-open shots, and totally within the flow of the offense. Not for you, but for some people who are calling taking wide open shots "chucking" need to stop. Just because you miss doesn't mean you chuck, just because you make doesn't mean you aren't chucking (Curry, Klay).

Dragan was not chucking.

[Von Bismarck]

Bender still needs to adapt to NBA 3PT line. Also he needs to get used to wider court. Once he does that and it should happen after few months playing, you'll get a straight-up beast.

His moves are Durant-esque. I follow this kid for years now but he impressed me once again.

Besides that, he'll look way better in regular season games than in SL. SL is nothing more than wild chuck fest.

[NavLDO]

Bender shot poorly but player well, I love how he moves without the ball. He defiantly plays more like a 3 with the height of a 4. He kinda plays like a small guy with his array of shots which makes him have a chance to be special BC it will be tough for people to effect shots of his when driving to the hoop.


Bad shooting game but he showed ability and brains.

Exactly. You have to know what you are doing to get wide-open shots, and totally within the flow of the offense. Not for you, but for some people who are calling taking wide open shots "chucking" need to stop. Just because you miss doesn't mean you chuck, just because you make doesn't mean you aren't chucking (Curry, Klay).

Dragan was not chucking.

Absolutely correct--he was "bricking", not "chucking"

I thought Pelton was a little too harsh on Chriss, a little too 'complimentary' on Bender.

I was able to watch my 1st SL game in ages yesterday, and TBH, yes, Chriss still has plenty to learn, but that athleticism and spin move were beautiful. Yeah, yeah, highlight reel stuff, but he showed great hustle as well, but my main point is Bender, while not quite as lost, had those 'deer in the headlight' looks quite a bit as well as Chriss did. I'd rate them a little closer together--more like Bender--B+ ; Chiss--C. I'd actually give Ulis a higher grade than Bender, like an A-...he REALLY impressed with his awareness and BBIQ. My only knock would be that I think he was a bit too hesitant on shooting; I think he had some open shots he could've taken.

That Kuric kid looks for real. Did you all notice how quick of a release he had??? Or was I seeing things?? I hope Kuric earns is way onto our D-league, or whatever we need to do to keep him with the Suns. Alec Brown looked nice as well shooting, but he doesn't offer much more than that.

[Superhuman]

Was at the game yesterday. Bender, even tho played poorly, I can still see good potential in him. He's s legit 7 footer not afraid to shoot from anywhere in the court. I noticed in the first quarter he would keep rubbing his lower back during dead balls and time outs. But I'm hoping that's a non issue.

I was really impressed by Ulis and Chriss. Hopefully Ulis can get some burn this season like 10-12 mins a game. Chriss has a nice array of post moves. A future PF tandem of Bender and with Chriss at the backup spot could be deadly.

Booker has all the confidence in the world and I believe is gonna have a breakout season. No reason why he shouldn't be starting.

[sunsbg]

Bender has gained some weight as he doesn't look as skinny as in the predraft clips. Still he should add a lot of strength as he is pushed by smaller players(the one that he still scored over in the post). Also because of his height he looks a little bit awkward throwing floaters on his drives to the basket instead of going deep. IMO his trademark in the future should be the midrange game - jumpers, driving to the hoop or passing from the high post.

[NTB]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/RealGM/status/752165315048452096[/tweet]

[NTB]

Devin Booker was clearly the best player on the floor for Phoenix against Portland, by such a wide margin that it makes one wonder why he’s even on the team at all. He eviscerated poor Luis Montero in the third quarter, cooking him for 18 points on 11 shots in just those ten minutes. He let him know about it too — Montero got an earful from Booker with every bucket. We’ll see if the Suns continue to throw Booker out there; it would seem that they’d be more interested in what they might have in Tyler Ulis as a primary creator instead of Booker, who is going to play a big part in the regular season no matter what.

Dragan Bender was every bit the stretchy big man he was advertised to be. He started at the 3 for the Suns but bounced around the frontcourt. Bender connected on just one of his seven 3-pointers, but he looked good doing it; he was getting into good positions and making good decisions, the shots just weren’t falling on Saturday. The Phoenix coaches have to be happy with his confidence and willingness to shoot even if things aren’t going his way. One area in which Bender needs significant improvement is his post game. He had a few opportunities against much shorter players but they were able to out-strength him and push him out of the paint. Players like Pat Connaughton (6-5) and Luis Montero (6-7) were able to deny Bender the opportunity to even get his shot off when he tried to back them down.

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2016/07/10/summer-league-ben-simmons-brandon-ingram-assists-kris-dunn/

[sunsbum]

Couple of things i want to add.

Some negetives

Bender is not going to have a midrange game off the dribble anytime soon. His set shot looks incredibly bad on the move. He will be ready to contribute inva big way next year IMO. 8-5-3-1-1 next year.

Chriss is a good few years away at best.
I dont even think he knows what hes capable of. Its like hes not really thinking out there just running off pure instincts.

Ulis #1. Wants to fight Noah. Kill.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Look - Bender was incredible. Shot not falling, sure. But he was everywhere. He'll be a defensive monster in this league.

In the halfcourt, Chriss will be the better shot creator. He has a ton of potential as a go-to scorer and as a finisher. There was a play where Ulis penetrated and dished underneath to Williams - but Chriss was also there for the lob. Ulis had two options to finish that play. Defenses are going to have a really hard time if we have that sort of finishing ability. He's also a threat to block just about any shot.

After watching them Bender and Chriss play on the same court... I can't believe Boston passed Bender up. He was obviously the best pick at 4. Guys like this come around... never? Or I guess, just this once? He really is a lot like Kirilenko, but taller, with better ball handling skills and a jumper. This kid could put us over the top. Chriss is more of a project, so it was right to pass him up for Bender and grab him at 8.

These two can clearly play together. Bender right now is a 3, and Chriss a 4. It's pretty obvious that they can play together, as Chriss has the body weight to guard bigs and the hops to protect the rim, while Bender has everything you need in a perimeter forward. When evaluating summer league play, it's better to focus on HOW they play rather than their production. If you watched that, and Bender didn't make your jaw drop... I don't know what to tell you.

It's still a two-team race for best young team in the league - us and Minny. At this point, I don't think anyone else comes close.

[bwgood77]

Finally watched the Portland game. I liked what I saw from the rookies. Ulis looked good with his 7-1 ast/to ratio, and shot well, even rebounded well for his size. Very active defensively as well.

Also impressed with a lot of what I saw from Bender and Chriss, being two of the youngest guys in summer league facing much tougher competition than they've faced (at least in Chriss' case).

Loved how Bender was not shy shooting, despite not shooting well, and probably still getting used to the nba 3 pt line. Good at moving the ball too. Saw him pass around the perimeter a couple of times which is what I want to see more of from our team. Very active defensively as well and really ran the floor well while handling the ball. Rebounded pretty well too. Loved the little floater from Bender near the end.

Chriss active as well, also not shy shooting, although, again, not shooting well, but rebounded pretty well.

I'm not too concerned with the shooting after just one game, as I'm sure nerves are high, and they are far less experienced than all (definitely in Chriss' case, but probably, for the most part, Bender too). But even some shooters with more experience had a rough game, such as Buddy Hield, who was 5-20 in a game.

Looking forward to tonight's game.

[JMac1]

Devin Booker was clearly the best player on the floor for Phoenix against Portland, by such a wide margin that it makes one wonder why he’s even on the team at all. He eviscerated poor Luis Montero in the third quarter, cooking him for 18 points on 11 shots in just those ten minutes. He let him know about it too — Montero got an earful from Booker with every bucket. We’ll see if the Suns continue to throw Booker out there; it would seem that they’d be more interested in what they might have in Tyler Ulis as a primary creator instead of Booker, who is going to play a big part in the regular season no matter what.

Dragan Bender was every bit the stretchy big man he was advertised to be. He started at the 3 for the Suns but bounced around the frontcourt. Bender connected on just one of his seven 3-pointers, but he looked good doing it; he was getting into good positions and making good decisions, the shots just weren’t falling on Saturday. The Phoenix coaches have to be happy with his confidence and willingness to shoot even if things aren’t going his way. One area in which Bender needs significant improvement is his post game. He had a few opportunities against much shorter players but they were able to out-strength him and push him out of the paint. Players like Pat Connaughton (6-5) and Luis Montero (6-7) were able to deny Bender the opportunity to even get his shot off when he tried to back them down.

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2016/07/10/summer-league-ben-simmons-brandon-ingram-assists-kris-dunn/

Bold: Is exactly what I said.

Large Font: He better never ever lose his confidence, it is difficult to get that back, I can't stress that enough.

[sunsbum]

I dont think he will lose confidence, thats one thing I always remember people saying about him in almost every interview. Fearless. Like booker is going to let his fam starve. With dudley and book in your ear, you dont lose confidence. I was a streaky shooter in HS but always had our teams best playern telling me to keep shooting and not to let up. If youve never played basketball competitively i cant put into words how much that helps you when youre in your own head.

[LacosteM]

Can someone with espn insider please post full Pelton's summer league grades?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/16937362/nba-las-vegas-summer-league-grades-day-2

[NTB]

Can someone with espn insider please post full Pelton's summer league grades?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/16937362/nba-las-vegas-summer-league-grades-day-2

Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns: A

After averaging 19.2 points following the All-Star break as a rookie, Booker is overqualified to play in Las Vegas, and he showed it during Saturday's opener for the Suns.

Scraped at insider2text.xyz, brought to you by HeheStreams — No bull

Booker was automatic when open beyond the arc, making three triples in five attempts, and also showed improvement creating his own shot off the dribble and setting up teammates en route to 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Eleven of those points came in a stretch of less than three minutes during the third quarter.

Dragan Bender, Phoenix Suns: A-

The No. 4 overall pick was more impressive than his stat line (12 points and seven rebounds) would suggest. While he couldn't find the touch from beyond the arc, missing six of his seven 3-point attempts, Bender impacted the game in myriad other ways.

He was effective with the ball in his hands, pushing the ball off defensive rebounds and beating defenders off the dribble to set up good scoring opportunities. Bender also knocked down a couple of hook shots.

Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics: D+

After missing Boston's last two games in Salt Lake City with a hyperextended knee, Brown returned with another inefficient performance. He shot just 3-of-13 from the field en route to nine points.

Unlike in his first summer game, Brown wasn't able to draw fouls on his forays to the rim, and struggled to convert inside. That left Brown dependent on his inconsistent jumper.

At the defensive end, Brown remained overly aggressive against pump fakes, leading to fouls and breakdowns.

Marquese Chriss, Phoenix Suns: D

While Bender and Booker impressed, it was a rough start for Phoenix's other lottery pick. Chriss missed eight of his 10 shot attempts, forcing things with the ball in his hands and struggling to finish around the rim despite his impressive athleticism -- including three shots that got blocked.

The reviews were worse defensively, where Chriss frequently found himself out of position and got caught reaching the wrong way when defending one-on-one.

Brandon Ingram, L.A. Lakers: C-

The night after an impressive debut, Ingram didn't nearly have the same impact in his second game. He didn't make his first basket until hitting a jumper with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter and finished 3-of-12, one of those makes a jumper with his foot on the 3-point line.

Ingram's ability to push the ball on defensive rebounds remained valuable, but the Philadelphia 76ers had Jerami Grant pick him up full court to expose Ingram's need to improve his handle under pressure.

T.J. McConnell, Philadelphia 76ers: B+

It was McConnell, not No. 1 pick Ben Simmons, who had the ball in his hands late in the game. He made a layup with 1.8 seconds left that looked like the game-winner and celebrated with an aggressive fist pump, emblematic of how hard McConnell played all game.

At times, he got in trouble by turning the ball over while attempting to make a highlight play, but overall it was a strong effort from McConnell.

Larry Nance Jr., L.A. Lakers: A

Nance had one of the craziest stat lines you'll ever see in any basketball game: 13 points, eight rebounds, seven steals, four assists and four blocks.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, Hakeem Olajuwon and Gerald Wallace are the two players to match or exceed each of those numbers (in a regular-season NBA game) since 1983-84.

While the Lakers-heavy crowd at Thomas & Mack loved all of it, a pair of powerful Nance dunks drew the loudest chants of "Larry! Larry!" (an NBA Summer League tradition at this point) and even "MVP!" Nance's game was marred only by his five turnovers.

Bobby Portis, Chicago Bulls: B+

Portis was dominant during the first half, scoring 15 of his 17 points. As he did last year in Las Vegas, Portis showed comfortable NBA 3-point range. And unlike most players during summer league, Portis plays hard, helping him pile up 13 rebounds.

During the third quarter, Portis matched up one-on-one against Brown and generally got the better of him, though he didn't finish after losing him on an up-and-under.

D'Angelo Russell, L.A. Lakers: B

After making the winning shot, Russell told the ESPN2 audience, "I played like (expletive)" in the first half. That's true -- Russell was 2-of-9 from the field with five turnovers before halftime. But all was forgiven after his late heroics.

The winning 3 was one of three Russell made in the second half, all of them off the dribble. That ability to pull up off the pick-and-roll may ultimately force defenses to trap Russell and put themselves in a bad spot defensively, along the lines of players like Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard.

Alas, Russell will have to put in more effort to stay in front of his man defensively. He was victimized by many of McConnell's drives.

Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers: B+

Both the strengths and weaknesses of Simmons' game were on full display during his debut in Vegas. On the plus side of the ledger, Simmons came within two assists of a triple-double and threw a series of incredible passes. He threaded the ball between defenders for a McConnell layup, and then to start a sequence that saw McConnell feed a teammate for a 3.

Yet much as he did in Utah, Simmons struggled to finish around the basket -- particularly when going left, since he's a right-handed finisher despite shooting jumpers left-handed. And his tendency to look for the highlight play resulted in seven turnovers. Overall, though, Simmons added much more than he subtracted.

Denzel Valentine, Chicago Bulls: D

Valentine started his first game by finding center Cristiano Felicio from midcourt for a layup. That was about as good as it got for Valentine, who simply could not find the range from the NBA 3. A 44 percent 3-point shooter last season at Michigan State, Valentine missed all nine of his long-range tries on Saturday.

Turnovers were also costly for Valentine, who coughed it up four times.