Summer League: Vegas baby, vegas.

[Worst_to_First]

Will not be surprised to see Suns vs Kings in the Vegas SL championship match.

[sunsbg]

What more did Fox display in this game that he didn't in his 39pts college game, so he is now proclaimed the next superstar all over the net ?

[JMac1]

Check out this gem, courtesy of the Kings board

Some might think I'm crazy, but I honestly wouldn't take Marquese Chriss on this team for free. His attitude is toxic. He's a selfish, arrogant, childish person

I don't share that opinion... This guy really dislikes Chriss. Some Kings fans have Boogie PTSD when we see players complain a lot.

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Dude, why did you come over to our board? To hear us go on and on about Fox? Well then, you made the right choice.lol! If people are not going on and on about Fox, then they are not being honest.

He looked phenomenal and I'm not surprised one bit. He is fast, but smooth and under control. He is crafty and can get anywhere on the court (unless guarded by Jackson ). His shot looks like the one from the tourney and not early college season.

I think he is going to be a stud. Love watching him and Sac is must see TV because of it.

[carey]

Will not be surprised to see Suns vs Kings in the Vegas SL championship match.

I will. Suns have no shooting on this team. Especially that starting lineup of James/DJJ/JJ/Bender/Chriss. There's going to be games like tonight where we can't get the ball in the damn bucket and if we don't defend our asses off will get trounced.

[carey]

I thought everyone besides Bender and James looked impressive.

Bender reminds me of Dragic his first couple years here after getting drafted. High IQ but plays scared and is nervous as hell but shows a lot of promise.

Bender was a mixed bag offensively, most of it bad. I don't really understand how his shot looks so picture perfect pretty but only goes in at a 33% clip. I hope it's just confidence and maybe rushing it a bit. He did take his shots without hesitation tonight which was nice to see.

Defensively he's as advertised. Skal tried going at him so many times and he came away with nothing most of the night. The couple of dunks he got were from defensive breakdowns on Fox. Bender's post defense was excellent.

[sunsbg]

I thought everyone besides Bender and James looked impressive.

Bender reminds me of Dragic his first couple years here after getting drafted. High IQ but plays scared and is nervous as hell but shows a lot of promise.

Bender was a mixed bag offensively, most of it bad. I don't really understand how his shot looks so picture perfect pretty but only goes in at a 33% clip. I hope it's just confidence and maybe rushing it a bit. He did take his shots without hesitation tonight which was nice to see.

Defensively he's as advertised. Skal tried going at him so many times and he came away with nothing most of the night. The couple of dunks he got were from defensive breakdowns on Fox. Bender's post defense was excellent.

I'm starting to think he is the future at C, at least with current roster. From what I remember he did pretty well against Len(not saying much) guarding him during the squad scrimmages last preseason, so maybe he can guard stronger players in the future. Just let him play a similar role to Jokic on offense and maybe he surprises all of us.

[carey]

Reed... Looked poised. Efficient movement, ball movement and at the right places most of the time. Kind of guy who coaches will love. I like him... I see potentially a system player who gets the job done if he keeps this up.

He looked like what a 22-year-old 4-year college guy is supposed to look like. He's 3 years older than Bender. He is also pretty much our only shooting so he should get plenty playing time this week.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Reed... Looked poised. Efficient movement, ball movement and at the right places most of the time. Kind of guy who coaches will love. I like him... I see potentially a system player who gets the job done if he keeps this up.

He looked like what a 22-year-old 4-year college guy is supposed to look like. He's 3 years older than Bender. He is also pretty much our only shooting so he should get plenty playing time this week.

I agree but I think you can change this "week" to this "year." If reed shoots like he's cable of he will have a solid rotation spot. The suns desperately need someone with his skill set.

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[sunsbg]

Reed... Looked poised. Efficient movement, ball movement and at the right places most of the time. Kind of guy who coaches will love. I like him... I see potentially a system player who gets the job done if he keeps this up.

He looked like what a 22-year-old 4-year college guy is supposed to look like. He's 3 years older than Bender. He is also pretty much our only shooting so he should get plenty playing time this week.

Not all 22-year old players projected to go late in second round do well in a SL game.

[carey]

He looked like what a 22-year-old 4-year college guy is supposed to look like. He's 3 years older than Bender. He is also pretty much our only shooting so he should get plenty playing time this week.

Not all 22-year old players projected to go late in second round do well in a SL game.

That's why I said "supposed to look like" and not "always look like."

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Based only on highlights from the game :

Bender : Looks bulkier than last year, which combined with not being the most fluid/agile player puts an end to the point-forward debate for me. Looks best suited as a stretch 4, or a replacement for Len at C. I hope I don't lose interest at him as with Len in a year or two, turning into a mediocre role player. I know that good D not always shows in stat sheets, but at some point I would like to see something there (0 blk, 0stl, 5 rebs in 31 min is not enough).

Chriss : still more a Markieff than Amare in my eyes, his attitude and desire to work will determine in which direction he will go

Reed : Devin + Davon at the SG position is the future. Nice job McDonough, this is the way to prove your skills by reaching for players that turn out good

Jackson : actually his shooting looks pretty good by not having to watch his misses in the highlights IMO he will turn into a fan/coach favorite fast and will be starting at some point during the season despite not being a better player than Warren at this stage of their careers.

I agree that one worrisome thing about Bender is the lack of production in all those other categories - rebounds, blocks, steals. He seems to lack for confidence, but if he can overcome that, he can be a high-30s/low-40s 3FG shooter. He had difficulty whenever the defense tried to give him the dribble or the post up instead of the shot. It's pretty clear that his offensive game begins with the shot, so he just has to shoot it and make it when it's there. If he can force the defense to react to the threat of his shooting, his game will start to open up on that end. But I agree that the principle concern is the lack of production all-around. He has to give us something when he's not getting the ball on the offensive end. He all but shut Skal down, so that was good, and he was able to rotate onto anyone, which is great. But his hands aren't great, and he doesn't have Kevin Durant big man handles.

Chriss's lack of focus was very concerning. Stopped boxing out, not focused on the boards, not focused on shutting guys down defensively, and most importantly, not putting forth 100% effort.

Reed is legit. Jackson could be the second coming - stunning to me how quick he looked on the perimeter against NBA competition.

[batsmasher]

Chriss's lack of focus was very concerning. Stopped boxing out, not focused on the boards, not focused on shutting guys down defensively, and most importantly, not putting forth 100% effort.

Seeing as this was his biggest red flag coming out- this is concerning.

I remain largely unimpressed by him. The athleticism is fool's gold when you don't have the brains or desire to ever figure it out.

To the credit of the FO & Watson, we've force fed him minutes he hasn't deserved. I fear in principle that might prevent him from ever figuring it out. Rookies need to earn minutes, and on a team deep in a tank job it's hard to earn minutes.

I think the same applies in part to Book. It irks me when Watson refers to Sonics KD and how they force fed him minutes. KD's frame was always going to mean he had the defensive upside. The same can't be said for Book. Book has to learn how to defend with the limited tools he has. It's an uphill battle that's going to be even harder with a 20 year old that is completely off the leash.

[City of Trees]

Check out this gem, courtesy of the Kings board

I don't share that opinion... This guy really dislikes Chriss. Some Kings fans have Boogie PTSD when we see players complain a lot.

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Dude, why did you come over to our board? To hear us go on and on about Fox? Well then, you made the right choice.lol! If people are not going on and on about Fox, then they are not being honest.

He looked phenomenal and I'm not surprised one bit. He is fast, but smooth and under control. He is crafty and can get anywhere on the court (unless guarded by Jackson ). His shot looks like the one from the tourney and not early college season.

I think he is going to be a stud. Love watching him and Sac is must see TV because of it.

No. I came over to talk about how I like watching our two teams play. I was complementing Chriss gaining muscle, and laughing at the Papagiannis/Bender/Chriss beef.


Fox did look good but its just one game, lol.
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[Fo-Real]

Watching Chriss and bender last night made me rethink saying dont trade anything for Love or Aldredge!!! I hope they look better next game. I miss Ty U, Mike james is BLAAAHHH. Jones Jr is the EXACT SAME! Jackson's shot is UGLY, but he is aggressive and quick. Added weight has hurt benders foot speed already.

[Bogyo]

Chriss's lack of focus was very concerning. Stopped boxing out, not focused on the boards, not focused on shutting guys down defensively, and most importantly, not putting forth 100% effort.

Seeing as this was his biggest red flag coming out- this is concerning.

I remain largely unimpressed by him. The athleticism is fool's gold when you don't have the brains or desire to ever figure it out.

To the credit of the FO & Watson, we've force fed him minutes he hasn't deserved. I fear in principle that might prevent him from ever figuring it out. Rookies need to earn minutes, and on a team deep in a tank job it's hard to earn minutes.

I think the same applies in part to Book. It irks me when Watson refers to Sonics KD and how they force fed him minutes. KD's frame was always going to mean he had the defensive upside. The same can't be said for Book. Book has to learn how to defend with the limited tools he has. It's an uphill battle that's going to be even harder with a 20 year old that is completely off the leash.

Thas's why I can't understand why Bender never got that treatment. His lack of confidence might come from that? He never had those IQ and attitude problems on the court, he could be further along with more playing time.

[edurham88]

I know this is a long shot, but is anyone else in Vegas and have tickets for today's games that you aren't going to use? They sold out yesterday before I got here. People on Seatgeek and Stubhub are selling them for absurd amounts.

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[NTB]

https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2017/7/8/15941544/quotes-highlights-from-phoenix-suns-sl-win-over-sacramento-kings

Davon Reed

6-11 shooting, 17 points in 20 minutes, 2 steals

“Felt good to get out there and be in a rhythm,” he said simply.

Reed doesn't talk about himself much. He isn’t much of a talker at all. But it’s good to hear what Marquese Chriss said about Reed.

“I like Davon a lot after this game,” Chriss said. “I didn’t know he was as feisty as he was. That’s something I could go to battle with, you know. I know he has my back after seeing what’s going on.”

Reed is clearly a gamer whose own teammates don’t know how competitive he is until they see it in a game. This is a great attribute.

Marquese Chriss

Team-highs in many categories: 19 points (9 of 13 free throws), 9 rebounds (6 defensive), 8 turnovers and 9 personal fouls

“I had a lot of turnovers today,” he said. “It’s bad for us, I had half our turnovers. Trying to run the offense best I can from the post and also from the perimeter. (I need to be) Playing smart. Not throwing the ball away on stupid possessions, lose the ball and not letting it go out of bounds or save it or something.”

He did a lot more talking to his teammates throughout the game than he’d done as a rookie.

‘It’s different. I’m an introvert,” he said. “I really don’t like to talk different (being loud on the court), but that’s something I have to do in the game. Earl and all the coaches tell me I need to be vocal and be leader, so I’m just trying to put that on my shoulders and talk to them as much as I can about what I see and they can talk to me vice versa.”

He and Dragan Bender also encouraged each other a lot, especially to keep shooting it on the catch when open.

“Me and Dragan coming in the same year with Tyler, we built a relationship,” Chriss said. “Teammates have their ups and downs. I know that he has my back and I have his back. I know he’s a helluva player, he’s a helluva shooter. We just try to encourage each other because we know we are capable.”

Josh Jackson

18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 turnovers

“I think we could have played a little bit better, myself included,” he said after the game. “I think it’s really important for us, probably more important than other teams here, because we have so many guys on the summer league team who are going to be expected to play major minutes this year. So it’s something that we really got to take serious. I think we did today, but like I say we could definitely take another step.”

Jackson knows exactly who he is, and what he brings to the game of basketball.

“That I play hard. That I play defense.”

“I can bring a little bit of toughness,” he continued. “We got a few tough guys on the team, but we could be a little bit tougher than we are right now. We could be a lot better defensively and communicate. I think a lot of the things we screwed up out there defensively just came from miscommunication and now speaking. So that’s one thing we can definitely improve on.”

But he also has things to prove.

“That my shot’s gotten better, and my free throws have gotten better. Just that I’ve improved as an all-around player.”

Last Word

Coach Garnett on Dragan Bender playing point guard.

“This was probably not the best game to try it, with Fox who can pressure the ball, and Mason. So it was good to see him actually handling a little bit of pressure. We didn’t keep him there long, but hopefully that helps his confidence maybe.

“Obviously when he takes it off the glass, we would love for him to push it. but getting him some minutes trying to bring it up, getting into the offense, I think that works well with his game.”

[LukasBMW]

Starting 5:

Bledsoe
Booker
Jackson
TJ
Tyson

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Starting 5:

Bledsoe
Booker
Jackson
TJ
Tyson

I've thought about this. It makes some sense. The players most disadvantaged I think would be Dragan and Williams, who would have to compete with Chriss for minutes off the bench, but that's probably okay. DJJ and TJ would seem to be the biggest beneficiaries if we went this direction.

I like it.

[Midnight_Suns]

I can't help but think that Jackson's form would improve if he cut his hair. Proper shooting form starts with the ball right above the forehead. Can't do that with a big afro in the way.