G-League

[NuggetsWY]

Just watched a full game of Monte Morris. I liked what I heard when we drafted him. I'm more impressed after watching him and his statistics have been good all along, but the eye-test says "Wow!" He's very quick and has a beautiful shot, including 3pters. He's also got nice handles. Looks to have the complete package plus he hustles on defense and even when he doesn't have the ball, he tends to be in the right spots. Stats so far:

32 mpg in 15 games
16.6 pts on 50% FG & 40% 3pt & 86% FT
5 assists per game with oly 1.5 TO
2 steals & 4.5 rebounds

[NuggetsWY]

Saw Torrey Craig last week and this guy looks NBA ready now and not just because he's playing against G-League players.

He's got the size/strength to play either forward spot. He also seems fairly decent on defense, but on offense, he looks like a monster. Stats so far:

36 mpg w/24 pts per game
48% FG% - 36% 3pt - 73% FT
7 rebounds w/3 of those on the offensive end
2 blocks per game

[skywalker33]

Do remember these stats are from the minor leagues

[NuggetsWY]

Sure, minor league, so let's cut their minutes in half and then cut their stats in half because of their competition (so 25%).

Morris 16 minutes 4 pts 2 assists
Craig 18 minutes 6 pts 2 rebounds

For the 9th & 10th men, that's not bad. If only they could get those minutes though. With Malone they'd be playing every 8th game and averaging 2 minutes per game, so they might as well develop on another team's G-League team.

[The Rebel]

Morris and Craig both look good, and Lydon has been coming around in the D league as well, but as long as Mudiay, Chandler, Arthur, and Jefferson are all on the team it is very unlikely that any of them get a chance this year.

[skywalker33]

So, does anyone know if Lydon is playing SF or PF in the G-league ?

[NuggetsWY]

So, does anyone know if Lydon is playing SF or PF in the G-league ?

I watched one of their games last week and it was hard to tell what position he was playing. He played somewhat like a SF but he definitely wasn't afraid to be down low. He was great cutting to the basket or driving to the basket. He and Morris seemed to have an affinity - he seemed to find openings and Morris seemed to find him. But he doesn't appear to be getting a lot of minutes, but he also hasn't been in many games because the Nuggets keep him with the team. So the Vipers probably don't want to disrupt their rotation too much.

[NuggetsWY]

Watching other teams, when they bring up a two-way player, they usually give them some minutes in the game. Morris was sitting on the bench for the last game, but did not get any minutes. Of course it was a close game, so that's somewhat understandable. I didn't notice if he was dressed for the game or not. Since they can only dress 13 players, it's hard to tell.

They are only allowed 45 days with their NBA team. Of course Malone doesn't like playing young players, so I'm not sure it matters if he plays while he's with the team and there is no doubt that we have 5 guards ready to play. Beasley doesn't get a lot of minutes, but once in a while, he does get some minutes. I'm beginning to like Morris better than Mudiay, but we haven't seen Morris against NBA talent. That would be what being with the NBA team should be all about. Then again, for a G-League player, just practicing with the NBA team might be enough for a coach to get some idea - although practice is not the same as games.

If they keep Morris with the team for this week, there are four games this week, so he just might get a few minutes. If they send him down after Friday's game, that will only use 6 days of his 45.

[skywalker33]

Lydon has started upping his game in the G, very interested in watching to see how Tyler develops.

[NuggetsWY]

Morris got 3 minutes in an NBA game - seems like he should have gotten more in the Detroit blow-out. Last year people said, "Murray is too young to play." He didn't get much time and he started this year a little rough but is now playing well. Same story somewhat for Lyles. There's no greater learning time than playing in the NBA. The worst NBA players are typically better than anyone in the G-League.

[MidMountain]

So, does anyone know if Lydon is playing SF or PF in the G-league ?

I watched one of their games last week and it was hard to tell what position he was playing. He played somewhat like a SF but he definitely wasn't afraid to be down low. He was great cutting to the basket or driving to the basket. He and Morris seemed to have an affinity - he seemed to find openings and Morris seemed to find him. But he doesn't appear to be getting a lot of minutes, but he also hasn't been in many games because the Nuggets keep him with the team. So the Vipers probably don't want to disrupt their rotation too much.

I really hope the Nuggets are in the works for their own G-league team next season. That way they could have more input on how much, what position, and what role the players play. Right now, we're kind of at the mercy of the other teams. Lydon/Morris don't even get to play on the same team as Craig. It would be super easy to shuttle players back and forth to a team in the Springs or Northern Colorado. Juancho could use some extended playing time to work back into game shape after his bout with mono. The G-league could be a great idea if we had more control.

[NuggetsWY]

So, does anyone know if Lydon is playing SF or PF in the G-league ?

I watched one of their games last week and it was hard to tell what position he was playing. He played somewhat like a SF but he definitely wasn't afraid to be down low. He was great cutting to the basket or driving to the basket. He and Morris seemed to have an affinity - he seemed to find openings and Morris seemed to find him. But he doesn't appear to be getting a lot of minutes, but he also hasn't been in many games because the Nuggets keep him with the team. So the Vipers probably don't want to disrupt their rotation too much.

I really hope the Nuggets are in the works for their own G-league team next season. That way they could have more input on how much, what position, and what role the players play. Right now, we're kind of at the mercy of the other teams. Lydon/Morris don't even get to play on the same team as Craig. It would be super easy to shuttle players back and forth to a team in the Springs or Northern Colorado. Juancho could use some extended playing time to work back into game shape after his bout with mono. The G-league could be a great idea if we had more control.

Yeah, totally agree with everything you just said. If we had a G-League team they could use the same offense as the Nuggets and control the minutes based on what the Nuggets want. (They could teach the same defense as the Nuggets too, it the Nuggets ever hire a coach that knows what a defense is or maybe it's just if Malone ever lets one of his assistants teach defense.)

Colorado Springs would be a good spot. There's probably a place for them to play there. The Budweiser Center in Loveland is certainly a perfect place for them as well. That one would be easier for me to get to than the Pepsi Center, so of course I'm in favor of Loveland.

[NuggetsWY]

Morris got a call-up, but wasn't given much of a chance to show his stuff.

Torrey Craig was given a chance last night - and he took advantage of it. Malone said, “What I have to do is — if he is going to be here and these are parts of his 45-days — I have to throw him out there and really see what we have. He is dominating the G-League right now. I mean, the numbers he is putting up are insane.” I love it.

In the preseason, one of the coaches said he was the best player on the roster - the NBA Nuggets roster and he showed some of that. Malone said he can be a lock-down defender and even guard 1-4. He's also a team-leader type, although that's hard for a rookie to do. But he certainly has that attitude when he's on the floor.

I'll admit, I was thinking he might be a 3rd string NBA player. I now think I was wrong, he seems much better than that. It's looking like all the teams over-looked his ability and he's developed it overseas!

[skywalker33]

Morris got a call-up, but wasn't given much of a chance to show his stuff.

Torrey Craig was given a chance last night - and he took advantage of it. Malone said, “What I have to do is — if he is going to be here and these are parts of his 45-days — I have to throw him out there and really see what we have. He is dominating the G-League right now. I mean, the numbers he is putting up are insane.” I love it.

In the preseason, one of the coaches said he was the best player on the roster - the NBA Nuggets roster and he showed some of that. Malone said he can be a lock-down defender and even guard 1-4. He's also a team-leader type, although that's hard for a rookie to do. But he certainly has that attitude when he's on the floor.

I'll admit, I was thinking he might be a 3rd string NBA player. I now think I was wrong, he seems much better than that. It's looking like all the teams over-looked his ability and he's developed it overseas!

Saw Craig in the NOP game, he was fine but did seem unsure of his role early on, you could tell he was nervous. But by the end of the game, he was all over Holiday defensively, very impressed with his potential.

[usvtheman]

Do y'all expect Craig to keep his starting spot this week?

[skywalker33]

Do y'all expect Craig to keep his starting spot this week?

Not really, was a surprise to all last week.....but I'm not Malone, who knows ???

[skywalker33]

Do y'all expect Craig to keep his starting spot this week?

Looks like he may get the start again tonight after all

[NuggetsWY]

Do y'all expect Craig to keep his starting spot this week?

Looks like he may get the start again tonight after all

Malone's been known to change the starting lineup after it's been announced.

[MidMountain]

Torrey Craig has been phenomenal the past two games. He made a few mistakes with positioning on offense, but his tenacious defense has more than made up for it. Plus he has gone 4 for 7 from 3pt range. Have we finally found our 3nD SF of the future? I've been very impressed with what I've seen so far. If he has time to integrate into the offense, he good be a great addition to the rotation.

[NuggetsWY]

Monte Morris - 20 G-League games with an assist to turnover ratio of 3.59 - that's my favorite stat for a distributor and he averages over 5 assists per game.