2018 Summer League - it's Here!!!

[Jamaaliver]

Man, SL Games are difficult to watch. At least this one had some highlights for the hometown team. (And also my favorite draftee).

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

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The Hawks will play the Pacers in the opening game of the tournament portion of the Las Vegas Summer League.

The Hawks ended the three-game preliminary portion of the league with a 1-2 record, the lone victory coming Tuesday against the Bulls. The Pacers were also 1-2 in the preliminary round.

Trae vs Aaron Holiday (a PG alternative in this year's draft) will be a compelling matchup. Aaron has the quickness to stay in front of Trae and can match his shooting from deep. But not his playmaking/passing.

Zach Leaf vs Omari is also an interesting matchup.

[Jamaaliver]

After ATL's first SL victory and Trae's reemergence...

Tweet of the Day:

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Tweet of the evening:

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[kg01]

There was a tremendous interview with CLP on NBARadio yesterday afternoon. It was from summer league so they discussed a couple things in addition to Rayford. It was followed up by an interview with Fran Fraschilla who also had some thoughts on Rayf.

The interview was conducted by a host and Eddie Johnson who's son had apparently been recruited by CLP back in the day. Long story short, it was apparent they had a good relationship. "Get my man Lloyd up in here." He said.

Synopsis:

Salient points from CLP:
- What's the style gonna be in ATL

Put young guys in position to succeed early. Need to defend, be efficient, understand pacing and movement. Be able to outwork teams.

- On Trae's struggles.

Depends on how you look at it. Shots not falling, that'll improve. We look at shot creation and, to me, he's been tremendous at that. Only had 3, 7 and whatever number of assists in Salt Lake but not for lack of clean passes/facilitating. With Prince, Huerter, etc. out there you'll see him have double-digit assists. Not worried about shooting. That'll come.

- On playing fast, do players understand how hard that's gonna be on them? Do they understand what "playing fast" really means for them (work wise)?

They all wanna run 'in theory' (ha, hah, heh) then the work starts ... "Pacing" refers to how we practice, not necessarily getting up/down the court fast. We give guys 0.5 seconds to make a decision. Everything we do is done with quick decision making in mind. That's what we mean by "pace". We'll see when we work with pace (i.e. high-level decision making), we'll see that we're always in the right spot, facilitating success.

- Is there a team you try to emulate?

Big fan of Spoelstra. You don't think of them as a "fast pace" team but that's not true. In the half court, they actually are a very fast-paced team. Everything they do is done with pace ... but in the half court.

- Impressions of John Collins

Always positive, walks with a bounce. Saw his highlights and was amazed since he hadn't seen him play much. Unbelievable athlete, can shoot 3. As excited about him as the other rookies.

- Another guy we like because of the fire he showed in playoffs is Dennis, where does he fit in the mix?

Oh, I just txted Dennis. He's over in Africa with his workout coaches, shooting coach, etc. Vowed to come back stronger/better. Adding he and Young, the concern is having 2 small guys .. I look at 'how are you gonna guard them'? Any time you have high IQ guys who can facilitate for others, you'll be tough to deal with.

- And does he want to be there ...

Yeah, there's been some stuff out there .. only thing I can control is what he and I talk about. He knows he's a Hawk right now and he knows we drafted a point guard and he knows 'from my voice' that they're gonna play together. We have to be patient with Young so he (Dennis) has got to grow up (yes, he said that) and show that he can be a mentor to a young guy and show the next step in his development (I presume he meant as a leader?). I'm excited for the opportunity and I think he can help Young.

- Atlanta sports scene overall appears to be changing for the better ...

My goal hasn't been to convince (people to be Hawks fans), it's been to learn the scene. See what's here. Been to soccer games, Dream games, etc. Hope we can capitalize on the excitement from the other teams.

- Last thing on Trae, comparison to Curry. You said you want the team to play like MIA, is there a player you want Young to pattern his game after?

Worked with Steph, played with Nash, coached Conley ... has abilities like Steve but I compare him to Mike (Conley). Left/right-hand floaters, gets into lane as a small guy. Slower set shot. If he can end up as a 'Mike Conley' type, we've hit a home run. People are looking for the 'splash' of Steph but I think you get a HR with a guy like Conley with vision, being able to facilitate. Cerebral, control pace of game, etc. Stole this comp from Fran Fraschila

This may/may not have been copy/pasted from ... St. Elsewhere

[kg01]

Right after the CLP sit-down, Fran Fraschila was next and he discussed Young a bit. Some of his comments were a little controversial IMHO but I agree with them.

Synopsis:

- Just talked to CLP and got to the Young/Conley comp he "stole" from you?

Yeah, having watched Young 15 or so times, the biggest concern is people trying to get him to think he’s Curry. Instead of coming in hitting singles/doubles, they want him hitting grand slams. ‘Just be Mike Conley’. Mike hits his open shots, just run the team, keep it simple, find the open man, hit the open shot. "Don’t try to put on a show".

- Is that hard for Young as it's clear he’s tried to duplicate Curry. "It’s obvious". You said he should "just be Conley". Is that gonna be hard for him?

Yes. In HS he averaged over 40 pts/game, in college he avg’d almost 30. And I always felt there were ‘style points’ involved in the way he played and that concerned me. But CLP might be the right guy for him (since he coached both Curry and Conley). As an example, I saw him sit next to Trae during a game to offer guidance. – He (Fran) was big on that being a good sign.

- How about Collins, good play

I call guys like him (2nd year guys play SL) 'playground bullies' . They should be playing well. Should be dominating.

Again, any resemblance of the post to a post on St. Elsewhere, is purely coincidental.

[Jamaaliver]

There was a tremendous interview with CLP on NBARadio yesterday afternoon. It was from summer league so they discussed a couple things in addition to Rayford. It was followed up by an interview with Fran Fraschilla who also had some thoughts on Rayf.

Any of this make you more comfortable from what to expect from Lloyd?


Everything I hear is perfect and encouraging.

What we saw under his watch in Utah was dreadful, though.

[reazun]

Right after the CLP sit-down, Fran Fraschila was next and he discussed Young a bit. Some of his comments were a little controversial IMHO but I agree with them.

Synopsis:

- Just talked to CLP and got to the Young/Conley comp he "stole" from you?

Yeah, having watched Young 15 or so times, the biggest concern is people trying to get him to think he’s Curry. Instead of coming in hitting singles/doubles, they want him hitting grand slams. ‘Just be Mike Conley’. Mike hits his open shots, just run the team, keep it simple, find the open man, hit the open shot. "Don’t try to put on a show".

- Is that hard for Young as it's clear he’s tried to duplicate Curry. "It’s obvious". You said he should "just be Conley". Is that gonna be hard for him?

Yes. In HS he averaged over 40 pts/game, in college he avg’d almost 30. And I always felt there were ‘style points’ involved in the way he played and that concerned me. But CLP might be the right guy for him (since he coached both Curry and Conley). As an example, I saw him sit next to Trae during a game to offer guidance. – He (Fran) was big on that being a good sign.

- How about Collins, good play

I call guys like him (2nd year guys play SL) 'playground bullies' . They should be playing well. Should be dominating.

Again, any resemblance of the post to a post on St. Elsewhere, is purely coincidental.

I would like Trae to play more controlled..smart..etc. But they also have to let him play his game to an extent. He is not Conley, Steph, or Nash..

[Jamaaliver]

IMO, this will be Trae's toughest matchup thus far in SL:

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I wouldn't be surprised if Jent decides NOT to guard Holiday with Trae.

[td00]

Nice recap kg01...much appreciated.

I don't think TY reminds me of Conley although both are similar in stature. TY can really shoot, and Conley has never had much of a jumper. But he does have 30M/year on his resume, so what do I know?

Anyone see the GSW signing of Damion Lee? How about Josh Magette on the GSW SL roster? ATL-West

Think TS still has some close influences on the West Coast? Very similar outlook on players.

Would also not be surprised to see Cleveland make our roster. Very athletic for us.

[kg01]

There was a tremendous interview with CLP on NBARadio yesterday afternoon. It was from summer league so they discussed a couple things in addition to Rayford. It was followed up by an interview with Fran Fraschilla who also had some thoughts on Rayf.

Any of this make you more comfortable from what to expect from Lloyd?


Everything I hear is perfect and encouraging.

What we saw under his watch in Utah was dreadful, though.

Every time I hear him speak, he impresses me. However, I want to see actions and words start to mimic each other.

@jayu mentioned that the plan for UTA was to just let them play. Not much structure. The purpose was to give the staff teaching points. Next step was to implement some structure in Las Vegas. IOW, the 'chaos' then 'slight progress', pattern seems to make sense.

I'm back in 'wait 'n see' mode on CLP but I'm still squinty.

[Jamaaliver]

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[jayu70]

There was a tremendous interview with CLP on NBARadio yesterday afternoon. It was from summer league so they discussed a couple things in addition to Rayford. It was followed up by an interview with Fran Fraschilla who also had some thoughts on Rayf.

Any of this make you more comfortable from what to expect from Lloyd?


Everything I hear is perfect and encouraging.

What we saw under his watch in Utah was dreadful, though.

Every time I hear him speak, he impresses me. However, I want to see actions and words start to mimic each other.

@jayu mentioned that the plan for UTA was to just let them play. Not much structure. The purpose was to give the staff teaching points. Next step was to implement some structure in Las Vegas. IOW, the 'chaos' then 'slight progress', pattern seems to make sense.

I'm back in 'wait 'n see' mode on CLP but I'm still squinty.

[macd-gm]

Agree. I hope CLP's style isn't "just be yourself". We'll see a lot of 30 footers from Trae, turnovers from Baze, blocked layups from Dennis, and wild dunk attempts from Collins. Actually Collins can just be himself. I'm fine with that.

[DirtybirdGA]

Good comeback win, kids.

[ATL Boy]

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Trae Young's most impressive SL game thus far.

[jayu70]

My, oh my....what a comeback.
Trae passes - wow.

[Jamaaliver]

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[HMFFL]

Trae screams star!
Conditioning will be key and additional muscle.

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[tbhawksfan1]

Big turn-around from the early SL play. Trae taking control out there.