Author Topic: Back from Vegas  (Read 1555 times)

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Back from Vegas
« on: July 19, 2008, 03:38:07 PM »

Offline drza44

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I know there are various Summer League threads floating around, but this post is so lengthy that I figured I'd put it in its own thread.  I posted the following write-up on a Wolves board, so it is centralized around Kevin Love, OJ Mayo, and a couple of other players on the team.  I also got to see Jaryd Bayless and a couple of other prospects live, and eventually I plan to write a bit more about them as well.

I only got to check out the first Wolves game, because their second game was the night that I left, but I was able to get some initial impressions on both Love and Mayo (unfortunately they played at the same time in 2 different gyms, so I had to run back-and-forth throughout the games to see both of them). In the summer leagues I no longer look at the numbers, I look at how they play and what I think will/won't translate. So here were some of my impressions:

*Love. In the immortal words of Denny Green, in a lot of ways Love is who I THOUGHT he was. He has outstanding fundamentals on both offense and defense. The Wolves ran the offense through him in the high-post much the way that they used to with KG, letting him post at either the top of the key or the elbow to receive the entry pass with his back to the basket, then read the play to either pass to a cutter on the wing, swing the ball or make an offensive move. He looked utterly comfortable with that role, making good decisions and executing them well. He has a consistent jumper out to the college 3-point line, and though he missed most of his NBA-range treys it is clear from his shooting mechanics that eventually he'll add that shot to the repertoire. He is also a good offensive rebounder and comfortable setting up in the post, but with Big Al in the fold it was more important that he display a strong high-post ability, which he did in spades.

On the negative side, there were a couple of ...not RED flags, but at least orange flags about his athleticism possibly affecting both his offensive and defensive capabilities. On offense, there were at least two occasions that I can remember when he had post position, but upon the entry pass his longer, more athletic defender (James Singleton? Can't remember) quickly stepped wide and reached around him to deflect the ball. While I would expect Love to get better at anticipating this and correcting for it, and possibly some of the problem may have been due to poor entry passes, the fact that it happened multiple times against summer league competition makes one wonder what would happen against KG or Camby.

On defense, I noted that when a Maverick got out on the fast break and Love was back, his first instinct was to try to draw the charge instead of blocking the shot (he was a step slow and called for the foul). While I applaud the defensive hustle required to take a charge, if Love truly played above the rim the way his 35" combine vertical suggests that he could, it would seem that he would have gone for the block. This was just one play, but it helped confirm the impression that Love's college game is a more accurate reflection of his athleticism than the combine numbers.

Overall, though, Love was impressive. And his numbers from the other two SL games suggest that he has continued to impress since I left. And oh yeah, before I forget, I've seen some people suggest that Love try to slim down and play SF. That will NEVER happen. His lower body is just naturally wide, and no matter how hard he works out he'll never be slim and athletic enough to be a 3. But he does seem to have the tools to be a good high-post 4, which is what he was drafted to be.

*Corey Brewer. It was blatantly obvious that Brewer had been told to shoot, and shoot often, as he pulled the trigger just about every time that I saw him touch it. The final box score said he had three assists, but those must have happened during the times when I was at the other gym because I genuinely can't remember him passing. It was encouraging when he made the first two jumpers, but after that it went down hill rapidly. He was obviously forcing it, and a couple of the spectators near where I was sitting muttered and jeered him throughout the game whenever he took another crazy shot. But just like last year in the summer league, Brewer is just FUN to watch on defense. Very few players have such a wow factor on defense, so I continue to hope that he is able to improve to even replacement-level offense so that he can stay on the court long enough to show that defense.

*Mayo. Mayo is extremely difficult to judge in the summer league, because it was clearly obvious that he was playing more like "2nd year Foye" than "rookie Foye" in the summer league. In Randy Foye's rookie year in Vegas, he went all out and just took it to the rim to try to score every time. In his second summer league, though, Foye played at a much more controlled pace and was obviously working on his jumper. He even confirmed that when I spoke to him, saying that since he had already proven himself the year before, he was instead taking the summer league to work on specific aspects of his game (i.e. 3-point shooting) and was not really worried about trying to go out and be the MVP.

Back to Mayo, he was obviously in the "I have nothing to prove, so I am going to work on my game" mode. He played at a very controlled pace, and rarely (if ever) really tried to drive with intent to score. He played off the ball with Crittenton running the PG about 3/4 of the time, and on those posessions he would set up on the wing and generally work himself into a face-up jumper against his defender from about 18 feet away. He wasn't making very many...I don't know his final line, but I'd have to guess that he probably took at least 20 shots to get about 20 points. On the other 1/4 of the possessions, they let Mayo run the PG. He was clearly not a natural PG...his handle wasn't strong enough, he had some turnovers and/or poor passes when the defense trapped him, and he did not really set up his teammates in scoring position very often. On the other hand, he also clearly was not uncomfortable running the show. He didn't always just generically bring it up and pass it to the wing, as sometimes he would make bounce-pass entries into the post or look to make better plays. But on the whole he dribbled too much and would have a long way to go before he could be a floor general, though in Memphis they have anything BUT a PG shortage so I doubt that will be a problem.

On defense, Mayo showed that he really does have the tools to be a strong perimeter defender. The problem is, though, that he showed that best against the opposing PG. He has a good defensive stance, moves his feet well, and does a good job getting through on-ball picks. On the down side he was also visibly shorter than Crittenton (who is listed at 6'5) and there weren't a lot of off-ball screens used in the summer league so it is not clear how Mayo will match up with the Kobes and Hamiltons of the world. Nevertheless, he seems to have the potential to be a plus NBA defender if he puts in the effort.

The most impressive player on the Grizzlies team was Darrell Arthur, who put on a dunking exhibition in the warm-ups (along with some guy with braids, who I have no idea who it was but was doing some downright filthy dunks in the lay-up line) then proceeded to be the dominant player in game action. And he did it in multiple ways...he stayed on the glass on offense and defense, he ran the court and finished well, he showed a nice mid-range jumper, and he even posted up a couple of times. Because he was so clearly the best big man athlete on the court it is hard to tell how much his game will translate to the bigger, better competition of the real NBA. But he definitely has NBA level athleticism, and his game already looks more polished than someone like Hakim Warrick.

On the whole, that night of action continued my draft-night impression that the Love/Miller trade was good value in exchange for Mayo. But since I still don't believe I've seen Mayo go all out yet, I maintain my "as long as Mayo doesn't become a superstar" caveat. But so far, so good.