Since news is slow and I'm bored I thought I'd throw out a post on how I've seen the SL.
First off, despite what the announcers said in the last C's game, the officiating has been deplorable. Admittedly, if they called every foul the games would last five hours but it is really hard to judge players when they are getting manhandled and hacked on every shot, drive, and rebound. It is ridiculous, and players don't care because they have ten fouls. They can hack, hold and hammer away without worrying at all. Add in the 10 minute quarters and it makes for some pretty hard to watch basketball.
They need to change the ten foul thing back to six since the quarters are shorter. So what if you foul out of a summer league game. And if you do, maybe you don't need to get an NBA job anyway.
As for our players, I'll go over each one that has at least some promise of being an NBA player some day. That means no discussing Thorton.
Rozier. The guy isn't a point guard. You have to look at him as an undersized two guard. He can't run the pick and roll or pop to save his life. He hasn't hit a rolling guy once this summer. Worse, he hasn't even tried, but then again neither has anyone else, save one. I think he can be a back up guard if we have a forward that can help with the playmaking but other than that I see him being really limited.
RJ Hunter. I have loved his defense but he should have been called for a foul on every single play against Phoenix. His shooting was great, his shot selection....atrocious. He has to develop a floater or some way of finishing going to the hoop. He was the lone player to hit the rolling guy on a pick'n'roll. It lead to a missed shot by Mickey, more on him later.
Jaylen Brown. Well he seems like he hasn't settled in yet. He has gotten to the line which is impressive with these refs and his defense has been good at times. I'd give him and incomplete so far.
Bentil. I like what I've seen, which hasn't been much. Hard to say what he could be, but I know he could score in college so I think he can in the pros.
Mickey. Bass called, he wants his hands back. And for a guy who bases his game off shot blocks, he let a lot of Phoenix shots go up uncontested. His problem is, he leaves his hands down to explode into the jump to block shots. A lot of the time he doesn't get the chance, so not only is he not jumping, he doesn't even have a hand up to contest.
Yab. I think he could be a good bench guy but he has to kick it up a gear getting up and down the floor, especially on defense. If I were the coach I'd have yanked his butt off the court for jogging several times against the Suns. Big guy who can shoot though, that has some promise.
Young. Has been as bad defensively as I have ever seen. Knees straight, bends and the waist and instead of moving his feet, reaches. Just awful.
Nader. I like everything I've seen from him. He finishes through contact. He has been solid on defense. He has knocked down some threes. He dribbles well enough for his position and he finishes strong when possible, but when it isn't he can put up awkward shots that are really soft. His step back jumpers have been terrible, but that is pretty nitpicky for a first year guy.
Everyone else hasn't been worth mentioning. Jackson is horrible. He seems terribly undersized and can't run the offense against pressure. He starts our offense like 50ft from the basket. He can't pass. His shot is inconsistent. He is basically useless.
So that is our SL crew. Guys with promise, Hunter, Yab, Brown and maybe Nader. Guys with potential to maybe develop into role players, maybe, Rozier, Bentil and Mickey. And nothing else worth having on an NBA roster. At least that is the way I see it.
