[llperez]

 everybody looking forward to this one? Who will look better between the top 2 picks? I reading really good things about julius randle and want to see how he looks. Also am hoping former bruin zach lavine shows some improved attacking/finishing ability. Im a big fan and dont want to see him become too dependent on his jumper.

Also curious to see how tyus jones looks, i wasnt big on him going into the draft but lets see. And wonder if larry nance will show some of that defense the lakers say they used a first rounder on him for. Should be a great summer league game.

 

[FrozetoesParticipant]

Russell and LaVine have to be two of the most confident young guys around.  Lots of guys talk big, but these two play big.  They believe they are going to be stars and they both have a real chance to get there.

Towns and Randle should fun to watch.  Watching Towns at the Wolves scrimage was really exciting.  He has skills we never saw at Kentucky.  Randle seems like a great guy and I hope he plays big tonight.

It should be a fun game to watch.

 

 

 

 

[FrozetoesParticipant]

Russell and LaVine have to be two of the most confident young guys around.  Lots of guys talk big, but these two play big.  They believe they are going to be stars and they both have a real chance to get there.

Towns and Randle should fun to watch.  Watching Towns at the Wolves scrimage was really exciting.  He has skills we never saw at Kentucky.  Randle seems like a great guy and I hope he plays big tonight.

It should be a fun game to watch.

 

 

 

 

[sheltwon3Participant]

 i can’t wait but too bad I can’t see it.

[sheltwon3Participant]

 i can’t wait but too bad I can’t see it.

[llperez]

I’m watching, I’ll break it down after the game how guys looked

[llperez]

I’m watching, I’ll break it down after the game how guys looked

[llperez]

 wolves 81 lakers 68

Zach Lavine: 33 minutes….24pts(7/17fg)….6reb….3ast

  was the best guy on the court tonight. Shooting stroke looked money, even his misses were right on line. Incredible athelte as we know. Only knock might have been some struggle finishing through contact still. But he looks stronger then last year and has that cocky swagger like he deserves every call and will get wherever he wants on the court.

Karl anthony towns: 32 minutes….10pts(4/10fg)…3reb…4ast…9fouls…4to’s

Nothing about his offense concerns me at all. He can shoot it from the perimter(not worried about his 0/2 threes and airball on one of them), his form is legit. He passes even better then i expected. Really reads the court well. biggest concern is the defense, this guy was touted for his defenisvie potential and it was one of the reasons why he pulled away from okafor, but tonight he was a liability on defense. Both julius randle and tarik black beat him one on one with black posterizing him on one play where he faced him up then jab steppend and beat him off the dribble and dunked on him at the rim. I, (like most people) believe he was the rightful number one pick and nothing about tonight changes that. I just dont think he is going to transition defensively nearly as quickly as some might have thought. he got sealed down low and pushed around routinely and was forced to foul (9 fouls).

Jordan Clarkson: 32 minutes…23pts(8/17fg)…3reb…2ast…0to’s

second best player on the court tonight after lavine. Attacked the rim hard and showed phenomanl athleticism finshing with 3 dunks as well as a missed one handed alley oop that would have been spectactular. I serisouly think he will challenge kobe for best player on the team next season.

Deangelo russell: 27 minutes…8pts(3/8fg)…5reb…6ast…5to’s

Startd really strong. had a couple sick no look passes and showed he can really read the court welland had a nice crossover and step back three pointer. Second half he went full beta mode and was passive to clarkson and randle just kinda standing around. Simialr to towns, nothing spectacular but showed the potential we expected.

Julis randle: 21 minutes…11pts(3/9fg)…1reb…0ast…4to’s

i felt he had 2 good strong moves in the first quarter that he didnt finish but they were both good looks that just rimmed out. He then went to bench and came back in second quarter and looked to be pressing the issue and really struggled. His jumper looked broken and he forced plays. Played matador defense not even trying to challenge a couple plays at the rim when he was the guy who was next to rotate over. Second half he continued to attack off the dribble and kinda became the go to guy for the lakers. Nobody could stay in front of him and he routinley got into paint and forced opponents to foul him. The 1 rebound doesnt concern me much as i didnt notice him giving up boards he should have had, but the black hole no passing mentality, broken jumper and lack of defense all are concerns. Stil, he crosses guys over then lowers that shoulder and has nice soft touch, shows potential as a go to offensive guy that should translate even to the nba season and i  think he bounces back from this sub par performance.

 

Liked upshaw, he blocked 3 shots including towns on a power move down low and was throwing elbows at towns showing some grittiness. Nance jr and anthony brown didnt show enough good or bad to make fair comments on them yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[llperez]

 wolves 81 lakers 68

Zach Lavine: 33 minutes….24pts(7/17fg)….6reb….3ast

  was the best guy on the court tonight. Shooting stroke looked money, even his misses were right on line. Incredible athelte as we know. Only knock might have been some struggle finishing through contact still. But he looks stronger then last year and has that cocky swagger like he deserves every call and will get wherever he wants on the court.

Karl anthony towns: 32 minutes….10pts(4/10fg)…3reb…4ast…9fouls…4to’s

Nothing about his offense concerns me at all. He can shoot it from the perimter(not worried about his 0/2 threes and airball on one of them), his form is legit. He passes even better then i expected. Really reads the court well. biggest concern is the defense, this guy was touted for his defenisvie potential and it was one of the reasons why he pulled away from okafor, but tonight he was a liability on defense. Both julius randle and tarik black beat him one on one with black posterizing him on one play where he faced him up then jab steppend and beat him off the dribble and dunked on him at the rim. I, (like most people) believe he was the rightful number one pick and nothing about tonight changes that. I just dont think he is going to transition defensively nearly as quickly as some might have thought. he got sealed down low and pushed around routinely and was forced to foul (9 fouls).

Jordan Clarkson: 32 minutes…23pts(8/17fg)…3reb…2ast…0to’s

second best player on the court tonight after lavine. Attacked the rim hard and showed phenomanl athleticism finshing with 3 dunks as well as a missed one handed alley oop that would have been spectactular. I serisouly think he will challenge kobe for best player on the team next season.

Deangelo russell: 27 minutes…8pts(3/8fg)…5reb…6ast…5to’s

Startd really strong. had a couple sick no look passes and showed he can really read the court welland had a nice crossover and step back three pointer. Second half he went full beta mode and was passive to clarkson and randle just kinda standing around. Simialr to towns, nothing spectacular but showed the potential we expected.

Julis randle: 21 minutes…11pts(3/9fg)…1reb…0ast…4to’s

i felt he had 2 good strong moves in the first quarter that he didnt finish but they were both good looks that just rimmed out. He then went to bench and came back in second quarter and looked to be pressing the issue and really struggled. His jumper looked broken and he forced plays. Played matador defense not even trying to challenge a couple plays at the rim when he was the guy who was next to rotate over. Second half he continued to attack off the dribble and kinda became the go to guy for the lakers. Nobody could stay in front of him and he routinley got into paint and forced opponents to foul him. The 1 rebound doesnt concern me much as i didnt notice him giving up boards he should have had, but the black hole no passing mentality, broken jumper and lack of defense all are concerns. Stil, he crosses guys over then lowers that shoulder and has nice soft touch, shows potential as a go to offensive guy that should translate even to the nba season and i  think he bounces back from this sub par performance.

 

Liked upshaw, he blocked 3 shots including towns on a power move down low and was throwing elbows at towns showing some grittiness. Nance jr and anthony brown didnt show enough good or bad to make fair comments on them yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Randle didn’t play well, but he’s like a hungry dog out there. So strong, quick and explosive. Randle struggles finishing over length, but he just bullies guys. I just enjoyed seeing him trust his right leg. He looks healthy and strong. 

 

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Randle didn’t play well, but he’s like a hungry dog out there. So strong, quick and explosive. Randle struggles finishing over length, but he just bullies guys. I just enjoyed seeing him trust his right leg. He looks healthy and strong. 

 

[llperez]

 also, dont want to be negative, but i said before draft that tyus jones was not a first rounder. He stunk tonight. 0/4 from the field for 0 points in 16 minutes with 0 assists and 3 turnovers. H got ripped straight up off the dribble one on one trying to bring it up the court and showed me nothing tonight, very small guy. 

[llperez]

 also, dont want to be negative, but i said before draft that tyus jones was not a first rounder. He stunk tonight. 0/4 from the field for 0 points in 16 minutes with 0 assists and 3 turnovers. H got ripped straight up off the dribble one on one trying to bring it up the court and showed me nothing tonight, very small guy. 

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Dwight Buycks was all over him. 

I know it’s just the first summer league game and he prob was nervous, but he’d better realize this is a man’s game quick and these guys are trying to feed their families. 

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Dwight Buycks was all over him. 

I know it’s just the first summer league game and he prob was nervous, but he’d better realize this is a man’s game quick and these guys are trying to feed their families. 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 I loved that this game was a packed house.  To me, and I am sure other Hoopsheads I enjoy it because it means the NBA is one step closer to being a year round sport ala football.  Pretty cool for a Summer League game if you ask me.

To piggy back off of what Perez said, Lavine and Clarkson were the best players on the floor.  You can tell the game was just moving slower for them as they both got significant burn during the real season. 

Randle looked rusty, but still showed flashes of his old self which is good.  He looks bigger than I thought he would for reportedly losing 10 to 15 lbs, not so sure I buy that after seeing him.  The quick first step was still there, once he knocks the dust off I think he will start to look more comfortable.

Russell was pretty passive but it wasn’t really a bad thing.  He had a couple turn overs that were due to the speed of the game catching him off guard I believe.  I would like to see him get more shots up in the next game, but at the same time he was letting the other guys do their thing.  Steady start.

Towns was similar to Russell but from the Center position.  Pretty under control and his mistakes seemed to mostly stem from the speed/physicality of the game.  Made some sharp passes.  Solid.

Fun game to watch as far as Summer league is concerened.  Hard to derive to much from it but it was cool to see the guys in action.

 

 

 

 

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 I loved that this game was a packed house.  To me, and I am sure other Hoopsheads I enjoy it because it means the NBA is one step closer to being a year round sport ala football.  Pretty cool for a Summer League game if you ask me.

To piggy back off of what Perez said, Lavine and Clarkson were the best players on the floor.  You can tell the game was just moving slower for them as they both got significant burn during the real season. 

Randle looked rusty, but still showed flashes of his old self which is good.  He looks bigger than I thought he would for reportedly losing 10 to 15 lbs, not so sure I buy that after seeing him.  The quick first step was still there, once he knocks the dust off I think he will start to look more comfortable.

Russell was pretty passive but it wasn’t really a bad thing.  He had a couple turn overs that were due to the speed of the game catching him off guard I believe.  I would like to see him get more shots up in the next game, but at the same time he was letting the other guys do their thing.  Steady start.

Towns was similar to Russell but from the Center position.  Pretty under control and his mistakes seemed to mostly stem from the speed/physicality of the game.  Made some sharp passes.  Solid.

Fun game to watch as far as Summer league is concerened.  Hard to derive to much from it but it was cool to see the guys in action.

 

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 I know we have all been waiting for the next Sam Perkins.  I think we have that guy in Karl Anthony Towns.

I am happy for former Tiger big man Tarik Black for sticking around.  I think he got too much heat at Memphis from the coaching staff.  He is a 4.  Not much of a 5 but he played the 5 here at Memphis with DJ Stephens at the 4.  I remember one game where Black starts off great, then he dunks, and our coach Josh Pastner yelled at him for not being a cheerleader on the bench… just dumb stuff…  He has good size for the 4, and now in the small ball era he can also hold his own at center.  He should give teams value as a cheap 4th big.  

Julius Randle’s stat line… eh.  Didn’t watch the game.  Haven’t watched the Grizzlies games either, but before last year’s draft I was thinking of Jarnell Stokes being an underated version of Julius Randle.  The Value Play on Randle.  Stokes put up some nice stats in his last few summer league games, so I think it might still be an apt comparison.  One thing in Randle’s favor is his brand is a little better, and the Lakers have more invested in him.  In Stokes favor: he is cheaper, and has really solid size so he might be able to play some backup center.

Lavine: You can call htis guy Mr. Upside.  He has a high ceiling and he can JUMP.  Same with Wiggins.

I thought Okafor should have been the guy there.  Would his nickname be OK?  Wiggins as Option 1 on the wings, with OK as option 1A on the blocks.  Lavine is the third option, Rubio finds the cutters, and Dieng gives you that solid all-around secondary big man to put next to OK.  Then you get some shooters to fill the gaps, but you can probably do that while drafting in the 5-15 range.  Or, stock up on second rounders and hope that one of those "3 point shooting specialists" can stick.

I still like Tyus Jones as a backup point guard.  He showed me a lot at Duke.  But, still don’t you put Tyus Jones WITH OKAFOR?

Not sure Towns will be that ALPHA BIG… Then, I like Towns’ size as a 4.  As a center?  Hmm…  I either want a 7 footer who can score on the low block, or a freakish shot blocker/rebounder.  I don’t want my center floating outside for 3’s and gimme, uncontested rebounds.  

I like Jordan Clarkson from what I saw last year.  He was a point guard though…  

D’Angelo Russell: He has to show he is better than Okafor.  Franchise alpha dog centers are hard to come by…  Upside: if he can coexist with Clarkson, and then you put Kobe at small forward, there is a lot of small ball versatility and scoring punch there.  

The last time the Lakers were built around an old dog Hall of Fame ornery scoring guard, a young buck scoring guard, a veteran 7 footer, and a younger, energetic, rebounding power forward, they won 33 straight games, 69 total, and went on to win the 1972 NBA Finals.  Now, this team might not win 33 games TOTAL — but that is for Southern California LA Dreamin’…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 I know we have all been waiting for the next Sam Perkins.  I think we have that guy in Karl Anthony Towns.

I am happy for former Tiger big man Tarik Black for sticking around.  I think he got too much heat at Memphis from the coaching staff.  He is a 4.  Not much of a 5 but he played the 5 here at Memphis with DJ Stephens at the 4.  I remember one game where Black starts off great, then he dunks, and our coach Josh Pastner yelled at him for not being a cheerleader on the bench… just dumb stuff…  He has good size for the 4, and now in the small ball era he can also hold his own at center.  He should give teams value as a cheap 4th big.  

Julius Randle’s stat line… eh.  Didn’t watch the game.  Haven’t watched the Grizzlies games either, but before last year’s draft I was thinking of Jarnell Stokes being an underated version of Julius Randle.  The Value Play on Randle.  Stokes put up some nice stats in his last few summer league games, so I think it might still be an apt comparison.  One thing in Randle’s favor is his brand is a little better, and the Lakers have more invested in him.  In Stokes favor: he is cheaper, and has really solid size so he might be able to play some backup center.

Lavine: You can call htis guy Mr. Upside.  He has a high ceiling and he can JUMP.  Same with Wiggins.

I thought Okafor should have been the guy there.  Would his nickname be OK?  Wiggins as Option 1 on the wings, with OK as option 1A on the blocks.  Lavine is the third option, Rubio finds the cutters, and Dieng gives you that solid all-around secondary big man to put next to OK.  Then you get some shooters to fill the gaps, but you can probably do that while drafting in the 5-15 range.  Or, stock up on second rounders and hope that one of those "3 point shooting specialists" can stick.

I still like Tyus Jones as a backup point guard.  He showed me a lot at Duke.  But, still don’t you put Tyus Jones WITH OKAFOR?

Not sure Towns will be that ALPHA BIG… Then, I like Towns’ size as a 4.  As a center?  Hmm…  I either want a 7 footer who can score on the low block, or a freakish shot blocker/rebounder.  I don’t want my center floating outside for 3’s and gimme, uncontested rebounds.  

I like Jordan Clarkson from what I saw last year.  He was a point guard though…  

D’Angelo Russell: He has to show he is better than Okafor.  Franchise alpha dog centers are hard to come by…  Upside: if he can coexist with Clarkson, and then you put Kobe at small forward, there is a lot of small ball versatility and scoring punch there.  

The last time the Lakers were built around an old dog Hall of Fame ornery scoring guard, a young buck scoring guard, a veteran 7 footer, and a younger, energetic, rebounding power forward, they won 33 straight games, 69 total, and went on to win the 1972 NBA Finals.  Now, this team might not win 33 games TOTAL — but that is for Southern California LA Dreamin’…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kobyzParticipant]

Upshaw reminds me Theo Ratliff with his defense and shot blocking…

[kobyzParticipant]

Upshaw reminds me Theo Ratliff with his defense and shot blocking…

[SinaParticipant]

Randle is very special. He is very big, strong and explosive. Kind of like a smaller Shaq or younger Randolph. Skill wise, he is still very raw. Like to put down the ball and attach the rim directly. Can get past his man easily but couldn’t finish strong. Didn’t show much on back to basket skill nor mid range jumper. Didn’t move well without the ball. Defensively, didn’t show much on rebound, man on man skill nor team defense sense. 

 

[SinaParticipant]

Randle is very special. He is very big, strong and explosive. Kind of like a smaller Shaq or younger Randolph. Skill wise, he is still very raw. Like to put down the ball and attach the rim directly. Can get past his man easily but couldn’t finish strong. Didn’t show much on back to basket skill nor mid range jumper. Didn’t move well without the ball. Defensively, didn’t show much on rebound, man on man skill nor team defense sense. 

 

[GBeeParticipant]

 Randle looked heavy, which is understandable. He needs a jumper in the worst way though. He’s not a back to the basket threat and his right hand is weak, so defenders just need to sit on his drives going left. Doesn’t have good insincts on defense and for someone who’s so physical when he has the ball, he can be outworked everywhere else. IMO he has to become a much better scorer to be an above average player because the rest of his game kinda sucks. To be a better scorer he needs to be a knock down mid-range shooter so they can’t just sit on that left hand drive.

[GBeeParticipant]

 Randle looked heavy, which is understandable. He needs a jumper in the worst way though. He’s not a back to the basket threat and his right hand is weak, so defenders just need to sit on his drives going left. Doesn’t have good insincts on defense and for someone who’s so physical when he has the ball, he can be outworked everywhere else. IMO he has to become a much better scorer to be an above average player because the rest of his game kinda sucks. To be a better scorer he needs to be a knock down mid-range shooter so they can’t just sit on that left hand drive.

[Author]

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