Player of the Day:
Emmanuel Mudiay Denver
Mudiay raised some eyebrows among scouts displaying not only masterful court vision and passing ability, but a better than advertised jumpshot. His 19 and 10 came in extremely impressive fashion as he made numerous plays setting up teammates for baskets in leading his Nuggets to a 2-0 record. His elite level speed off the dribble allows him to get by his defenders at will. he also seems to understand how to use his body to bully smaller defenders and create space without drawing fouls. We went out on a limb having him as our #2 rated prospect for this year’s draft. But few scouts got the opportunity to see him play as much as we had, with the ridiculous moratorium on high school events for scouts. Mudiay’s Nuggets got the 98-76 win and he admitted after the game that it was in fact personal (Sacramento chose Cauley-Stein at 6) for he and coach Mike Malone, and gave them added motivation to beat the Kings. You’ve got to love the competitiveness and leadership this kid possesses. Scouts are already calling Mudiay a star in the making. Ty Lawson is officially on the trade market!
Biggest Surprise:
Norman Powell Toronto — For the second game in a row, Powell was the best player on the floor for Toronto. Powell had a game high 19 points on a highly effective 7-11 shooting, knocking down his one 3 point attempt, as his stroke looked pure. He had some very nice drives to the basket, taking advantage of an extremely lackluster Bulls performance. He had a nifty up and under move, as well as a drive and dish. He also filled up the stat sheet with great efficiency going 4-4 from the line and tallying 7 boards. The 46th pick was far to low for such a terrific talent, who despite appearances does not lack size for the SG position.
Biggest Disappointment:
Bobby Portis Chicago — From the penthouse to the outhouse, Portis was our Player of the Day on Saturday and goes to most disappointing today. He put up 5 points, 6 boards and was 1-11 from the floor, as he struggled to get anything going offensively after going for 23 the day before.
Top Performers:
Terry Rozier Boston –– Rozier was sensational for the Celtics going for a game high 22 points and 5 assists in their win over the Sixers. The 16th pick in the draft was 2-3 from 3 and got to the line 13 times, making 12. the Celtics did everything in their power to trade their multiple first round picks to move up to 9 for Justise Winslow, but appear to have found a gem at 16 with Rozier, who has an excellent chance to be their PG of the future. He may supplant their current PGs Smart (SG) and Thomas sooner than expected. The entire Celtics rookie class was sensational as RJ Hunter went for 21, Jordan Mickey had 16 and Jonathan Holmes had 15.
Willie Cauley-Stein Sacramento — Cauley-Stein surprised putting up 15 points. Although he had just one rebound in 22 minutes, his 15 points came on 7-13 shooting. He had one extremely athletic ally oop dunk in which he adjusted in mid air to corral the ball and flush it. His points all came via plays around the rim, at one point he stole the ball from Joffrey Lauvergne under the rim for an easy two hand stuff. He’s been solid through two games, though selecting him over Mudiay when you have arguably the best center in the league on your team is a head scratcher.
Draft Watch
Kelly Oubre Washington — First the positive, Oubre had another near double double with 18 and 8 and also showed nice aggressiveness getting to the line and hitting his FTs (8-10). The negative outweighed that however as he shot 5-17 from the floor, turning the ball over 3 times to no assists and the Wizards lost 94-74.
Montrezl Harrell The early second rounder went for 11 and 8 in the Rockets 108 to 89 win over Phoenix. He was active on the boards and played with solid energy, utilizing his freakish length on both ends of the floor.
Devin Booker Phoenix — Bobby Portis edged out Booker for disappointment of the day, but not by much. Booker shot just 2-12 (0-4 from 3) for four points in just under 30 minutes in the Suns loss to Houston.
Delon Wright Toronto — The stat sheet didn’t show how impressive he looked. He was extremely crafty in creating a finger roll lay in when the defense overplayed the pass, as well as showing very nice composure in setting up the offense. He didn’t have the 9 assists to no turnovers that he put up in their first game, but his 10 points on 3-9 shooting don’t tell the entire story.
Veteran Standouts
Kyle Anderson San Antonio — It’s apparent that Anderson has been working really hard on his shot in the off season. He knocked down both of his three pointers, finishing with 22 points, including 10-11 from the line.
Allen Crabbe Portland — The former Cal Bear had 24 to lead the Blazers over the Mavs. He was highly efficient dropping 3-4 from 3 and 9-12 from the field and 3-3 from the line.
James Michael McAdoo — Was the leading scorer once again for the Warriors with 17, despite the one point loss. He was aggressive getting to the line 10 times, hitting 6.
Dwight Powell Dallas — The athletic forward out of Stanford had a breakout game with 25 points and 8 boards, knocking down 4-12 from 3, and 7-16 overall.
Scotty Hopson DLeague — Hopson led the D-League squad once again with 20 points and 6 assists on an efficient 7-10 shooting. Aside from the 4 turnovers, it was a very solid effort for the former Volunteer.
Glen Rice Jr. Houston — The early second rounder from a year ago out of the D League put up a very solid stat line going for 20 points and knocked down 3-6 from 3. He also registered 4 steals.
Notes:
Bruno Caboclo Toronto — Displayed a nice stroke from outside but struggled overall from the floor once again hitting just 4-13. He started out well, showing a nice pull up jumper, and also hit a contested 3, going for 8 in the first quarter. He went cold the rest of the way, finishing with just 11 and was unable to get to the line. He needs to get stronger and improve upon his ability to utilize his length at the rim with drives and posting up. He’s still a baby in terms of basketball development, and continues to show a lot of upside if things start to click.
Lucas Noguera Toronto — Bebe was solid again with 8 and 12 (4-7 fg), with 3 blocks. He’s a specimen, with high level length and athleticism who just needs to learn better habits on the floor and develop his fundamentals. His focus and energy seems to fluctuate, so developing a more steady
For the Suns, Archie Goodwin and TJ Warren had 20 and 22 respectively. The Suns suffered the loss, but their 3rd and 2nd year first rounders looked solid in defeat.
Jahlil Okafor Philadelphia — Did not participate in day 3, coaches decision.
