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Rocky Mountain Revue Day 5

Rocky Mountain Revue Day 5
Jul 20, 2007, 07:47 pm
Rocky Mountain Revue Day 5

Game Two: Seattle Sonics 96 , Chicago Bulls 89

Jonathan Givony

Seattle

Johan Petro
20 Points, 4 Assists, 14 Rebounds, 0 Steals, 3 Blocks, 2 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 9-17 FG, 2-4 FT


-Petro had an excellent showing here, one of the better performances we’ve seen from him (ever) so far.
-He was fairly active on the glass, and played solid defense rotating from the weak-side as well.
-The best thing we saw from Petro today revolved around his interior passing ability. He whipped a number of great passes from the high post to Saer Sene, some of which ended up being dropped. Regardless he showed pretty good court awareness, which is always a good sign from such a young player.
-Petro isn’t a player quite yet, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility to see him develop into a serviceable backup big man at some point if Seattle keeps developing him. He has great physical tools, even if his feel for the game is average.
-He hit a few mid-range jumpers in the fourth quarter (one off the dribble even), but his shooting mechanics still need work.

Saer Sene
15 Points, 0 Assists, 6 Rebounds, 2 Blocks, 1 Turnovers, 5 Fouls, 7-12 FG, 1-3 FT


-This was another fairly disappointing game in what has been a mediocre summer league for Saer Sene.
-Sene is incredibly limited skill-wise, and doesn’t make up for it with the effort he puts forth on the defensive end of the floor.
-Sene was the recipient of a number of excellent passes from fellow post-mate Johan Petro, but was unable to convert on them due to his combination of poor hands, strength and body control.
-A little flury of points late in the game made Sene’s stat-line look pretty respectable.

Jeff Green
22 Points, 4 Assists, 1 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 0 Turnovers, 8-17 FG, 2-5 3FG, 4-6 FT


-This wasn’t Green’s best outing of the summer league, but he wasn’t too bad either.
-Green showed a lot of the versatility that made him such an intriguing prospect to begin with, starting with his excellent passing ability and continuing with the smart rotations he makes on the defensive end.
-Green hasn’t quite expanded his range out to the NBA 3-point line, but judging by his mechanics that probably isn’t too far away.
-The Sonics have used Green a lot at the SF spot here in summer league, but he’s still a ways away from being able to play the position full time at the NBA level. He is too mechanical creating offense for himself on a consistent basis, and doesn’t have the ball-handling skills to take smaller guys off the dribble at this point.
-Like Durant (who foolishly played almost exclusively as a 2-guard in summer league), Green hasn’t become accustomed to playing so far away from the basket on both ends of the floor, which hurts his rebounding numbers.

Quinton Hosley
22 Points, 2 Assists, 7 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 0 Turnovers, 1 Fouls, 8-10 FG, 0-0 3FG, 6-6 FT


-Hosley looked like he was on his way to a huge game at the end of the first half, racking up 18 points on 7-7 shooting.
-He was very opportunistic moving off the ball and particularly in transition, which led to plenty of layups and dunks.
-Hosley slowed down considerably in the second half, hitting one college 3-pointer, but being fairly quiet besides that.
-He hasn’t shown enough perimeter shooting ability in the summer league so far, which has been his weakness throughout college. His ball-handling skills advanced enough either. He does have an NBA body and terrific length and athleticism, though.

Will Blalock
2 Points, 9 Assists, 3 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 3 Turnovers, 0-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT


-Blalock did a lot of steady distributing once again in Seattle’s stagnant offense.
-He has excellent vision off the dribble, and is particularly impressive in transition.
-Blalock again did not look to do much scoring, taking only 4 shots and scoring just two points. His perimeter shooting ability remains a major question mark. He can probably do more than he showed off the dribble though, since he’s strong and extremely quick.
-From what we hear, Blalock could very well decide to take one of the many contracts he has on the table from Europe. Career-wise, that wouldn’t be a bad move, since a player this young can ill afford to spend two consecutive seasons sitting on an NBA bench.

Chicago

Thomas Gardner
21 Points, 0 Assists, 2 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 0 Turnover, 3 Fouls, 7-20 FG, 5-11 3FG, 2-3 FT


-Gardner probably had his best game of the summer league today.
-He made an absolute living coming off screens and knocking down shots thanks to his terrific mechanics, even if he did get a little too trigger happy in the second half.
-Gardner is still fairly limited creating his own shot off the dribble, but he looked pretty good taking advantage of defensive lapses in transition or with a quick dribble penetration.
-Gardner has already received various invites to training camp, but he will have to weigh making an NBA team on a non-guaranteed contract versus taking a six-figure contract from a good team in Europe. Right now it appears that he is leaning towards training camp.
-Gardner has improved his defensive effort in his year overseas, and has looked more active and interested on this end of the floor throughout the summer league. That bodes well for his professional career wherever he ends up. From what we’ve seen he still has upside left in him and is a pretty talented player right now.

Cheyne Gadson
11 Points, 9 Assists, 2 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 2 Turnovers, 5-9 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT


-Gadson had a very solid game off the bench for the Bulls.
-He looked poised and calm running Chicago’s offense, which is typical for him. 9 assists and 2 turnovers deserves special recognition, though. He’s a very cool customer with an NBA body and great size.
-Gadson answered some questions some had about his perimeter shooting by knocking down an NBA 3 and hitting a few other long range spot-up shots from around the NCAA 3-point line.
-Gadson might not be known as a particularly great defender, but he made a really nice play getting his hands in the passing lane and immediately heaving a full-court pass to a streaking Boo Davis.

Game Three: Utah Jazz 88, Atlanta Hawks 86

Jonathan Givony

Utah

Paul Millsap
20 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Turnover, 3 Fouls, 6-10 FG, 1-1 3FG, 7-9 FT


-Millsap was the story of this game, and probably of the entire Rocky Mountain Revue. After taking in all three summer leagues, it’s hard not to think that he might have been the most effective player we saw in the entire month of July. The Jazz got an incredible steal taking him in the late second round.
-Millsap was a monster in the paint as usual, finishing anything and everything that came his way with an excellent combination of touch, strength, and wherewithal maneuverings his way around the post.
-Any rebound remotely in his area is going to end up in his massive paws. He has an uncanny ability to just swallow up rebounds whole.
-Millsap can also create his shot facing the basket to a certain extent too, either to pull-up for a nifty step-back jumper, or to spin all the way into the paint intelligently.
-Down the stretch, Millsap just decided to take the team on his back and win the game on his own. He hit an NBA 3-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime, and then won it for the Jazz with a tough catch and finish underneath the basket with 1.4 seconds to go. It was pretty riveting stuff as far as the summer league goes.
-Is there anything more to say?

Dee Brown
9 Points, 7 Assists, 3 Rebounds, 1 Turnover, 4 Fouls, 2-7 FG, 0-2 3FG, 5-7 FT


-Brown had another solid game in what is turning out to be an excellent summer league showing as far as we’re concerned.
-He scored with a variety of pull-up jumpers and shakes to make his way to the hoop.
-Once considered a very average slasher as far as going all the way to the hoop and finishing strong is concerned, Brown has become much more aggressive using his quickness to make up for his lack of size and explosiveness finishing at the basket. To really stick in the NBA, though, he will have to become better at creating offense and getting to the free throw line consistently.
-Brown is looking more and more like a real point guard these days, making some very flashy passes and doing a good job getting his team out in transition. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t have plenty of work to do on his decision making and overall comfort level executing in half-court situations, but he’s clearly made progress over the last year.
-Brown’s lack of size is obviously a hindrance going up against a taller point guard like Acie Law. Law took him down to the post on a few occasions, and had no problem getting his shot off from pull-up jumpers against him.
-The Jazz have a tough decision ahead of them this weekend. Brown has a huge contract offer on the table from a top team in Italy that needs an immediate response, and they will have to fully guarantee his salary for next season if they want to retain him.

Morris Almond
18 Points, 3 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 3 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 7-14 FG, 0-4 3FG, 4-6 FT


-Almond might not have had a spectacular showing, but he did enough here and over the course of the week to prove that he has both an immediate NBA skill and plenty of upside to develop into a solid contributor down the road.
-Coming off curls, there are few rookies in this class (Marco Belinelli possibly excluded) that understand how to move off the ball and find a good shot the way Almond can. He can’t do this from NBA range quite yet (although that will come too), but from mid-range he just does a beautiful job of creating separation from his defender and releasing a picture perfect shot.
-Almond has a fantastic frame for the 2-guard position. He really looks the part of an NBA player
-Almond’s ball-handling skills aren’t NBA ready yet, but he is smart enough to find holes in the defense to put the ball on the floor for a short dribble or two to make his way to the basket.

Kyrylo Fesenko
2 Points, 3 Rebounds, 4 Blocks, 1 Turnover, 4 Fouls, 1-1 FG, 0-2 FT


-Crowd favorite “Fess” didn’t see much action at all today due to the foul trouble he got himself in early. The Jazz could have gone to him late in the game or in overtime as he wasn’t disqualified, but instead preferred to take an extended look at Kevin Lyde, who had a good showing but is 25 pounds out of shape to be considered a serious NBA prospect in today’s game.
-Fess did end up with 4 blocks in about 10 minutes. When he was in the game he did a nice job hedging the pick and roll once again, showing excellent mobility for a player his size. He also came away with a nice tip-back off an offensive rebound. The guy is obviously a keeper and we can’t rule out him becoming one of the biggest steals in this draft class considering his potential.

Atlanta

Acie Law
21 Points, 6 Assists, 3 Turnovers, 7-13 FG, 1-3 3FG, 6-8 FT


-This was another solid showing from Law. He looks like a very good pick from what we can tell so far and should get plenty of minutes at both guard spots this upcoming season.
-Although his mechanics are odd, particularly his footwork and release point, Law probably won’t have too much difficulty adjusting to the NBA 3-point line in time.
-Having measured out just a hair under 6-4, it’s a huge asset to have a point guard that size who is willing to go down in the post and punish smaller defenders—and Law does just that.
-In person, Law is a better athlete than people give him credit for. He is smart and shifty enough to recognize gaps in the defense upon which to penetrate, and he has a number of ways to finish—a lefty floater, a pull-up jumper, or just a traditional strong take.
- Utah’s defense decided to go underneath the screen on the pick and roll on a few occasions early on, and Law quickly put an end to that by drilling a mid-range jumper with no hesitation.
-It was impressive to see the way Law executed Atlanta’s offense down the stretch. He made good decisions with the ball in his hands and did a nice job finding the open man from the perimeter or on the drive and dish. Earlier on in the game, you got the sense that he might have been looking for his offense a little too much, but he made up for that later.
-Defensively, Law can be a little too lackadaisical at times staying in front of his man.

Al Horford
6 Points, 2 Assists, 7 Rebounds, 0 Turnovers, 5 Fouls, 2-6 FG, 2-3 FT


-Horford finally played after having taken off the past three days with a right ankle sprain, but still was pretty hobbled.
-This probably wasn’t really a game he’ll look back on in a few years with very fond memories, as he was very much out of sorts for the most part struggling with foul trouble.
-Horford tried to create offense for himself in the post and looked pretty mechanical in the process. His mid-range jumper wasn’t falling for him either.

Solomon Jones
6 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Block, 4 Fouls, 3-3 FG, 0-0 FT


-Jones had a typical showing considering where he’s at in his development curve at this point.
-Jones’ incredible wingspan goes a long way in helping him establish a presence defensively and on the glass. He was pretty active on the offensive glass tonight once again.
-Offensively, Jones is still a very limited player, and he went unnoticed for most of the time on this end of the floor.
-Jones obviously still has quite a bit of upside, but does not look ready to get consistent minutes in the NBA at this point. He would be well served to conduct an extended stint in the D-league next season, and should welcome the opportunity for playing time.

Shelden Williams
9 Points, 14 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 2 Turnovers, 3 Fouls, 3-10 FG, 3-8 FT


-Although it’s easy to want to write Williams off as a bust considered how high he was drafted, he still quietly manages to get the job done despite his shortcomings.
-Williams’ flaws are quite obvious—he’s mechanical, not very athletic, relatively unskilled, and doesn’t appear to have a great upside to improve significantly over the next few years.
-With that said, there is something to be said for how hard he works on each possession. He’s still a fairly reliable guy when you consider his strong points.
-Williams did a fantastic job attacking the glass tonight. He showed an ugly, but effective 17 foot jumper, and also put the ball on the floor on one occasion for a dunk.

Game One: San Antonio Spurs , Dallas Mavericks

Matt Williams

San Antonio

Donnell Harvey
18 Points, 1 Assist, 3 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 1 Turnover, 5 Fouls, 8-10 FG, 2-5 FT


-Harvey gets mentioned here for working hard and playing well for the entire Summer League, and throwing down a sick up-and-under dunk.
-Harvey’s game hasn’t developed much from the last time he was in the NBA, and his jumper is still questionable at best.
-Harvey does clean the glass well, and finishes at a good clip around the rim, but never developed into anything other than an energy player.

James White
17 Points, 2 Assists, 1 Rebound, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 2 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 6-10 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4-5 FT


-White has really comer in his last two games, showing improved versatility.
-White did a great job of getting to the rim during this game, and finished very effectively once he got there.
-White has great court vision, and could become a pretty good drive and dish player as he gains experience.

Marcus Williams
8 Points, 4 Assists, 4 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 4 Turnovers, 1 Foul, 3-9 FG, 2-3 FT


-Williams hasn’t had the best Summer League, but showed some decent tools today.
-Williams was able to use his length to get to the rim, and finished effectively with contact. However, he couldn’t hit anything from the outside, and hasn’t shown any consistency from range this summer.

CJ Watson
17 Points, 5 Assists, 2 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 3Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 7-11 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT


-Watson was steady once again today, knocking down shots from all over the floor.
-Watson didn’t get many easy looks today, and scored on a number of contested shots off the dribble.
-Watson made some uncharacteristic bad decisions today, but some of his mistakes fall on his teammates for not going after his passes as hard as they probably should have.

Keith Langford
8 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Turnovers, 3-4 FG, 2-3 FT


-Langford showed good quickness once again this game, getting to the rim on a few occasions.
-Langford would benefit great from improving his jump shot, as he was forced to drive around defenders who weren’t closing out hard on him during this game. He lucked out on one occasion, getting the ball on the perimeter with no one around him before driving in for a tomahawk slam.
-Langford does a good job on the defensive end, but doesn’t always defender the perimeter as well as he should.

Marcellus Sommerville
12 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Turnover, 1 Foul, 5-10 FG, 1-1 3FG, 1-2 FT


-Sommerville didn’t heat up like he did last game, but showed some things that he hadn’t showed before on the offensive end.
-Sommerville used pump fakes to set up a couple of nice dribble drives, and finished well at the rim with his right hand. He also looked good scoring off of a post seal, which isn’t something he does often.
-Sommerville has the athleticism to be more versatile, buts needs to take the steps to improve his game.


Pooh Jeter
12 Points, 3 Assists, 1 Rebound, 1 Block, 1 Turnover, 1 Foul, 4-8 FG, 4-4 FT


-Jeter had another good game today, getting to the rim well and looking good in transition.
-Jeter had a nice block today as well, showing great elevation for a player of his stature.
-Jeter did a great job distributing the ball off of his dribble drives, and used his quickness to get to the line consistently as well.

Matt Haryasz
8 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Turnovers, 4-5 FG


-Haryasz has good size, and solid hands, but doesn’t have the athleticism to be a make a big impact in this setting.
-Haryasz finished around the rim well in this game, and also hit a 15-footer. However, he hasn’t shown the ability to create offense for himself in this setting.
-Haryasz could probably stand to lose some weight, since added quickness would make it easier for him to create offense for himself.

Dallas

Maurice Ager
21 Points, 3 Assists, 1 Rebound, 3 Steals, 2 Fouls, 8-12 FG, 2-2 3FG, 3-3 FT


-Ager put together a great performance today, showing off the shooting ability that could make him a legitimate option off the bench for the Mavericks.
-Ager hit a couple of catch-and-shoot threes, but the pulls up jumpers he hit were even more impressive. Ager used his dribble to create separation, and can pull up without having to take a step towards the rim.

Reyshawn Terry
11 Points, 4 Assists, 4 Steals, 1 Block, 1 Turnover, 3 Fouls, 3-7 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4-4 FT


-Terry played very well on the offensive end in the first half, showing solid all around offensive skills.
-Terry hit a few jumpers from the right corner, including catch and shoot 25-footer and a pull up 22-footer.
-Terry made a couple of great plays on the defensive end, reading the Spurs’ offense and then reacting in the flow of the game.

Nick Fazekas
23 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Turnover, 4 Fouls, 10-12 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-3 FT


-Fazekas came through with an impressive offensive performance today, finally finding his touch from the field.
-Fazekas used his size to finish on the offensive end, and did a much better job of compensating for his lack of explosiveness today.
-Fazekas appears to have gotten his form back, hitting a three from the top of the key.
-Fazekas also hit a nice right handed hook from the baseline, something that has been missing from his game throughout the Summer League.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu
15 Points, 1 Assist, 6 Rebounds, 3 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 7-10 FG, 1-1 FT


-Mensah-Bonsu had a very nice stretch in the first half today, and had a quality game overall.
-Mensah-Bonsu finished in his typical fashion at the rim, exploding over the defense and powering the ball in. However, he missed the only finesse shot he took, an 8-foot turnaround.
-Mensah-Bonsu has showed a lot of dedication, working hard every time he steps on the floor.

Jose Juan Barea
17 Points, 6 Assists, 1 Rebound, 1 Steal, 4 Turnovers, 4 Fouls, 7-12 FG, 2-3 3FG, 1-2 FT


-Barea played well, but slightly off his game tonight, making a few mistakes that he doesn’t normally make.
-Barea threw a couple of passes into traffic unnecessarily, but still did a good job executing the Dallas offense.
-Barea showed good range on his pull up jumper after missing his first badly, hitting one from just inside the NBA three-point line. He also hit a catch and shoot three-pointer, and has proven capable of hitting from distance consistently when he can step into his shot.
-Barea showed once again that his size doesn’t prevent him from finishing effectively, and got creative around the rim with both hands.

Brandon Bass
7 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Foul, 2-4 FG, 3-4 FT


-Bass didn’t play very many minutes, but did show some things in the time he was on the floor.
-Bass has great hands, and does an amazing job of finishing around the rim. It almost seems like he finishes better with contact than without him.
-Bass missed the only jumper he took, and definitely needs to continue working on his touch.

Clay Tucker
15 Points, 3 Assists, 2 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 2 Turnovers, 2 Fouls, 7-9 FG, 1-2 3FG


-Tucker shot the ball extremely well tonight and subsequently had a major impact on the game.
-Tucker has stellar form, and hit shots on the move and spotting up.
-Tucker doesn’t make a lot of mistakes with the ball, and does the little things that you would expect from a seasoned college played.
-Tucker doesn’t need a ton of space to get his shot up, and can hit shots even when there is a hand in his face.

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