2021 NBA Summer League Thread

[OnlyFranz 289]

16 minutes ago, JJZFL said:

I couldn’t agree more.  I think we started to see this at the end of last season.  I would argue that the tanking efforts imparted an “everyone for themself” mentality that is carrying over, because we didn’t see that style of play from him for most of the year, but I know many disagree with that.  Regardless, very few can disagree that Anthony is not making his teammates better right now.  

Yeah for some reason he feels like he needs to take over games instead of playing within himself and the team philosophy. He needs to stop focusing on being the man and just make the right basketball play. Some of the stuff he’s doing out there is just plain dumb. 

[og magic fan 43]

11 minutes ago, TreyMachine said:

I disagree. Jalen has a fantastic first step that seems to always get by his defender, along with great vision to find the open man when he’s driving. His shooting stroke is rather smooth. The only reason why he didn’t score 20 points again tonight is because he wasn’t looking for his shot until late. He was content to let other guys have their moment to shine, but when it comes down to winning games, he’ll put the team on his back and walk the ball in his hands.

just my interpretation of how I’ve seen him play.

My point was he will be a scorer but to win chips we need another one who is even a higher level scorer and shot maker that Suggs can facilitate to.  Because part of Suggs greatness will be his passing and decision making.  

[Soul Bro 1,419]

I’m so thankful we have Suggs

[OnlyFranz 289]

14 minutes ago, TreyMachine said:

I disagree. Jalen has a fantastic first step that seems to always get by his defender, along with great vision to find the open man when he’s driving. His shooting stroke is rather smooth. The only reason why he didn’t score 20 points again tonight is because he wasn’t looking for his shot until late. He was content to let other guys have their moment to shine, but when it comes down to winning games, he’ll put the team on his back and walk the ball in his hands.

just my interpretation of how I’ve seen him play.

I agree with you here. I saw the same thing, a guy who was trying to setup his teammates early and often. He only started looking for his shot whenever the game started to get out of hand but it was too late by then. He definitely has that IT factor and he has that star potential written all over him. Can’t wait until he plays with competent teammates who will hopefully finish the passes he makes to them. Fultz and Suggs is going to be a scary and tenacious backcourt that I can’t wait to see play together. 

[TreyMachine 395]

1 hour ago, TrueMagicFanSince1987 said:

I agree with you here. I saw the same thing, a guy who was trying to setup his teammates early and often. He only started looking for his shot whenever the game started to get out of hand but it was too late by then. He definitely has that IT factor and he has that star potential written all over him. Can’t wait until he plays with competent teammates who will hopefully finish the passes he makes to them. Fultz and Suggs is going to be a scary and tenacious backcourt that I can’t wait to see play together. 

I think many people forgot Markelle Fultz was the consensus #1 pick in 2017, and we have effectively a top 10 pick over the last 4 years in every other position with Suggs (#5), Isaac (#6), Wagner (#8) / Chuma (would have been top 10 if not for his injury), and Bamba/WCJ (#6/#7). 

This team is truly 2 years away from a lower playoff seed if they stay healthy and 1-2 of these players plays to their potential. 

[og magic fan 43]

Yikes!  Kuminga 5-17 and Moody 4-15.  I never liked Moody but he will be a role player in this league.  But Kuminga I had hopes for but now he is looking like a poor man's Gerald Wallace!  Okay it is just summer league so I am being hyperbolic.

[Shine88 78]

28 minutes ago, og magic fan said:

Yikes!  Kuminga 5-17 and Moody 4-15.  I never liked Moody but he will be a role player in this league.  But Kuminga I had hopes for but now he is looking like a poor man's Gerald Wallace!  Okay it is just summer league so I am being hyperbolic.

Wallace is a good comp for Kuminga.

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

Thoughts from last night: 

Suggs continues to prove what I always thought which is he may not be the most dynamic offensive creator but he always impacts the game. And he's certainly always good for an eye popping highlight. Very excited to see him develop.

Personally thought Franz was possibly our best player last night. Hit a three, some very good cuts and was probably the best defensive player on the team. Anybody who'd watched him knew he was too hesitant to pull the 3 ball in college so it's no surprise that's happening here in summer league. Think that'll come though. 

Cole and RJ were both meh again. It's only summer league but at a certain point I feel like the best players show up every night and neither has really been great against SL competition. Doesn't really mean anything but it also doesn't make you believe they're going to take any leaps this regular season. 

It's very very clear that our SL team is flawed defensively. We have very little rim protection or mobility among any of the conventional bigs at all and Mosley is playing Franz in spurts at the 5 for the mobility he brings guarding ball screens. I wonder though if this is by design a little to force our young guards to play disciplined defense knowing we don't have a great rim protector to cover their flaws. I think Amar Sylla profiles as a potential weak side shot blocker (and I'm still very surprised he hasn't seen a single minute) so it'll be interesting to see if he gets any burn in the remaining three games where we might not play Cole/RJ/Jalen/Franz as many minutes.

 

 

[ML6 520]

Franz’s timing on cuts is sublime

[JJZFL 618]

10 minutes ago, ML6 said:

Franz’s timing on cuts is sublime

I think it’s more sublemon myself 

[Luke_FfS 247]

4 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Cole and RJ were both meh again. It's only summer league but at a certain point I feel like the best players show up every night and neither has really been great against SL competition. Doesn't really mean anything but it also doesn't make you believe they're going to take any leaps this regular season.

This!

They're not in a position to take games off, not even in summer league, especially with a new coach in town. I've read a lot of wishful thinking about Cole for example, recently and when he was hitting tough shots at the end of the game last season... could become a good player, but as I always say, still a long long way to go. Improvements in offseason also show how much desire every player has to be great, so that signals are not good, but we shouldn't overreact the other way either. Maybe there's some hidden problem (recovering from injury/other issues) that we don't know.

About Timma: he could be that kind of veteran that helps to bring good habits in games, but also every day on trainings. Surely better than a guy like Bacon team wise, even if Bacon is probably a better player from a talent point of view.

[ML6 520]

12 minutes ago, JJZFL said:

I think it’s more sublemon myself 

How dare you