2023 NBA Summer League Watch Thread

[Jon 30]

AB played liked someone who’s been in the league for a couple of seasons (despite the TO’s). Added value to all aspects of the game. If that shot becomes consistent and he doesn’t shy away from it, he’s going to be real good.

[MagicMan1979 105]

Anthony Black had an exciting summer league debut on Saturday for the Orlando Magic, putting his potential as a 6-7 point guard on full display with smooth and physical drives. He bullied smaller players and finished skillfully out of hesitation moves with long strides and impressive footwork using both hands around the rim.

 

He showed potential with his pull-up jumper, passed the ball unselfishly and put the clamps on Detroit's Jaden Ivey, possibly the most explosive guard in summer league, by sliding his feet. Black used his strong frame and excellent size to make things difficult and getting over screens and rotating intelligently off the ball to generate turnovers.

Perhaps the most encouraging part of his debut was how much more room he has to grow as his confidence increases and he finds the right balance between facilitating unselfishly and taking over games when needed. He did that in small but impressive doses throughout the game.

His decision-making can stand to improve, as evidenced by his seven turnovers. Still, there is plenty of optimism for fans after their first exposure to the No. 6 pick, especially considering this is the first competitive action he's faced in four months after doing strictly one-on-zero workouts during the pre-draft process. -- Jonathan Givony

[JJZFL 619]

11 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Feel like I'm losing my mind when people say AB can't play off ball honestly. And this isn't even a shot at posters on this board, I've seen and heard lots of analyst-y or podcast-y types say the same thing. I've watched/re-watched like 15 Arkansas games since we drafted him. If the jumper is passable (just passable, doesn't even need to be legit good) he'll be an awesome off ball player. I have a lot more questions about him playing on ball at the NBA level honestly.

Please explain the reasoning.  To be a good off ball player, don’t you need to be a legitimate three point threat?   Otherwise, defenders sag off and clog up the middle, making our spacing problematic.  Honestly we’ve seen that scenario play out countless times in recent years.  

[orlandoholic 134]

Castleton is a baller. I like his skillset! 

[All Eyes On Me 1,210]

 

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,031]

Wemby!

[ball junkie 277]

Game winning bucket against Wemby and his team …clutch buckets down the stretch against Houston 

[TreyMachine 398]

Jabari Smith Jr with 38 points tonight. Obviously we know Summer league can mean nothing, but that's now 2 for 2 on good outings from JSJ, who looks much more comfortably driving and finishing vs just pulling up from deep. 

Obviously happy we have Paolo but it's going to be interesting to see if JSJ turns into the offensively weapon many thought he could be here. 

[orlandoholic 134]

Wembanyama was impressive today.. 

Heres my thing always with Wembanyama.

1. He needs to stay healthy (big man history is not great)

2. He needs to learn winning basketball!

 

Point number two is something he has showed just after one game. He’s in a great situation with the Spurs. Wembanyama has played the last season on a team that was designed to just let him cook. That’s why he left his former team. I was really critical of this before. So first game he showed the same habits. The second game he adjusted and exploded. 
Pop is gonna utilize him the right way and Wembanyama will adjust his game. I am very sure of this. 

 

And i’m just praying he can stay healthy, because we are about to whiteness a generational talent. The last player that had a clear impact on the NBA as a rookie was Lebron. He was something else when he stepped on NBA floor. 

I love Banchero and i think he is a franchise player. But Wembanyama has a chance to be different than anybody else.. 

 

[Jay Magic 1,244]

4 hours ago, orlandoholic said:

Wembanyama was impressive today.. 

Heres my thing always with Wembanyama.

1. He needs to stay healthy (big man history is not great)

2. He needs to learn winning basketball!

 

Point number two is something he has showed just after one game. He’s in a great situation with the Spurs. Wembanyama has played the last season on a team that was designed to just let him cook. That’s why he left his former team. I was really critical of this before. So first game he showed the same habits. The second game he adjusted and exploded. 
Pop is gonna utilize him the right way and Wembanyama will adjust his game. I am very sure of this. 

 

And i’m just praying he can stay healthy, because we are about to whiteness a generational talent. The last player that had a clear impact on the NBA as a rookie was Lebron. He was something else when he stepped on NBA floor. 

I love Banchero and i think he is a franchise player. But Wembanyama has a chance to be different than anybody else.. 

 

no the last player to make a clear IMPACT was PAOLO BANCHERO... Behave yourself 

[orlandoholic 134]

2 hours ago, Jay Magic said:

no the last player to make a clear IMPACT was PAOLO BANCHERO... Behave yourself 

haha of course!! 

I need to be clearer. The last rookie to change the NBA was Lebron. But let’s see how Wembanyama impacts winning. Lebron completely changed the Cavs into a winning franchise within a year. 

 

[DestroidMengars 22]

26 minutes ago, orlandoholic said:

Lebron completely changed the Cavs into a winning franchise within a year. 

 

Nope. The Cavaliers first season with LeBron was actually very similar to Paolo's first season: "The Cavaliers lost their first five games of the season, leading them to an awful 6–19 start. However, they played .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, finishing fifth in the Central Division with a 35–47 record."