summer league game 2 review

Another summer league game, another summer league loss. But don't fret my dears, the wins or losses as a team don't mean as much as the progress of the individual players. So lets break down some of these guys.

First off, let me just take my hat off to the Houston Rockets. Its almost scary how this summer league match mirrored the regular season teams performances last season. The Rockets were more aggressive (evidenced by the free throw disparity 40-19) and tougher on the boards (rebounding edge 34-29). We were able to stay in it for most of the game with jump shooting but that ran hot and cold--as it usually does--and Houston edged out a win. Seem familiar to anyone? I know finesse players are nice and all, but having some big nasties up front would be a refreshing change.

I'd also like to acknowledge that Chase Budinger was without a doubt the best player on that court. Not saying he will be the best in 1 month, 1 year, 1 whatever, but tonight he looked fluid. He hit shots from everywhere on the floor, moved the ball well, ran the floor and finished with authority. Basically he made it look easy and even though he only scored 17 points, he did it in less than 20 minutes and was extremely efficient. Trust me, he didn't break a sweat out there.

Ok, enough Rocket love.

I don't think anyone really planned on discussing any of our guys outside the mini-3. Cunningham, Bayless, and Pendergraph. Funny thing happened though, Pooh Jeter went OFF in the second half. All 15 points in the second half? 6 beautiful assits? The guy can shoot and pass, unfortunately he has a lot of trouble finishing at the rim (to be fair, all our guys had trouble tonight when Joey Dorsey was in the game) and missed 2 point blank layups. Not something an NBA player usually does. Still, the effect he had on the team when he was running the point (after Bayless was mercifully moved to the off guard position) was clear in the way he pushed the tempo and got guys easy looks in transition. When you look at Bayless' 2 assists and 6 turnovers, trust me, it wasn't because guys were just missing their shots. He was not getting them the ball in good space or setting them up with easy looks. Jeter, in contrast, found guys like Cunningham over and over and over again off the pick and pop and those two just made it look easy out there. If Jeter doesn't play the point in this game the Blazers lose by double figures.

Speaking of Bayless, I suppose its way to early to decide if he can play the point. However, it does not speak well for him when he turns in a performance like this against inferior competition. He rushed a few posessions, got caught in the air more than once, and his critically acclaimed defense looked less than stellar. He scored comfortably when he controlled the ball and shot off the dribble. Unfortunately, he had trouble knocking down spot up jumpers and clearly needs the ball to be effective. Good at drawing fouls, an excellent foul shooter, he also seems to be a very vocal leader to the guys out there. Again, I just don't know what he's going to be able to do in the regular season. Especially when you look at what he and Batum did last summer and then how they developed afterward.

I owe an apology to Dante Cunningham. I said on draft day that he wouldn't even make the training camp roster. It turns out, he may be my favorite player on this summer league team. Always quick to help a guy up off the floor, he really throws his body around and sells out for his team. Sets SOLID screens and is just a real heady player. He is basically the anti-travis outlaw. Not the most gifted athlete, he compensates with good body control and a solid mid range jumper. Nate has told him that he can be a player in this league is he can show he can consistently hit that mid range jump shot and I think he has shown he can. Plays good help defense, and isn't bad one on one either. Its tough to judge Dante and Pendergraph because they're playing out of position somewhat (although Dante can definitely play the 4 on certain occasions). He's also a very good foul shooter and is adept at drawing contact and getting calls. I just like everything about this guy's game. Led all scores with 22 points although some of that was from sheer volume (8-20).

Jeff Pendergaph looked ok to good playing against the much stronger and more physical Joey Dorsey. For those of you who didn't watch any Memphis games a few years ago, you should know that that guy is an animal. I can't really blame Jeff too much but when I saw him give up 2 straight offense rebounds off of missed FREE THROWS, I got a little upset. Pendy (can I call him Pendy?) compensated by showing soft touch around the rim, range on his jump shot, and smart defense by drawing offensive fouls against the agressive play of Dorsey. I could care less about his 11 points though. My concern is his 5 rebounds. In contrast, Bayless had 6 and some guy named Padgett had 7 in less than 10 minutes. Pendy played just short of 30 minutes. Look, we just let a sweet shooting backup PF who had trouble playing D against physical players and didn't rebound well for his size walk to Phoenix for FREE. Pendy needs to show a bit more toughness without fouling (8 PFs) at a Greg Oden like rate. If he can do that he may carve out some minutes for himself this season.