Noah Vonleh On Summer League: "I Felt Like I Could Get To The Rim Anytime"

Guest contributor David Naylor from our sister site Canis Hoopus stops by tonight, with an on-site report from the Blazers' Summer League victory over the Dallas Mavericks. -- Tim

In his first game action as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, Noah Vonleh had a strong outing, with 13 points and 7 rebounds in the Blazers' 93-80 win over the Dallas Mavericks. After sitting out the Blazers' first Las Vegas Summer League game on Saturday with an ankle injury, Vonleh was glad to be in action on Sunday. "It just feels great. I haven’t played in a 5-on-5 game since April 15, so it felt good to be back out there," Vonleh said after the game.

Vonleh's 29 minutes led the team, and he did not look at all limited by the injury. "Oh, the ankle felt great," he confirmed. "No pain at all, I didn’t even notice it when I was playing."

He started the game working from the perimeter and missed his first five shots, but after moving into the post, he really got going and looked much more comfortable, and really got in the face of Dallas rookie center Satnam Singh with some ferocious dunks.

"I felt like I could get to the rim anytime. I would either draw a foul or kick it to somebody, and it would open up the floor and create action for somebody," he said. "I think having a post presence, once your post guy gets going, which, I got going a little bit, they started to try to have the help there waiting for me, and then it would be just a kick and an open shot or somebody’s driving to the rim for an easy basket."

Vonleh was also very complimentary of Tim Frazier, who had a strong game with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. "Tim’s great," Vonleh said. "He pushes the ball every time down the court. Once he gets the rebound, he’s already pushing it down before the defense is set, so it’s great having him as a point guard. He opens it up for other guys and creates open shots for other guys and creates for himself also."

After his slow start, Vonleh really exerted himself on the game, and had a very strong performance that will be a great building block for the future. He should be in great shape moving forward into the Blazers' third Summer League game on Tuesday against San Antonio.