Game Report Summer League Game 2

[Lipoli390]

An absolute blast to watch the Wolves today in a high school size gym just behind the Wolves bench. This Wolves summer league team is loaded and fun to watch. A guy on one side of us from Cleveland turned to me and said you guys have a great future in Minnesota as he marveled at the talent on our summer league squad and the way they played. A guy on the other side of us from OKC asked me if Clark really just recovered from an Achilles tear. He was blown away by Clark’s relentlessness, quickness and anticipation.

I had the chance to take with Elston Turner who was sitting in front of us. We talked about Nolan Richardson’s “40 minutes of hell” defense. I told him the Wolves and Wolves summer league team play defense that’s reminiscent of Nolan’s Arkansas Razorback teams. He’s a super nice guy. He really loves the way our summer league team is defending and it’s part of the organization’s focus on building a defensive culture. He raved about the physical strength and toughness of Nix. And he loves Hifi. Says he’s an NBA caliber player. He said he believes all the main guys on the summer league squad have been really impressive so far.

My take on today’s game starts with awarding the game ball to Jaylen Clark. His defensive was spectacular - great both on and off the ball. His ability to sniff out and steal passes is elite. And he’s relentless and strong defending on-ball. His shooting form looks picture perfect and he hit a bit corner three today. I’m about to become a charter member of the Jaylen Clark fan club if he keeps this up.

I can’t say enough good things about Nix. As on Friday, Nix’s play on both sides of the ball was tremendous. He’s so strong - looks much bigger in person. Yet, he’s really quick. He’s been playing to claim that 15th roster spot and so far I’d say he’s earned it. I’d give it to him and then give his two-way to Hifi. In both summer league games, Nix has been the guy to steady the team and make things happen when things weren’t going our way.

Hifi is so fun to watch and he had another terrific game today. He’s a fearless shot-taker and he made some important tough shots today, as did Nix. I love the way Hifi defends. He reminds me a bit of JJ Barea defensively but with a better shot. He’s super confident - lots of swag - but no bravado. He’s a perfect sparkplug off the bench short of guy.

Once again Minott’s on-ball defense was fantastic. He consistently stayed in front of his guy. Meanwhile, he did a great job tracking down loose balls and rebounding. He was also terrific getting down court, catching long passes and finishing at the rim. His one flaw today was not staying within himself offensively. He tried two or three times to dribble penetrate and each attempt ended in a turnover. That’s just not in his game and he needs to accept it and refrain from trying. His shooting looks like it could come around. He was hitting his corner threes consistently in shoot-around before the game and he hit a three today in the game.

Dilly was much better today. My wife noticed that he seems a bit unsure of himself - pointing out that he’s frequently looking to the bench for instructions. But the shot falling a bit today. And once again, he protected the ball and made his teammates better with his passing. And I love the way he goes after and gets rebounds. I’ll add that he defended well today as he did on Friday. I was actually amazed at how well he guarded the much bigger Walker. And I like how he got into Jackson’s head. Dilly is so competitive, which you can really see watching him live.

Miller is talented, but he just doesn’t seem to have either the intensity of basketball instincts of the other guys I’ve mentioned. The team plays better as a whole when he’s not on the floor. I think he’s a classic case of empty stats in the box score. That said, I’m not ready to give up on him at age 20. There was a moment in the game after Hifi ingnited the team’s energy that Miller started playing with a much higher level of energy and I started to get a bit excited about him. But it faded.

Finally, TSJ came up with another excellent game - really coming through in the second half.

Overall, another great team effort by a very talented young Wolves summer league squad. They’re all competitive. The play off one another. And they all (except for Miller) look they love to play defense. I’d like to stay next week and watch more games, but alas, I must go back to work. Good bye Vegas. Go Wolves!

[kekgeek]

An absolute blast to watch the Wolves today in a high school size gym just behind the Wolves bench. This Wolves summer league team is loaded and fun to watch. A guy on one side of us from Cleveland turned to me and said you guys have a great future in Minnesota as he marveled at the talent on our summer league squad and the way they played. A guy on the other side of us from OKC asked me if Clark really just recovered from an Achilles tear. He was blown away by Clark’s relentlessness, quickness and anticipation.

I had the chance to take with Elston Turner who was sitting in front of us. We talked about Nolan Richardson’s “40 minutes of hell” defense. I told him the Wolves and Wolves summer league team play defense that’s reminiscent of Nolan’s Arkansas Razorback teams. He’s a super nice guy. He really loves the way our summer league team is defending and it’s part of the organization’s focus on building a defensive culture. He raved about the physical strength and toughness of Nix. And he loves Hifi. Says he’s an NBA caliber player. He said he believes all the main guys on the summer league squad have been really impressive so far.

My take on today’s game starts with awarding the game ball to Jaylen Clark. His defensive was spectacular - great both on and off the ball. His ability to sniff out and steal passes is elite. And he’s relentless and strong defending on-ball. His shooting form looks picture perfect and he hit a bit corner three today. I’m about to become a charter member of the Jaylen Clark fan club if he keeps this up.

I can’t say enough good things about Nix. As on Friday, Nix’s play on both sides of the ball was tremendous. He’s so strong - looks much bigger in person. Yet, he’s really quick. He’s been playing to claim that 15th roster spot and so far I’d say he’s earned it. I’d give it to him and then give his two-way to Hifi. In both summer league games, Nix has been the guy to steady the team and make things happen when things weren’t going our way.

Hifi is so fun to watch and he had another terrific game today. He’s a fearless shot-taker and he made some important tough shots today, as did Nix. I love the way Hifi defends. He reminds me a bit of JJ Barea defensively but with a better shot. He’s super confident - lots of swag - but no bravado. He’s a perfect sparkplug off the bench short of guy.

Once again Minott’s on-ball defense was fantastic. He consistently stayed in front of his guy. Meanwhile, he did a great job tracking down loose balls and rebounding. He was also terrific getting down court, catching long passes and finishing at the rim. His one flaw today was not staying within himself offensively. He tried two or three times to dribble penetrate and each attempt ended in a turnover. That’s just not in his game and he needs to accept it and refrain from trying. His shooting looks like it could come around. He was hitting his corner threes consistently in shoot-around before the game and he hit a three today in the game.

Dilly was much better today. My wife noticed that he seems a bit unsure of himself - pointing out that he’s frequently looking to the bench for instructions. But the shot falling a bit today. And once again, he protected the ball and made his teammates better with his passing. And I love the way he goes after and gets rebounds. I’ll add that he defended well today as he did on Friday. I was actually amazed at how well he guarded the much bigger Walker. And I like how he got into Jackson’s head. Dilly is so competitive, which you can really see watching him live.

Miller is talented, but he just doesn’t seem to have either the intensity of basketball instincts of the other guys I’ve mentioned. The team plays better as a whole when he’s not on the floor. I think he’s a classic case of empty stats in the box score. That said, I’m not ready to give up on him at age 20. There was a moment in the game after Hifi ingnited the team’s energy that Miller started playing with a much higher level of energy and I started to get a bit excited about him. But it faded.

Finally, TSJ came up with another excellent game - really coming through in the second half.

Overall, another great team effort by a very talented young Wolves summer league squad. They’re all competitive. The play off one another. And they all (except for Miller) look they love to play defense. I’d like to stay next week and watch more games, but alas, I must go back to work. Good bye Vegas. Go Wolves!

Happy you got to watch 2 fun games. I’m very curious about what Hifi wants to do when it comes to his basketball career. It sounds like he took the wolves SL invite over 5 other teams, so he/His agent thought the wolves would be a good fit to showcase his talents in the SL. I’m curious though does Hifi want a 2-way contract or no? Like I would love the wolves to be able to sign him on a 2-way but Hifi is not going to play this year on the main roster (assuming shit does not hit the fan), so does Hifi want to be playing in Iowa or continue to grow his game in his home country or will another team provide more legit pathways to playing time in the NBA. No team owns Hifi rights so I would love to know where his thought process is. Honestly his relationship with Rudy (hopefully he has at least an ok relationship with him) and the relationships he is making in Vegas with the coaches and players is going to be huge on if Hifi signs a contract with the wolves this offseason. This is all assuming the wolves want Hifi and I’m assuming they do because he would not get getting as big of minutes/showcase if they didn’t

[Q-is-here]

Thanks for the write-up Lip! Glad you are able to see these games so up close and personal.

Hifi provides a blue print for Dillingham defensively. He was very pesky out there and caused some problems with his ball pressure. But both of those guys are toast once stuck near the basket against someone bigger, which would pretty much be nearly everyone else on the floor.

Nix has been putting up numbers, but I wish he was a bit more point-guard-y. I didn't like a lot of the decisions he made out there today even though a lot of things worked out anyway.

It is nice having some legit beef on the perimeter with Nix, Shannon, and Clark. Those guys are all strong as hell.

Clark now with 9 steals in 37 minutes over two games.

Love how Shannon put up an efficient 19 points with minimal stuff run for him.

[Lipoli390]

Thanks for the write-up Lip! Glad you are able to see these games so up close and personal.

Hifi provides a blue print for Dillingham defensively. He was very pesky out there and caused some problems with his ball pressure. But both of those guys are toast once stuck near the basket against someone bigger, which would pretty much be nearly everyone else on the floor.

Nix has been putting up numbers, but I wish he was a bit more point-guard-y. I didn't like a lot of the decisions he made out there today even though a lot of things worked out anyway.

It is nice having some legit beef on the perimeter with Nix, Shannon, and Clark. Those guys are all strong as hell.

Clark now with 9 steals in 37 minutes over two games.

Love how Shannon put up an efficient 19 points with minimal stuff run for him.

From the way Elston Turner talked about Hifi when I asked about him, I get the sense the Wolves will seriously consider keeping him on a two-way or possibly in the 15th roster spot. The more I think about it, the more I like my JJ Barea comparison.

[FNG]

Box score only comments because I don't get NBA TV.

Clark was a monster on defense in college...led the nation in steals, and was a terrific on-ball defender. I see defense as a skill rather easily repeatable at the next level, so I'm not too surprised at his results the first two games. If he can provide any kind of offense at all (like he did with his 4 for 5 shooting yesterday), it's going to be difficult to keep him out of the rotation. But if he doesn't, he may simply be a future replacement for NAW.

Q, you watched the game and I didn't, so my comments aren't worth much. But as I look at the stats for the 3 PGs, I'm wondering about your wish that Nix was more "point-guard-y". He had 6 assists and 2 turnovers and was a team-leading +20, while Hifi had no assists in 14 minutes and was only a +1. I'm guessing the large disparity in the +/- might have been mostly because Hifi was playing with worse players. But what did you see in Nix that made you looking for more from him, and does Hifi do much to get other players involved?

My momentary excitement about Miller after game 1 is mostly gone after last night.

2-0 so far. Lip, I think you had better delay your trip home!

[Q-is-here]

Box score only comments because I don't get NBA TV.

Clark was a monster on defense in college...led the nation in steals, and was a terrific on-ball defender. I see defense as a skill rather easily repeatable at the next level, so I'm not too surprised at his results the first two games. If he can provide any kind of offense at all (like he did with his 4 for 5 shooting yesterday), it's going to be difficult to keep him out of the rotation. But if he doesn't, he may simply be a future replacement for NAW.

Q, you watched the game and I didn't, so my comments aren't worth much. But as I look at the stats for the 3 PGs, I'm wondering about your wish that Nix was more "point-guard-y". He had 6 assists and 2 turnovers and was a team-leading +20, while Hifi had no assists in 14 minutes and was only a +1. I'm guessing the large disparity in the +/- might have been mostly because Hifi was playing with worse players. But what did you see in Nix that made you looking for more from him, and does Hifi do much to get other players involved?

My momentary excitement about Miller after game 1 is mostly gone after last night.

2-0 so far. Lip, I think you had better delay your trip home!

I thought Nix looked for his own offense too much. He got bailed out by a VERY tight whistle a number of times. And my problem with that is I don't see it being replicable at the NBA level. And I never recall him making a pass to a rolling big. To me a PG has to be able to get the ball to bigs that roll off high ball screens (it's one reason why "point-Ant" has been a challenging experiment).

Dilly on the other hand, while lacking Nix's NBA experience, looks much more like a "real" PG whose scoring and shooting touch will hopefully come as he gets more comfortable.

I guess I think the role we need in the 3rd PG is the one Monte or JMac filled last year - that pair of safe hands that generally makes good decisions and allows others to do their thing. Not sure Nix is that guy.

[Coolbreeze44]

Lip, thanx for taking the time in writing these reports. It's always nice to hear from your up-close view. It's a really nice summer league team. Normally you like to have 1 or 2 players that are going to become nice pieces for the big club. I'd rank our prospects like this at this point:

1) Dillingham
2) Shannon
3) Clark
4) Nix
5) Edwards
6) Miller

I don't expect Miller to become a contributor at this point, but that's still quite a group for summer league. The top 3 have a great chance of being rotational pieces this season, in fact I'd be surprised if they weren't. It's really going to help offset our losses this offseason. And then when you consider Ant and Jaden are younger than Shannon, we have a lot of potential for taking another leap as a team.

[Sundog]

I probably agree with your list, Cool, but I think I’d slot Minnott above Nix, as much as I’ve enjoyed Nix in summer league. I’m comfortable with going into the season with Nix as the emergency point guard.

But I’ve been really impressed with how well Josh has taken on the challenge the coaches gave him, staying in front of his guy on defense. He’s been pretty great at that. 15 pts, 12 rebs… it seems like someone that might find a place in the rotation.

[Coolbreeze44]

I probably agree with your list, Cool, but I think I’d slot Minnott above Nix, as much as I’ve enjoyed Nix in summer league. I’m comfortable with going into the season with Nix as the emergency point guard.

But I’ve been really impressed with how well Josh has taken on the challenge the coaches gave him, staying in front of his guy on defense. He’s been pretty great at that. 15 pts, 12 rebs… it seems like someone that might find a place in the rotation.

I could easily be wrong on Josh, but I see him as the equivalent of a 4A baseball player. He looks good against a lower class of players in summer league, but looks bad against true NBA competition. This is his 3rd summer league, you would hope he would be a standout by now. Again, I've been wrong before but I just don't see him as a serious contender for the rotation.

[thedoper]

Thanks for this Lip. I think you're spot on with your take on Miller. He will continue to get looks because he acquires stats but right now I dont see a player who would contribute to a winning pro team.