SL Game 2 - Wolves at Nuggets GDT

[rapsuperstar31]

Has anyone seen other guys in SL that you would be really interested either on a 2-way or maybe a non guaranteed NBA contract?

David Jones Garcia playing for San Antonio's summer league team has looked really good so far. I don't believe he is on a 2 way, or any kind of contract.

[Lipoli390]

Watched an entire summer league game for the first time since... ever?

Just a couple of random observations...

- I heard Clark passed up at least one open three in the opener. He did again Saturday. He looks pedestrian on offense and it will be his largest hurdle in the NBA. It was expected to be before the draft. I think last year might prove to be the anomaly. He's limited, but guys like him and Okogie have a place in the L... in limited amounts.

- Rob Dillingham seems to have one of the tighter (and looser) dribbles in the L. One other note... I don't like how he retreats when defended strongly. Granted, the reset gets him in position to get by his guy and create. But, being able to just fly by a pressing defender without the reset (which lets the entire defense reset as well) is MUCH better.

- Beringer was quiet, but made "winning" plays, basically, rebounds and kickouts for shots. BUT... the NBA summer league is the antithesis to "winning basketball." There are very real and valid reasons all of these guys are playing in the league... and most do not have a shot at an NBA roster. What I'm saying is... it's a very low bar. I'm optimistic to see more though, and that's exciting.

Abe, I think you are spot on with Dillingham. He sometimes throws off guys trying to set screens for him too by going too soon or rejecting it. Too much herky jerky stuff at times and not enough decisiveness.

I somewhat disagree with your other two points. On Clark, I trust his body of work last season in the G-League and actual NBA games more than what we are seeing in Summer League. He already proved that he's not Josh Okogie in terms of his outside shooting. Now I don't know if he hits them at 40% again, but he proved that he was a credible threat from beyond the arc last season.

On Beringer, I'm not sure which game you watched, but in the first one he played against Missi, who was literally a starting NBA Center last year and was playing alongside Derik Queen, the second Center picked in the draft and one of the more offensively polished prospects. Neither of those guys could do much in the paint with Beringer there.

While I'm generally pretty cautious about prospects, if I just watched him play without any knowledge of his age and lack of basketball experience, I'd conclude that he could be ready for some spot minutes at Center next season in games that matter. I'm not talking about 15+ minutes every game, but spot duty on a semi-regular basis in games that matter.

But it's just assumed that he won't be - not because of his actual play on the floor but because of his age and lack of experience. Why is it that Derek Lively II at age 19 could contribute to a Mavs deep playoff run two seasons ago, but Joan Beringer won't even play next season (according to some of our favorite pundits)? May be we should trust our own eyes!

I agree with all your takes, Q, although I’m still a little skeptical about Clark’s offense. Interestingly, your take on Dillingham’s lack of decisiveness is exactly one of the very few issues TC identified when talking about Dilly in exit interviews right after the season ended. I think the term TC used was “overthinking” and doing too much with the ball rather than just making a play.

Taking my cue from what Flip Saunders told me, when evaluating young players you should focus on what they do well, especially what they do really well, not their weaknesses. When I look at Dilly that way, I remain extremely high on him. He’s a bucket getter with a terrific shot from both behind the arc and mid-range. He’s also an excellent passer and lightening quick with the ball. He has a high-rev motor, is competitive and takes a very serious approach to the game. He needs to stop overthinking and just make plays as you and TC have suggested. There’s no reason to believe he won’t make that correction in a relatively short period of time. He needs to improve his finishing at the rim, which will come with repetition and more strength. Finally, he needs to be less careless with the ball, which will likely come with more experience.

[Monster]

Watched an entire summer league game for the first time since... ever?

Just a couple of random observations...

- I heard Clark passed up at least one open three in the opener. He did again Saturday. He looks pedestrian on offense and it will be his largest hurdle in the NBA. It was expected to be before the draft. I think last year might prove to be the anomaly. He's limited, but guys like him and Okogie have a place in the L... in limited amounts.

- Rob Dillingham seems to have one of the tighter (and looser) dribbles in the L. One other note... I don't like how he retreats when defended strongly. Granted, the reset gets him in position to get by his guy and create. But, being able to just fly by a pressing defender without the reset (which lets the entire defense reset as well) is MUCH better.

- Beringer was quiet, but made "winning" plays, basically, rebounds and kickouts for shots. BUT... the NBA summer league is the antithesis to "winning basketball." There are very real and valid reasons all of these guys are playing in the league... and most do not have a shot at an NBA roster. What I'm saying is... it's a very low bar. I'm optimistic to see more though, and that's exciting.

Abe, I think you are spot on with Dillingham. He sometimes throws off guys trying to set screens for him too by going too soon or rejecting it. Too much herky jerky stuff at times and not enough decisiveness.

I somewhat disagree with your other two points. On Clark, I trust his body of work last season in the G-League and actual NBA games more than what we are seeing in Summer League. He already proved that he's not Josh Okogie in terms of his outside shooting. Now I don't know if he hits them at 40% again, but he proved that he was a credible threat from beyond the arc last season.

On Beringer, I'm not sure which game you watched, but in the first one he played against Missi, who was literally a starting NBA Center last year and was playing alongside Derik Queen, the second Center picked in the draft and one of the more offensively polished prospects. Neither of those guys could do much in the paint with Beringer there.

While I'm generally pretty cautious about prospects, if I just watched him play without any knowledge of his age and lack of basketball experience, I'd conclude that he could be ready for some spot minutes at Center next season in games that matter. I'm not talking about 15+ minutes every game, but spot duty on a semi-regular basis in games that matter.

But it's just assumed that he won't be - not because of his actual play on the floor but because of his age and lack of experience. Why is it that Derek Lively II at age 19 could contribute to a Mavs deep playoff run two seasons ago, but Joan Beringer won't even play next season (according to some of our favorite pundits)? May be we should trust our own eyes!

I agree with all your takes, Q, although I’m still a little skeptical about Clark’s offense. Interestingly, your take on Dillingham’s lack of decisiveness is exactly one of the very few issues TC identified when talking about Dilly in exit interviews right after the season ended. I think the term TC used was “overthinking” and doing too much with the ball rather than just making a play.

Taking my cue from what Flip Saunders told me, when evaluating young players you should focus on what they do well, especially what they do really well, not their weaknesses. When I look at Dilly that way, I remain extremely high on him. He’s a bucket getter with a terrific shot from both behind the arc and mid-range. He’s also an excellent passer and lightening quick with the ball. He has a high-rev motor, is competitive and takes a very serious approach to the game. He needs to stop overthinking and just make plays as you and TC have suggested. There’s no reason to believe he won’t make that correction in a relatively short period of time. He needs to improve his finishing at the rim, which will come with repetition and more strength. Finally, he needs to be less careless with the ball, which will likely come with more experience.

Someone from the coaching staff said something like he dances around with the ball looking to do something they want him to more often just go and make a play. I think Dillingham absolutely has the skill to do all the stuff to set up and go but they are right sometimes he needs to make a quicker decision. That takes time. I remember when Lavine was a young player I think it was Sam Mitchell than said he would also ways get the ball and immediately dribble it but they wanted him to stop that so he could pass or shot right away. Over time we started to see that happen and it made Lavine a much better offensive player. There are likely small things lime this Dillingham can do to get better. I'll also say he is easily better on D now than Lavine was his first year or so but the bar was pretty low.