Minnesota Sports Forum

I want to see Shabazz hit the winner, cmon!

Well so much for that...

I thought Shabazz made a fantastic play setting up Dieng. Unfortunately, Dieng does not know what do with the ball on the offensive end.

Shabazz is winning me over with his focus, effort and passing.

Of course, as I type this, Shabazz turns it over with seconds remaining... :(

Damn it Shabazz is a choker...

Shit... even though it's only SL it still sucks

Ouch...Marcus twins and PJ Tucker too much for the Wolves. Hummel was marvelous, Brown played well, Shabazz had a terrible second half including a key turnover with 3 seconds left, and Dieng didn't look ready for the NBA. Entertaining game though.

We lost on a buzzer beater. LOL nice.

I spent 15 minutes reviewing some of the game, and I have to change my impression of Lorenzo Brown. He played well in the first half...much better than his first game...but wasn't very good in the second half. Of the players with a chance to make the roster, only Hummel and CJ looked good. CJ showed a much improved passing touch, and had 3 assists to go with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.

One of the things I always look at in college prospects are non-scoring stats because they tend to translate more reliably to the NBA game than the scoring stats. In looking at Shabazz's UCLA numbers, the red flags were going up left and right. And sure enough, in two games as a starter in Summer League, he's managed a total of 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, and 0 blocks.

And as a scorer, his numbers at UCLA actually weren't that impressive either, sporting the worst TS% of all the wings taken in the first round. He was just willing to shoot more than most. For some reason in Flip's book, a guy that's willing to jack up shots is a "natural" scorer. Really? That's just a guy that's natural at wanting to score. There is a big difference between desire to score and actually being good at it. He lacks handles, quickness, and the ability to go right. His go-to shot is a 12-15 foot leftie push shot over the defense because he can't get by anyone. And his size is not nearly as much of an advantage as an NBA wing versus a college wing. Not good.

Sorry to pile on so early, but I have seen absolutely nothing from Shabazz that would indicate he's ready to step in and contribute this season. Nothing. And unfortunately, CJ and Dieng aren't showing me much either.

Q, I think you nailed it here. And these were the reasons he was the last guy I wanted us to draft.