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Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 3:02 pm
by Monster
Rosas is here watching the Knicks Pistons game.
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 5:00 pm
by Lipoli390
Monster wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 1:45 pm
I'll add some observations on my time in vegas the last few days.
I went to Kenny Chesney concert at the Sphere. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. I had gone to the Sphere last November and Saw Wizard of Oz and it was cool and I thought a concert would be really good and it easily exceeded my expectations. I'm not a massive Kenny Chesney fan (I enjoy his stuff) but he was good and his bad was really enjoyable to watch as well.
Yesterday I went to The Valley Of Fire State park. Maybe of the more exciting trails to see things were closed for the season due to the heat but it was still pretty neat. There was one drive I went back and did it again because it was just awesome coming down and seeing the few of the various rock formations. I'm hoping to come back another time. I had a rental car for my trip but Airbnb (I'm sure other places) have tours that seem pretty reasonable consider you have to drive out there pay to get in etc. I liked being able to do my own thing but especially for one person a tour for like $150 ain't a bad deal and I'm cheap. Lol
Fremont Street experience later in the evening is a fun vibe. They have live music every night on 3 different stages. Most of them are cover bands but they are pretty good. One tonight I think has some original music so I think I will go again tonight. They have some original artists also every couple weeks the other night it was Sleeping with Sirens and the immediate area around the stage was really packed. If you don't mind walking a couple blocks you can park on the street on like 3rd Street south of the Fremont experience. It seemed pretty safe to me. Those streets are maybe surprisingly clean.
Fantastic, Monster! You’re getting everything out of this trip you possibly can. How much longer are you going to be there?
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 5:32 pm
by Monster
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 5:00 pm
Monster wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 1:45 pm
I'll add some observations on my time in vegas the last few days.
I went to Kenny Chesney concert at the Sphere. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. I had gone to the Sphere last November and Saw Wizard of Oz and it was cool and I thought a concert would be really good and it easily exceeded my expectations. I'm not a massive Kenny Chesney fan (I enjoy his stuff) but he was good and his bad was really enjoyable to watch as well.
Yesterday I went to The Valley Of Fire State park. Maybe of the more exciting trails to see things were closed for the season due to the heat but it was still pretty neat. There was one drive I went back and did it again because it was just awesome coming down and seeing the few of the various rock formations. I'm hoping to come back another time. I had a rental car for my trip but Airbnb (I'm sure other places) have tours that seem pretty reasonable consider you have to drive out there pay to get in etc. I liked being able to do my own thing but especially for one person a tour for like $150 ain't a bad deal and I'm cheap. Lol
Fremont Street experience later in the evening is a fun vibe. They have live music every night on 3 different stages. Most of them are cover bands but they are pretty good. One tonight I think has some original music so I think I will go again tonight. They have some original artists also every couple weeks the other night it was Sleeping with Sirens and the immediate area around the stage was really packed. If you don't mind walking a couple blocks you can park on the street on like 3rd Street south of the Fremont experience. It seemed pretty safe to me. Those streets are maybe surprisingly clean.
Fantastic, Monster! You’re getting everything out of this trip you possibly can. How much longer are you going to be there?
I fly back to Lincoln Wednesday morning. I'll have been gone for about 2.5 weeks total but it feels like it's gone by pretty fast!
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 5:43 pm
by Monster
Fun game between the Raptors and Pacers. Smith wasn't all that thrilling but the 2 guys sitting behind me that sounded like they were with teams in Europe seemed to think he will not have problems finding work there. They also had some nice things to say about my guy Reink Mast who had a pretty nice game with 23-10 and had a shot at winning the game on a nice setup by Smith but he was blocked into oblivion. Lol Mast is sort of the perfect SL center. Solid moves well enough to to be a complete liability and can handle the ball pass shoot and plays hard. He is big and strong enough to rebound. He is gonna have a nice career playing basketball somewhere. He was a bit of a mixed bag at times but he was part of what got Indiana back in this game when they were down by a lot and they had 2 points.
If you like watching undersized PGs Indiana is your Jam. First you have Breaden Smith and then Yuki comes in with cheers from the crowd. He is definitely a big fan favorite. He is reasonably talented and did some good stuff in this game.
Watching Mast it did make me think more about if the Wolves signed a guy that can play Center while Beringer guards PFs. That's probably asking a lot and idk if there in any guys I have overlooked because they are really more like centers. We have already talked Olynyk and even a little about Kevin Love.
Slawson looked pretty good for for the Pacers. He looks bigger than 6'7" out there.
The Raptors have 2 lengthy centers in Bottle and G-league defensive player of the year Sharpe who is 7'4 or 7'5. Shape makes Rocco look like he is a heavyweight.
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 7:09 pm
by Monster
Halftime thoughts on Memphis Dallas
Boozer has 13 and 5 but has been honestly underwhelming. I'm actually a Boozer fan so I'm surprised at how he has been blocked stolen the ball away from him in the paint etc. He has looked frustrated at times which makes sense.
For the if you want a lengthy wing that can run and offense and sling passes all over but can't score for himself De Larrea is your guy. If he can make 3's he has some real potential to be a nice complimentary player. He makes sense playing with someone like Cooper flag. He held up when having to guard bigs including Boozer one possession.
Ishchenko looks like he is maybe 16 but Google claims he is 21. He has shown some nice game here. He has some nice ball handling passing and has gotten into the paint and looked to finish but was blocked by good plays not because of him being to small or not athletic. It's just a half of basketball that I have seen him but for a late round pick he is intriguing.
I keep forgetting Barea is coaching the Grizzlies not the Mavs.
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 8:15 pm
by Monster
DeLarrea finished with 16 and 12. He was absolutely dealing assists at one point throwing perfectly places lobs one had whip passes etc. Boozer did steal the ball at the top of the key but otherwise he was really good in this half. He halso had a sidestep 3 and then a cat h and shoot 3 a few possessions later and nailed all the 4 FTs at the end of the game to help seal it. His other guard counterparts went 1-2.
Boozer was still a little underwhelming but he made several good passes making her right decisions and hit a corner 3 late toake things interesting.
It's interesting that I think the mavs seemed to play better without their top draft pick. I'm pretty sure they have struggled in their previous 2 games but I could be wrong.
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 8:33 pm
by FNG
Monster, thanks for all your updates on summer league...it is a unique experience for an NBA fan, isn't it? I share your concerns about Boozer...I think he will be "serviceable" at least, but perhaps not worthy of a top 3 pick in such a stacked draft. I'm glad you were able to watch De Larria. Some of us who are Rubio fans are intrigued by him, and his 16/12 tells me he has some potential.
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 9:02 pm
by Monster
FNG wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 8:33 pm
Monster, thanks for all your updates on summer league...it is a unique experience for an NBA fan, isn't it? I share your concerns about Boozer...I think he will be "serviceable" at least, but perhaps not worthy of a top 3 pick in such a stacked draft. I'm glad you were able to watch De Larria. Some of us who are Rubio fans are intrigued by him, and his 16/12 tells me he has some potential.
I watched a few highlights but didn't dive too deep into him. The reports I read heading into the draft made home sound like a guy that could play PG not exactly a for sure guy there. Today he looked kinda special in that regard. He isn't the best athlete but he looks big and good enough to defend and do his thing.
I think Boozer simply is too skilled to not at least be a pretty good player. I was thinking he kinda reminds me of Sabonis because of his passing and while I don't think he is an explosive athlete he is better athlete than Sabonis is. I also think he is a smart player too. Will he be a star? Idk but he probably won't be a miss. There is value in that.
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 9:03 pm
by BeenLurkin
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 5:00 pm
Monster wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 1:45 pm
I'll add some observations on my time in vegas the last few days.
I went to Kenny Chesney concert at the Sphere. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. I had gone to the Sphere last November and Saw Wizard of Oz and it was cool and I thought a concert would be really good and it easily exceeded my expectations. I'm not a massive Kenny Chesney fan (I enjoy his stuff) but he was good and his bad was really enjoyable to watch as well.
Yesterday I went to The Valley Of Fire State park. Maybe of the more exciting trails to see things were closed for the season due to the heat but it was still pretty neat. There was one drive I went back and did it again because it was just awesome coming down and seeing the few of the various rock formations. I'm hoping to come back another time. I had a rental car for my trip but Airbnb (I'm sure other places) have tours that seem pretty reasonable consider you have to drive out there pay to get in etc. I liked being able to do my own thing but especially for one person a tour for like $150 ain't a bad deal and I'm cheap. Lol
Fremont Street experience later in the evening is a fun vibe. They have live music every night on 3 different stages. Most of them are cover bands but they are pretty good. One tonight I think has some original music so I think I will go again tonight. They have some original artists also every couple weeks the other night it was Sleeping with Sirens and the immediate area around the stage was really packed. If you don't mind walking a couple blocks you can park on the street on like 3rd Street south of the Fremont experience. It seemed pretty safe to me. Those streets are maybe surprisingly clean.
Fantastic, Monster! You’re getting everything out of this trip you possibly can. How much longer are you going to be there?
I went to Vegas maybe three years ago and Fremont street was the highlight. The rest of the strip was a nightmare. We walked from Luxor to the stratosphere and then got a cab to freemont. If you’re an adult and on a budget go to Fremont. Beers are cheep and live table games still exist in a way they did 20 years ago. The strip is full of fake table game money traps. It’s sad, all the bartenders on the strip lamented the covid drop off yet these casinos were all removing poker rooms and just installing more machines. I sat at some rando dollar table during a nfc championship game and had the time of my like check raising local unc’s and gettting $25 back rubs with my $3 Budweisers.
Re: Summer league observations.
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2026 9:40 pm
by Monster
This Utah Bulls game isn't wildly thrilling. Caleb Wilson looks talented but is looking like a young player.
Orlando Robinson looks like a vet that has played in the NBA. He looked that way when I watched part of the first Jazz game too.