SL Game 2- Wolves vs. Pacers GDT

[Lipoli390]

Miller looks like this stage is to big for him. He easily gets outplayed by the competition and his shot looks more like a heave and a prayer. Minott could do well as a rebounder and screen and roller, but still needs to show more on defense. I hope Finch has a plan to play some of these guys with the top 8. 4 starters and Minott would look better than 4 subs and Minott.

I’m not sure how much more Minott can show on defense. His on-ball defense has been consistently excellent in these first two summer league games. It’s been fun to watch that along with him attacking the boards and catching long passes and finishing. He has terrific hands and solid body control.

My remaining issue with Josh is the lack of any offensive game beyond catching and finishing on the break. His handle is better than two years ago and he’s actually a good passer. But he doesn’t appear to have the skill development yet to score on dribble penetration. And his three point shot isn’t quite there although his mechanics look good.

One thing about Josh I forgot to mention is that he is definitely taller than he was two years ago. We saw him standing right next to Miller just 10 feet in front of us and he’s now at least as tall as Miller. Miller is listed at 6’10, Josh at 6’8. Josh must have grown 2 inches since we drafted him. And he looks even more athletic than he did 2 years ago in summer league.

I wouldn’t put money on Josh getting rotation minutes with the Wolves next season or the season after (last two years of his contract). But I wouldn’t bet against it either. I’m convinced he’ll eventually be an NBA rotation player somewhere a la Josh Okogie, but longer and possibly a better shooter.

[Coolbreeze44]

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[Coolbreeze44]

Lip, again Minott hasn't proven anything on defense. Guarding SL players says very little, you know this. The worst thing is you have me talking about a guy who isn't going to dress every night. Shame on me for taking the bait. This seems a lot like the Jared Culver debate that lasted for years.

[Coolbreeze44]

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[KG4Ever]

All completely fair, I considered bumping all those grades up when I was doing it. Overall I’m really happy though 2 games how the young guys have looked

Huh? The two "youngest guys" are RD and Miller and you have given your worst grades to those two. So you really like the older SL guys like TSJ.

I don’t believe kek is grading on some sort of age-sensitive sliding scale. I know I’m not. So one would expect the older players to get higher grades than the younger ones based on them having more experience and more physical development. I’d give Dilly a B- or maybe a B for today, but I can’t go higher given his poor (albeit better) shooting. When I factor in his age and look at his excellent feel for the game as well as his shooting efficiency in college as a freshman, I remain excited about him long term as very good starting PG - maybe more than just very good. I’m really pleased to see the 21 year old Minott consistently stay in front of his man in both games and grab 12 rebounds today. I know you love Miller, but he looked terrible today. He just doesn’t seem to have much of a feel for the game and I don’t see him showing anything close to the level of intensity I’ve seen in all the other Wolves summer league players. Because of his youth and talent I’m still not giving up on him long term, but I just can’t see a great better than D for his play in today’s game.

Lip, you are one of the older posters here, should I grade you tougher or give you some slack? Just asking for a friend.

[KG4Ever]

Its kind of funny the whole notion of summer league grades. Seriously, does anyone think our season will depend on any of our summer league players? Come playoff time, Finch would rather play our top 7 returning guys anyway. Maybe, this whole board should lighten up and not take these random grades too seriously.

[KG4Ever]

All completely fair, I considered bumping all those grades up when I was doing it. Overall I’m really happy though 2 games how the young guys have looked

Huh? The two "youngest guys" are RD and Miller and you have given your worst grades to those two. So you really like the older SL guys like TSJ.

I don’t believe kek is grading on some sort of age-sensitive sliding scale. I know I’m not. So one would expect the older players to get higher grades than the younger ones based on them having more experience and more physical development. I’d give Dilly a B- or maybe a B for today, but I can’t go higher given his poor (albeit better) shooting. When I factor in his age and look at his excellent feel for the game as well as his shooting efficiency in college as a freshman, I remain excited about him long term as very good starting PG - maybe more than just very good. I’m really pleased to see the 21 year old Minott consistently stay in front of his man in both games and grab 12 rebounds today. I know you love Miller, but he looked terrible today. He just doesn’t seem to have much of a feel for the game and I don’t see him showing anything close to the level of intensity I’ve seen in all the other Wolves summer league players. Because of his youth and talent I’m still not giving up on him long term, but I just can’t see a great better than D for his play in today’s game.

I honestly don't even care what you or kek grade. But I do enjoy giving you crap about your silly grades.

[KG4Ever]

Miller looks like this stage is to big for him. He easily gets outplayed by the competition and his shot looks more like a heave and a prayer. Minott could do well as a rebounder and screen and roller, but still needs to show more on defense. I hope Finch has a plan to play some of these guys with the top 8. 4 starters and Minott would look better than 4 subs and Minott.

Keep in mind that TSJ wasn't an NBA caliber player at Miller's age. It took him 5 years and a weak draft to get the NBA scout's attention. Maybe, Miller becomes a bust or maybe he's a late blooming impact player, but given that we have Dozier and open spot on the roster, I'm really happy to have Miller who is making less than any regular roster player.

[Lipoli390]

Huh? The two "youngest guys" are RD and Miller and you have given your worst grades to those two. So you really like the older SL guys like TSJ.

I don’t believe kek is grading on some sort of age-sensitive sliding scale. I know I’m not. So one would expect the older players to get higher grades than the younger ones based on them having more experience and more physical development. I’d give Dilly a B- or maybe a B for today, but I can’t go higher given his poor (albeit better) shooting. When I factor in his age and look at his excellent feel for the game as well as his shooting efficiency in college as a freshman, I remain excited about him long term as very good starting PG - maybe more than just very good. I’m really pleased to see the 21 year old Minott consistently stay in front of his man in both games and grab 12 rebounds today. I know you love Miller, but he looked terrible today. He just doesn’t seem to have much of a feel for the game and I don’t see him showing anything close to the level of intensity I’ve seen in all the other Wolves summer league players. Because of his youth and talent I’m still not giving up on him long term, but I just can’t see a great better than D for his play in today’s game.

Lip, you are one of the older posters here, should I grade you tougher or give you some slack? Just asking for a friend.

lol. KG - You remain one of my favorite posters on this board.

[Lipoli390]

Miller looks like this stage is to big for him. He easily gets outplayed by the competition and his shot looks more like a heave and a prayer. Minott could do well as a rebounder and screen and roller, but still needs to show more on defense. I hope Finch has a plan to play some of these guys with the top 8. 4 starters and Minott would look better than 4 subs and Minott.

Keep in mind that TSJ wasn't an NBA caliber player at Miller's age. It took him 5 years and a weak draft to get the NBA scout's attention. Maybe, Miller becomes a bust or maybe he's a late blooming impact player, but given that we have Dozier and open spot on the roster, I'm really happy to have Miller who is making less than any regular roster player.

And that’s why I’m not writing Miller off even as I give him low grades for poor play. Same for Minott. What troubles me about Miller, however, is that he seems (stress on the word seems) to lack the foundational competitive fire, intensity and basketball instincts essential for development into an NBA caliber player. Minott has those foundational characteristics along with great length and athleticism. So the question for Minott is simply whether he’ll develop the key skills and polish to be an NBA player. Miller needs to develop those skills and polish too, but I fear he lacks the foundational stuff. I could be wrong and sure hope I’m wrong because Miller’s ceiling is very high - certainly higher than Minott’s in my view.