Breaking Down Summer League 2013

[Squishypoo [enjin:6648839]]

Summer League 2013 is in the books, and as the week for the Timberwolves came to an end they leave Las Vegas with a 3-3 record and the distinction of, despite being eliminated from the championship tournament, winning their last game thanks to a 72-66 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. It was a taxing week as Minnesota played six games in seven days--including five straight from Monday through Friday--but a productive week. The rookies got a chance to see what life is like at the NBA level, and some veterans got a chance to showcase their talents and possibly play their way into a Training Camp invite somewhere around the league.

In case you missed any of the action, I broke down some of the storylines that developed over the week. I think the most important thing to remember about Summer League is this is a tournament meant for rookies to grow and journeymen veterans to help the younger guys get acquainted with the game while doing their own auditioning for a job. In the end we saw a mix of both here in Vegas this week.

Top Rookie: Lorenzo Brown

Of the drafted rookies, guard Lorenzo Brown had the best overall week out of a group that includes Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng. Brown averaged 8.3 points per game and shot 50 percent from 3-point range over the week, and he saved his best statistical game for last when he posted 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists against the Blazers on Friday. He also had 11 points and six boards in a blowout win against the Kings on Wednesday. Brown seemed to improve and get more acquainted with the NBA game as the week went on. He started Summer League with an eight-second back court violation in his first game because he was still used to the 10-second college rule. He finished the week by being on the court and making the right plays that ensured the Wolves a six-point win.

"I feel comfortable, that was basically the whole thing I had to do was get comfortable and try to figure out what type of players the guys are," Brown said. "That's my job as the point guard. I thought I did a pretty good job this last game."

Muhammad and Dieng had their moments as well, and coach David Adelman said all three of the rookies improved throughout the week. Muhammad's best game came on Wednesday against Sacramento when he scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and hit 3-of-4 from 3-point range. His biggest task moving forward is finding his flow in the offense and eliminating some of the shots he takes early in the shot clock. Dieng saved his best game for last, scoring 10 points and blocking three shots against the Blazers. But he'll be tasked with learning to play defense at the NBA level without getting into foul trouble.

Those are things that are expected out of rookies at Summer League. That's what this week is for.

"I like the progression of all our young players," Adelman said. "Sometimes progress is made through mistakes and failures. It's just how you learn from it day-to-day."

The key is being able to add consistency.

"Let's have success in short bursts and let's learn to extend that and play consistently solid and well for minutes at a time, not possessions at a time," Adelman said.

Top Veteran: Othyus Jeffers

Othyus Jeffers has spent time in the NBA with Utah, San Antonio and Washington--even playing 16 games for Flip Saunders with the Wizards in 2010-11. Since then, he's spent most of the last three years in the D-League. You could tell Jeffers has that veteran experience in his play this week. He's a tenacious defensive player who brings a ton of energy and impressed a lot of people with his play in Vegas. He completely shut down lottery pick Ben McLemore on Wednesday--holding McLemore to zero field goals on the day--and continued that type of intensity and versatility throughout the week.

"We knew he was a professional--he's been in the league--but the type of shape he's in, the way he competes, the way he guards three positions, he just goes about his business the right way. It's good for the young guys to see him play."

Jeffers might have worked his way into a Training Camp invite with his Summer League play this week. We'll see if that happens come September.

3-Point Efficiency

The Wolves' biggest strength this week was from beyond the arc. They wrapped up the week shooting 44.3 percent from 3-point range, and that includes cooling off during their last two games against the D-League Selects and Portland. Four players--Lorenzo Brown, Kee Kee Clark, John Holland and Demetri McCamey--shot 50 percent or better from 3-point range during the week. Those four combined to shoot 36-of-71 from beyond the arc, with McCamey opening up the week shooting 8-of-11 from distance in his first three games. Minnesota is stressing enhancing its 3-point efficiency on its NBA squad this year, and bringing in shooters on their Summer League roster fits the philosophy Flip Saunders and company are trying to follow. At the very least they got a chance to see a collection of sharp-shooters this week to keep tabs on moving forward.

Turnovers, Free Throws Were The Difference

The Wolves shot 47.7 percent as a team this week from the field, so scoring wasn't the issue. Minnesota actually led all Summer League teams with 51 percent shooting through their first three games. That's the good news. The bad news is Minnesota struggled with turnovers throughout the week, and it cost them a couple games. The Wolves averaged 25 per game through three contests and ended the week with 109 turnovers in six games. Again, that's what Summer League is for, but with the way the team shot from the field there's a chance the Wolves could've left Vegas with a winning record if those miscues were limited. The Wolves also at times had trouble keeping opponents off the line. They allowed 154 free-throw attempts in the six games, including 38 to the D-League Selects on Thursday.

Speaking Of The D-League Selects...

The Wolves got two games against the D-League Selects this week, losing both contests but hanging with the D-Leaguers in both. The Wolves actually had a double-digit lead against them in their first meeting. The reason I'm bringing this up is since the purpose of Summer League is development, getting a chance to play two games against the D-League Selects is actually a pretty good scenario for the Wolves. The NBADL brings their top players who haven't signed on to play with an NBA Summer League team, so they're all professionals and veterans who are fringe players trying to get onto an NBA roster. They're all playing for a chance to get a Training Camp invite. The D-League brings a physical brand of basketball that will help these younger Wolves players get acquainted with what life will be like in the NBA. The D-Leaguers have a lot to play for, and they have a lot of experience.

Hummel Stood Out Early

Robbie Hummel looked far more comfortable and consistent in his second Summer League stint with the Wolves. He started five games--he didn't play in the finale due to five straight nights with games and leading the team in minutes per game--and he averaged 8.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field. He was versatile, and he helped the Wolves by guarding multiple positions within games both on the wing and down low. The Wolves certainly like his desire and his determination to make it at the NBA level.

Balanced Scoring

The Wolves were about as balanced as you can be this week in the scoring department. No player averaged more than 8.7 points per game (Kee Kee Clark led the team), but six players averaged more than 8.0 points a night and nine of the Wolves' 13 players averaged at least six points per game. Adelman rotated the starting lineup a lot as 11 players got a chance to start, and really there wasn't a big difference between having the starters or the bench in during any game this week.

Stat of the Week

The Wolves finished 3-3 for the tournament, but their losses were more competitive than their wins. The Wolves lost three games by an average of four points a night. They won three games by an average of 17.7 points per game. That number is skewed by a 38-point win over the Kings, but taking that outlier out the Wolves won their other two games by an average of 7.5 points.

[Lipoli390]

Thanks for the report, iLove!! Excellent work. I was only able to see one of our summer league games, so I really appreciate it. Who among our summer league participants do you think will end up getting our final roster spot?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I think Brown gets the last spot. There have been rumors that Flip wants one more ball handler and you have to like the fact that his size makes him able to guard 1's and most 2's. He averaged 8 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 1 steal throughout summer league and was very active on the defensive end, while being one of the few with a positive assist to turnover ratio 13:11. Being that we are talking about the last spot which won't result in playing time unless the injury bug hits again, I think he gets the spot with his 2nd round salary and ability to play 2 positions and give us some more ball handling and defense.

[Squishypoo [enjin:6648839]]

I think Brown gets the last spot. There have been rumors that Flip wants one more ball handler and you have to like the fact that his size makes him able to guard 1's and most 2's. He averaged 8 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 1 steal throughout summer league and was very active on the defensive end, while being one of the few with a positive assist to turnover ratio 13:11. Being that we are talking about the last spot which won't result in playing time unless the injury bug hits again, I think he gets the spot with his 2nd round salary and ability to play 2 positions and give us some more ball handling and defense.

Agreed!!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Very good write up, ILMS...thanks for posting.

I agree that Brown and Dieng exceeded my expectations. I don't think we can expect Brown to consistently shoot like that...in all fairness, at least one of his threes was banked in...but he showed good athleticism and vision along with an ability to beat his man off the dribble and get to the basket. He may not make the roster this year, but he's certainly worth a long term look. Dieng looked lost at times, but also showed flashes of great promise. He is a huge upgrade over Steamer athletically, a much better rebounder, and showed a nice mid-range touch with good form. I'm optimistic about Dieng.

Muhammad is another story. I watched him a lot last year, and while I was fully aware of his flaws, I also saw some of his strengths transferring to the NBA game. I was really disappointed in his Summer League performance. I'm not going to document the flaws he revealed because they have been much discussed on this board, but suffice it to say he does not look NBA ready. RA and his coaching staff have their work cut out for them to turn this one-time top prospect into a serviceable NBA player. Remember that a year ago, Shabazz was being talked about the way Andrew Wiggins is now...the buzz here in LA about his coming to UCLA was huge. He certainly didn't look like that kind of player during summer league.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

MN Sports, You might want to cite your source or post the link before copying and pasting an article written by someone else.

Guys, this was written by Mark Remme and was posted on the Wolves website.

[Jakapoo [enjin:6588675]]

I did not think Shabazz looked that bad. His shot was just not dropping and he was tentative to shoot. It was clear that he wanted to show he can be a team player, and I really enjoyed his passing ability. The only flaw I saw that was terrifying was the fact that he was beat off the dribble almost 50 times. That was scary, but at least the effort was there.

[Porckchop]

Yeah I was gonna say, this lil "write up" looked a lil to familiar.

[Monster]

I want to mention that I am almost positive that the trainer Bazz was working with before the draft was tweaking his shot a bit and that could account for his poor shooting especially at the FT line. still the guy ended up shooting what 39 percent from 3? Not too shabby. He played 1 year in college and is 20 so yeah he has a lot of work to improve but hey there is a decent chance he can get better. Bazz should hire Jeffers (totally deserving os some praise in the article) to practice against to kick his butt and help him learn how to stay in front of a man on defense and to play hard all the time. Jeffers was fun to watch. Overall though there is no doubt Bazz was disappointing especially staying in front of his man and his ballhandling. there were positives, but not enough to really get excited about.

Hummel played well, but as time went on he didn't stand out as much but thats because other guys found themselves and things started to flow better on both ends. He definitely knows the game and showed he was healthy. He won't have finding a job on this planet playing basketball somewhere.

Brown did play better as time went on and even the first game I liked how he slowed things down even if he did get an 8 second call he was doing the right thing keeping the pace from getting out of hand. I just don't know if he has enough tools to make him more than just a guy that can run an offense if you have to play him minutes. Thats not to say he sucks or anything just being realistic. the reality is nobody on this team played a ton of minutes so you don't know as much what they could do in a 30 minute chunk of time. He played solid and the 3 point shooting was nice.

Dieng I really liked what I saw out of him. I think they didn't play him against smaller bigs because he wasn't as effective against them, but I think that will change to a certain extent as time goes on. He is more of a shot changer than say Steimsma who just was a shot blocker and Dieng really does have a nice touch on his jumper. I actually think he looked better than what I expected and I am big fan of his.

Chris Johnson He played really well and he is still a flawed player but he showed some nice things he can do and added some really sweet passes. He did look bigger int he upper body and I don't know if that will help him much at least he put forth the effort to get stronger. I think he can end up having the net impact as Steimsma did last year because he has a better jumper and overall more of a threat on offense and his D will be only a little worse than Steisma was. Not bad for a cheap end of the bench big.

Other guys. Brandon Paul looks the part of an NBA guard. He showed some skill. Clark can score not sure about much else. McCamey was interesting especially when he was raining jumpers. Holland showed more skill than i was expecting, but fell in love with his jumper sometimes. Sikma is a good player to have on the SL team I could see him getting on a roster at some point for an NBA team cause he is smart actually is skilled and kows how to play. Won't have a hard time finding a job playing somewhere. I am probably leaving out a couple guys but oh well in a few weeks we will have basically forgotten about them. =)

Overall to be honest there wasn't a guy on the SL roster that jumped out at me enough i would give them a really good chance to make that last roster spot. I'd be tempted to leave it open because you might be able to use that open spot in a trade or before the season starts pick up a player that someone else doesn't want. Its tough to say what we really need at this moment, btu lets say Rubio went down with an injury we would be down to just 2 PGs and thats a little scarey when we have just one SG or SF that can really dribble well and thats Martin. 2 PGs get hurt and Martin probably has to bring the ball up a few minutes a game. SF could probably use a bench guy too though cause if say Bud and Brewer got hurt you would have Williams and Cunningham and Shved to play there, but right now thats no true SF which is where we were lat year and it was kind of brutal. Maybe Williams will transition more to SF this year so thats covered. Obviously if you went guard Brown would be a logical choice and maybe you could go for Hummel if you wanted a SF, but I am really not sure he can guard SFs. Its hard to say for sure, but the guy sure drew a bunch of charges and some were very impressive. Anywho it will be interesting to see how things shake down. I am not going ot worry a great deal about that 15th spot. =p

[Leado01]

I wouldn't be shocked to see Brown go to the D-League (to work on his handle) and the Wolves eventually sign Paul to that last slot. He has an NBA ready body, can play 2 positions, and can shoot. I like Hummel but I don't see us signing someone with that kind of injury history (esp since it's really a developing spot). Again - I'm an Illini fan so my bias is showing (McCamey or Paul would work).