Game Report - Wolves Summer League Game 1

[Lipoli390]

Before getting to the Wolves, I’ll report briefly on the Rockets-Lakers game, which we stayed for and watched. Reed Sheppard is the real deal. He continued to stoke my man-crush on him that I developed leading up to the draft. Like Pod last summer, Reed was my only man-crush in this summer’s draft. He is an outstanding player. Super smart with an A+ feel for the game. You probably saw some of that on TV, but it really came through live. He thinks the game faster than most and has skills to take advantage of his mental acuity. He’s the same height as Dilly, but seems to be much stronger. He’s so skilled and under control you forget that he had a 42” vertical at the combine. He’s the full package and I wish we could have traded up for him. Reed is a guy who makes the players around him better and I can’t help wondering whether Dilly looked better than he really is because he was playing with Reed.

Now to the Wolves. I’ll go player by player since summer league is about evaluating players not the team.

Terrence Shannon Jr. — The second best player we saw on the court today in the two games we watched, after Reed Sheppard, was clearly Terrence Shannon Jr. and there wasn’t a close third. TSJ has the full package - speed with the ball, a quick first step, excellent handle, terrific body control, NBA strength, and a high basket ball IQ. And also he flashed some pretty impressive passing skills as well. Time and again, he made the right decision both with and without the ball. He defended well and gave great effort every second he was on the court. Yes, this was summer league play and he’s a 23 year old college senior. But we saw from him on the court today left me with absolutely no doubt he’s going to be a very good NBA player, possibly much more than very good. It’s probably premature now, but I’m going to proclaim him the steal of the draft.

Nix — Now I get why the Wolves surprised many of us by signing this guy to another 2-way deal. I thought and was hoping they’d give that slot to someone else. But after watching him today I’m very comfortable with him getting one of our 2-ways and I wouldn’t even mind giving him our 15th roster spot. He is really wide and strong. Then he surprises you with tremendous quickness and pretty explosive hops. His defensive was tenacious and really effective.

Hifi — Incredible energy from this guy. Fearless when it comes to shooting and thankfully he’s also a good shooter. Like Nix, he was a tenacious defender out there today. I really like him. I’d give him Jesse’s two-way or move Nix to the 15th roster stop and give that two-way to Hifi.

Dilly — He was pretty bad today, but I think he’ll be fine. Today’s game simply confirmed what many of us were thinking, i.e., Dilly has a ways to go and isn’t ready to step in. To his credit, he put us decedent rebounding and assist numbers and he also gave great effort defensively. His defense actually didn’t look as bad as some seemed go suggest in their GDT posts. But his shooting was terrible and he was surprisingly careless with the ball. Overall, he looked over matched and not ready for prime time. But TC says he’s incredibly competitive, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he willed himself to have a good bounce-back game on Sunday. I’ll be in Cox Pavilion watching.

Minott — Great defense today. He proved he can stay in front of guys. At times he was guarding their PG who was so intimated by Josh that he didn’t even try to get by him. He played with his characteristic high energy and competitive edge. He got some big rebounds and handled the ball well with just a couple exceptions. Loved the way he played. If only the shot would come around, but at least he looks like he shoot unlike Miller.

Miller — Speaking of MIller, I’m ready to move on. He’s clueless on both ends and still has the shooting mechanics of a middle school player.

Clark — Terrible offensively. OK defensively, but I can’t shake from my mind the image of him today literally jogging after a loose ball that he could have easily retrieved. Something about him that I don’t like. It comes back to him joining the Moore clown show.

Jesse Edwards — He looks slow and his hands weren’t impressive. Not sure he’s worth the two-way deal they gave him.

Overall, it was a blast. Loved watching the team’s tenacious defense (except for Miller). The entire organization has clearly developed a defensive culture and it’s fantastic. Also loved watching two of our new guys - TSJ and Hifi. And loved watching Nix as well. Oh, and I’m not worried about Dilly. He’ll be find and maybe he’ll have a great bounce-back game on Sunday. Looking forward it. That’s it for now.

[kekgeek]

I’m happy you had a good time. It’s a really fun SL team. 8 guys on roster who are at least intriguing. Have a great couple of days in Vegas!

[FNG]

I am so envious that you and your wife are in Vegas, Lip...this is going to be a special Summer League for our squad, I think. If you're staying at the Bellagio, go have one of those big rum drinks around the pool today followed by a 3 hour nap before heading back to Thomas & Mack!

I watched most of the Wolves game when I got home last night, and a little of the Lakers game. I agree that Sheppard has the chance to be special, and Rob's shooting was disappointing. But I'll also add this, coming from a guy who loves PGs who facilitate and protect the ball. Sheppard had 5 assists and 4 turnovers. Rob had 5 assists and NO turnovers. Hines said he has challenged Rob to show he can be a reliable backup PG by facilitating the offense and playing disruptive defense...I would argue he passed the test with flying colors. Yes, he's small...but his 3 steals showed me his quickness could be a big asset on defense. His college career tells me he's not going to have many 2 for 12 shooting nights. So I would call his debut a success.

Totally agree that TJ and Nix were our best players. Nix really looked like a veteran out there.

Clark was a disappointment. I don't think you meant to say "terrific offensively"...pretty sure you meant defensively. I love how he gets down in a defensive stance and glares at his man...he's going to be a dog on defense. Loved his three steals in 17 minutes. But while I note that you said he was knocking down shots pre-game (good to hear), his offense was terrible tonight. He's going to have to show he can score a little to earn any playing time.

Finally, I'm surprised this game made you ready to move on from Miller. I agree his game is unorthodox...hate his shooting form. But check out the box score: 10 and 6 with 3 steals in only 15 minutes. It's only summer league and he has the advantage of being a third year pro, but production like that makes me think he may have some potential.

The Wolves haven't been very good in any SL to my memory. Let's keep winning and get to the playoffs!

[Lipoli390]

A couple things I neglected to mention. First, I mentioned that KAT was in the house court-side next to Finch. Sitting to KAT’s left was a guy with a t-shirt that had “Good Guys Finish First” printed on the back. That guy was Mike Conley. I didn’t realize until I saw his face when he got up to leave after the game. Second, I forgot to mention how great TSJ was as a teammate. He was constantly encouraging teammates. My wife said he treats Dilly like a little brother, putting his arm around him when he was noticeably down about his shooting. He was the first guy off the bench jumping out to high five Josh Minott at the end of the game. Just great to see.

FNG - I corrected my post. Meant to say Clark was terrible offensively but OK defensively. I don’t think the was great defensively. But he needs some time after missing over a year of competitive basketball. I think the players are staying at the Wynn. We’re going to head down there today since we won’t be going to the arena. We usually spend one day hanging out at Wynn.

[Q-is-here]

A couple things I neglected to mention. First, I mentioned that KAT was in the house court-side next to Finch. Sitting to KAT’s left was a guy with a t-shirt that had “Good Guys Finish First” printed on the back. That guy was Mike Conley. I didn’t realize until I saw his face when he got up to leave after the game. Second, I forgot to mention how great TSJ was as a teammate. He was constantly encouraging teammates. My wife said he treats Dilly like a little brother, putting his arm around him when he was noticeably down about his shooting. He was the first guy off the bench jumping out to high five Josh Minott at the end of the game. Just great to see.

FNG - I corrected my post. Meant to say Clark was terrible offensively but OK defensively. I don’t think the was great defensively. But he needs some time after missing over a year of competitive basketball. I think the players are staying at the Wynn. We’re going to head down there today since we won’t be going to the arena. We usually spend one day hanging out at Wynn.

That Dilly to TSJ connection on the fast break was fun to see. Anxious to see if that game was a one-off by TSJ or if he can string together two or three more good showings in Vegas. The physicality he plays with is real, that's for sure.

[Leado01]

TSJ played with that intensity every game at Illinois (that he was allowed to play). He can get cold..but that's when he gets to the rim and to the line.

He's always a bull on defense

[Lipoli390]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/563450 ... -rotation/

This article captures what my wife observed about Terrence supporting Rob like a big brother.