It's Only Practice, but...
by Stop-n-Pop on Jul 15, 2008 7:41 AM CDT
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PrintThe 1st Summer League game is in the books and while we're all aware that it's just a practice game, there are a few things to take note of:
- Kevin Love is going to be able to rebound in the league. No matter what happens with the rest of his game, he's going to grab a lot of rebounds on the basis of his strength, positioning, and grit. He had 13 (5 offensive) in his debut.
- The Wolves may have assembled one of the worst Summer League teams in league history. The Mavs were bringing players like Shan Foster and Derrick Low off the bench. The Wolves had a few former Gophers and...well, it was ugly and the Mavs won on the strength of their bench.
- Pooh Jeter, Blake Ahern, and Drew Neitzel are not the droids the Wolves are looking for at the backup point. Here's hoping there's a Plan B to backup Foye.
- It was very nice to see Kevin Love make in-game adjustments. He had a terrible 1st quarter where he didn't seem capable of shuffling his feet side to side and he picked up 4 quick fouls. After the 1st, he settled down, moved a ton without the ball, hit the boards hard, and was quite effective. You could see by the end of the game that the points knew they could get the ball at 1/2 court anytime Love got a rebound or threw the outlet pass. He also is going to make his living on the pick and roll with real players like Foye, Miller, and McCants around him. It's too bad the other players on the team didn't seem capable of moving without the ball so that he could highlight his interior passing ability. Seriously, there was a lot of standing around going on outside of Love. It's pretty obvious when you watch someone who knows how to play surrounded by those who don't.
- Corey Brewer made a number of fantastic moves to get open last night. Of course, he followed up on these moves with equally un-fantastic moves right back into the teeth of the defense. Brewer seemed hell bent on taking the path of most resistance to the hoop. There were several drives where he found himself in space and instead of elevating for the shot, he kept on spinning and driving towards the backboard. It was nice to see him aggressive and I doubt that we'll ever see him create a bunch of his own shots, but...well, here's hoping that he was having the same issues with the surrounding talent level as was Love.
- Getting back to the awfulness of the Wolves' team, I don't think they have a single scorer or backcourt playmaker on their entire squad.
- Did I mention that the Wolves have assembled a terrible SL squad?
- It was nice to see Dwayne Casey at the head of a bench again.
- Cupcake didn't get to play.
- Things to look for in the next game:
- Will Love pick up early fouls?
- Will Brewer play more under control?
- Will Love look for his shot a bit more with zero talent around him?
- Will Carney play?
- Which over-matched guard will figure out that running the pick and roll/pop with Love is probably the best way to make the team?
That's about it. What were your final thoughts on the meaningless game?
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Interesting point about Brewer.
I lived in Toronto during McGrady’s time there, and I remember the announcers (smart guys) used to get on him about making things tough for himself, basically saying he had to realize he didn’t get extra points for degree of difficulty. (This is before he was a star, back when he was a 19-yr-old averaging 4 a game.) I’m not saying Brewer’s going to turn into McGrady (let’s hope not on the defensive end hehe), but he’s very young, and will be fine once he learns, as you say, to take the path of least resistance. (Either that or he turns that fadeaway hook shot into a real weapon…um…)
I kept on saying to myself...
...”wow, nice move” when he would start his drive, only to slap myself in the head when he would spin right back into traffic. Jalen Rose used to have this nice little running push shot that would do wonders for Brewer. He had about 5-6 drives last night where he found himself open in the lane just below the free throw line and each time he chose to dribble further rather than put up a shot. This is one of the aspects about CDR that really intrigued me. He is a player that knows how to get his shot off in space. All of these wing players can find a bit of space and if they have little push shots and hooks that they can deploy off the wrong foot or in the lane, they’re better for it. While it may look a bit awkward, there’s nothing nicer than a wrong footed running one hander in the lane.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Great Rose reference...
I agree with the push shot…though I also think Brewer has to get to the point (like McGrady did) of realizing that regardless of how big these guys are, they are probably not going to block your shot – he’s too long and gets up too quick – maybe someone like Camby or Ratliff could get a piece of it, that’s about it, in my mind no one is touching that 8-foot pull-up J.
Jalen also had this real nice red suit he used to wear, on draft night for example, let me see if I have a picture of it somewhere…
Exactly...
...with the point about Brewer not getting his shot block if he just relied on his length, quickness, and leaping ability. Find space, elevate, and put the ball on the rim.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
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