| Summer League Analysis: Game 2, Vs. Detroit Authored by J.T. Magee - July 11, 2007 - 7:00 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Breaking Down The 2nd Round After a somewhat surprising first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, we find ourselves with even better match-ups in the Round of Eight.
Prospect Report: Brook Lopez Of StanfordFor a team looking for a well-developed offensive game at center, Brook Lopez is the 2008 Draft’s best option.
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Rudy Gay
I’m not sure if it was Gay being enamored with his outside game or Sammy Mejia’s defense, but Gay was struggling to get going offensively. Against China, it took a couple of plays to get his confidence going. Against Detroit, he settled for outside jumper after outside jumper. Some of his shots were quality shots and within the offense, but when he tried to get a clear-out, he would be isolated at the top and settle for a 3-point shot. Defensively, he kept on his man, but Mejia was able to get to the hoop off the ball. It was puzzling to see Gay struggle against a second round pick. I thought Gay was starting to turn the page against China, but he was on the opposite spectrum of where I thought he’d be at. He’s still young, just 21, but his youth and inconsistency are starting to out-weigh his talent. He had one of the best passes of the LVSL, on a full-court outlet to Alexander Johnson. The pass was right on the money and it showed Gay’s growth as an overall player. He needs to put it all together and figure out that he shouldn’t have to depend solely on his outside game.
Mike Conley
When Conley was at the free throw line, I discovered why his shot is bad from outside. When he brings the ball up for a shot, his right hand is in front of the ball. When he brings the ball up for the release, his left hand is barely moving to the side of the ball. When he releases the ball, he uses his left hand to push the ball to the hoop. When he does this, there isn’t the rotation or the arc needed in order to get a good bounce on the rim if it hits the rim. He needs to work on his mechanics on his shot. His feel for shooting at the right time is years beyond his age, but his mechanics are a couple of years behind his talent level. Overall, Conley was passing the orange with crispness and keeping everyone involved. He showed he’s more ambidextrous than he looked at Ohio State, but it won’t matter which hand he’s shooting with if his mechanics are still the same at the end of the season.
Alexander Johnson
Johnson is becoming a good physical presence inside for Memphis. He’s using his size well and athleticism to get near the hoop. His shot has good touch on it, but it wasn’t falling for him. Johnson tried to make his presence felt in the paint and was fairly successful. He ran the floor like a guard. He was timing his rebounds better than he was against China considering who he was going up against. Although Johnson doesn’t have the go-to post moves that are desired out of a power forward, but he proved that he’s willing to work for the extra rebound or put-back dunk. Jason Maxiell was a good test for Johnson and he proved he’s able to bang with the more physical power forward. Solid game from Johnson.
Tarence Kinsey
Kinsey didn’t have the same impact he had against China. Arron Afflalo proved to be a good defensive shooting guard and Kinsey was the brunt of his D. Kinsey still managed to make plays on both ends of the floor, but they weren’t having the same impact against the Pistons like they were against China. Kinsey has the touch in the mid-range, but he was trying to create for himself too much. He’s the type of guard who should develop enough of a handle to get to the line and to create enough space for an open jump shot. Kinsey has a shot to earn a lot of minutes under Head Coach Marc Iavaroni’s up-tempo system because he’s a scrapper on both ends of the floor. I’ll look for overall improvement in their next game, since this game was his first against legit NBA competition.
Kyle Lowry
Lowry had a lot of grit getting into the lane, constantly being able to weasel his way to the free throw line. His ability to get into the lane for a point guard was exceptional, but he wasn’t creating any shots for his teammates. Lowry is a strong point guard because of his heart and defense, but he showed his inability to run a team when he got into the lane. He’s a great point guard off the bench because there aren’t any young point guards like him in the NBA. However, he must show better vision when getting to the rack because he has the ball ion his hands and he won’t be to draw fouls from legitimate NBA big men every time he ventures in. Great game scoring the ball, but that’s not what he should be in the game for.
James Hughes
Hughes has the size and athleticism to play center in the NBA, but his basketball IQ is far from warranting a spot on the bench. There were a lot of instances where he was never close to the basket when an opposing Piston was taking it to the hoop. There were a lot of dunks in the game and Hughes was not around the hoop. He showed good instincts for blocking shots but the timing was a little off. His rebounding is so-so for a player his size and his post moves are mechanical. He is a project, but he is worth spending some time on. He would benefit from playing in the NBDL.
David Bluthenthal
Bluthenthal has the size and skill set to be a decent power forward off the bench. He’s still never doing enough offensively, settling for 3-point shots when all he has to do is pump fake, take one dribble inside the arc and shoot. Little things like that would develop his offensive game. He has the touch to consistently shoot from outside and he’s a decent offensive rebounder because he can crash the boards from the perimeter. Offensively, in the post, he hasn’t shown enough to warrant a Training Camp invite. However, his defense on Jason Maxiell in the second half was the sole reason why Stuckey had to take over. The Pistons could not get the ball to Maxiell and Bluthenthal was the reason, constantly fronting him at the perfect time in the possession. If he can show he has more of an offensive game than what we have seen so far, he has a chance to make an NBA roster. If he settles for tail-gating on the 3-point line, he’ll have to play overseas again.
Rod Benson
Benson was able to have a little more room to create when he had the ball at the top of the key. He was looking for cutters and if the pass wasn’t there, he would hand it off, set a pick and roll to the hoop. He was active on the glass on both ends of the floor. Benson is starting to show some interesting capabilities as a power forward. He didn’t much playing time due to Memphis giving former second round pick Sergei Lishouk some playing time. Benson has an outside shot at making the team based on his play at the LVSL.
Sergei Lishouk, Winston Frazier & Scooter McFadgon
These three played sparingly, so I can’t say too much about them.
Overall View
Memphis’ guards helped make up the slack for the bigs, with the exception of Johnson and Benson. They played up-tempo but had a hard time figuring out what Stuckey wanted to do. This was their first game playing against more NBA talent and they implemented their game plan successfully. Their second half adjustments on Maxiell were evident, but they let Stuckey have too much reign in the half court. Let’s see what they can do in their next game. |
