Summer League Thread

[$LakerGold]

The Lakers just finished playing the Clippers. They were up by double digits in the 1st half. Interesting approach by Lonzo, he was rather observant than being aggressive by creating shots for himself, didn't really have that much impact on the floor. It wasn't until the 2nd half where the pacing was much different where he felt he needed to take shots. Lots of forced shots. Not sure if it needs to be addressed, but it was alarming at the rate he was putting those up.

But, it's just a Summer League game. Lol

Stellar performance by Brandon Ingram. 26 pts in 52% shooting. He looked complete. Seems like he put on some muscle, he was so lengthy & well-built. Also, Thomas Bryant outhustled everyone tonight. Great pickup by the Lakers. stretch 5 that can out hustle everyone. ****ing unicorn qualities. LOL

[dd24]

I didn't get to see much. Ingram did appear to be the most dominant player from the bit I saw. What in the world is Kendall Marshall doing in summer league btw?

[$LakerGold]

haha I have no idea. Kendall went under a PNR and Lonzo drained an open 3. Kendall on the other end, drew a foul from the 3 & made it. Get this vet out of here. :oldlol:

Just checked. Holy shit, he's only 25. :roll: Seems like he's been playing since 2005.

[dd24]

I can't imagine that Marshall is doing himself any favors. He would be better off just playing in the G league if he's trying to latch on with another team. I just looked at Ball's stat line. Pretty terrible.....

[$LakerGold]

Yeah, it was bad. There were a lot of overpassing in his part, like shots that he could have taken or layups that he could have attempted to lay in but passed it to a somewhat open man in the corner. It was one of those things. The ball movement was atrocious to begin with, lots of guys were looking impress by scoring. Lonzo was wide open numerous amount of times but the guys just wouldn't make the extra pass. But it's a Summer League roster....so.... lol

[bladefd]

Lonzo didn't shoot well and forced too many shots. That was forced offense too often. I am more curious to see improvement over these summer league games more than anything. I am not concerned yet. That was his first game since March and first game under nba rules. That shooting style of his makes me a bit nervous though..

What I want to see is fewer forced shots. More ball movement from entire roster. Less out of control plays - bit more patience from these youngsters. Keep choppin'.

[dd24]

I've always enjoyed watching the summer league games but at the end of the day there's guys that have played terrible that ended up being stars and guys that played incredible that were busts. Summer league doesn't mean much. It's just fun to see their improvement.

[tamaraw08]

Yeah, it was bad. There were a lot of overpassing in his part, like shots that he could have taken or layups that he could have attempted to lay in but passed it to a somewhat open man in the corner. It was one of those things. The ball movement was atrocious to begin with, lots of guys were looking impress by scoring. Lonzo was wide open numerous amount of times but the guys just wouldn't make the extra pass. But it's a Summer League roster....so.... lol

I think it boils down to coaching. It's kind of a weird lineup to put 2 PGs there where Blue was like you said was trying hard to impress fans and the staff. To his credit, he did proved he can really penetrate but him and Ingram were just a bit too aggressive IMO. But hey, maybe there were not enough good set plays to begin with. :confusedshrug:
I find shocking if those couple of plays where Lonzo had "tried" to pin a smaller guy from the HIGH POST was not designed by Jud.... the Fellow Arizona Wildcat who according to
https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2016/7/5/12101732/la-lakers-news-coaching-rumors-luke-walton-jud-buechler

Buechler has never coached in the NBA and it's unclear if he's coached at any level before, though he does have experience coaching his daughter's volleyball team.

It's unknown what Buechler's role will be the Lakers will be at the moment, but he's a University of Arizona alumnus, so it's obviously a good hire (as an Arizona student myself, I am required to say this).
Why did Luke assigned Jud instead of Mark Madsen whose been there with the team for at least 4 years now, is it because he didn't go to Arizona U?:confusedshrug:
BTW, assistant coach Theo Robertson who also didn't go to Arizona have left the Lakers to ALSO BE AN ASSISTANT COACH in Cal, and who replaced him to be in Luke's side? Yup, Miles Simon who himself is an AU Wildcat.
http://www.nba.com/article/2017/06/27/lakers-miles-simon-assistant-coach
Lakers coach Luke Walton announced the hire of his fellow former University of Arizona star Tuesday.


Simon recently worked for USA Basketball, serving as head coach for the junior select national team. He spent three seasons as Lute Olson's assistant at Arizona from 2005-08.

Simon also has worked as a player development coach, the director of the Nike Basketball Academy and a college basketball analyst for ESPN
Didn't see any experience there as an NBA coach but hey. :eek:

[tamaraw08]

A lot has been said about Lonzo's horrible shooting last night.
Pls note Hart and Kuzma hit a combined 0-7 too, while Brandon and Wear were a combined 3-10. :eek: If some of them were a little more decent from the 3pt area, Lonzo would have ended up with atleast 8 assists instead of 5.
Spacing was bad bec Jud decided to put Vander Blue along side Ball.
Blue is more of a penetrator, hit 27% from the college 3pt line (19.7 feet) in his 3 yrs at Marquette, 18% from the 3pt area with just 5 career games.
Last night, he just took 1 3pt shot...For Ball to be more effective, he needs a legit shooter like he had with Bryce at UCLA.

[dd24]

I don't know that Grant Hill is a fair comparison. Anybody that is old enough would remember he put up huge numbers as a rookie. He was obviously older than Ingram as a rookie, but nonetheless to average nearly 20,5,6 as a rookie is extremely impressive. If he hadn't have been injured he was a hall of famer for sure. Ingram is always going to get compared to KD. They just have similar statures. The training staff was asking him if he had grown an inch or two since last season. His reply was maybe he'll keep growing and get to be as tall as KD. Anyway around it, in order for the Lakers to be successful they will need Ingram to really step up. If he looks like a star then it would just make Lebron want to come here that much more. Could you imagine having Paul George, Lebron James, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball on the court at the same time? With that length and athleticism that would be a terror to teams lol.

[tamaraw08]

I don't know that Grant Hill is a fair comparison. Anybody that is old enough would remember he put up huge numbers as a rookie. He was obviously older than Ingram as a rookie, but nonetheless to average nearly 20,5,6 as a rookie is extremely impressive. If he hadn't have been injured he was a hall of famer for sure. Ingram is always going to get compared to KD. They just have similar statures. The training staff was asking him if he had grown an inch or two since last season. His reply was maybe he'll keep growing and get to be as tall as KD. Anyway around it, in order for the Lakers to be successful they will need Ingram to really step up. If he looks like a star then it would just make Lebron want to come here that much more. Could you imagine having Paul George, Lebron James, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball on the court at the same time? With that length and athleticism that would be a terror to teams lol.

I'm not implying that Ingram should duplicate what Hill did, I'm just looking at their style, how they use their quick first step and good handles. Grant was assigned as a "Point Forward", which enabled him to register great numbers, a lot of it is bec his teammate Lindsey Hunter is more of a spot up shooter. Luke Walton prefers more ball movement so I don't see Brandon taking that exact role that Grant had.

[kkinchen]

This young man is poised to be The Best Ever. Love the fact that he got a triple double in summer league(10 minute quarters). Very impressive.

People don't realize he averaged a triple double his senior year of high school. Showtime is coming when you get him out there running with Clarkson and Randle and Nance Jr and Ingram. I can't wait.

[dd24]

While a triple double is impressive he still shot the ball bad. The best players on the court were Kuzman & Tatum. Tatum seems to be the most NBA ready rookie. The Celtics so far are looking smart with trading the number one pick. It's still way too early to know for sure but Tatum looks like he's going to be a beast in the NBA one day.

[bladefd]

Keep in mind Lonzo's entire game is predicated on setting up others and making them better by creating for them. He is not a scoring point guard like Russell Westbrook or Steph Curry. If you are playing with teammates who are pretty much crap, you will put them in positions to succeed, but they won't be able to maximize what you give them.

It is different for playmakers and pass first pointguards than scoring pointguards and other positions. A pass first pointguard's game is based around others making shots so you want to create for them and put them in positions to succeed. Lonzo is not a scorer by any means.

The Lakers assistant coach guy also has no basketball coaching experience. He coached his daughter's volleyball, soccer and basketball teams as a volunteer 2 days a week - that's his experience lol. You will have questionable rotations and not very good plays drawn up like from a seasoned coach. This is why you can't put much stock into summer league. Especially not for a pass first PG.

[dd24]

Looks like the Lakers are scared of Lonzo getting torched by Fox again. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19956044/lonzo-ball-los-angeles-lakers-miss-matchup-vs-deaaron-fox-sacramento-kings-groin-injury?sf96871395=1

[ihatetimthomas]

Really have liked Lonzos court vision, ability to drive and kick, and ability to get fast breaks going with the ball in his hand and passing the ball up. Obvious concern with his shot. And defensively, he looks a step slow. He has great natural court vision, but his shot will need to be somewhat respectable otherwise he will be next Rubio. Still early but hope its not a sign of whats to come. His shot takes some time to release.

[bladefd]

Lakers playing it smart benching Lonzo tonight tbh. Fox is on his way to being a scoring pg while Lonzo is more of a playmaker.

In a 1v1 match and games where both teams are playing with scrubs, Fox would look better for sure. Lonzo is not a scorer and his game is predicated on others scoring while he puts them in positions to succeed as a true point. Lakers will have better players around him in regular season as opposed to summer league, thereby putting Lonzo in better position to succeed.

As a team, I expect Lakers to be better or as good as the Kings. As individuals though, I expect Fox to put up more points on the board. Lonzo will give you a little of everything, including rebounds and more assists ultimately.

[dd24]

I'm a little concerned with Zubac. He's just not doing much. He's not getting a lot of shots up and sometimes in summer league it can be hard for a big guy like that to get the ball unless the coaches put a focus on it. Even at that he's not blocking shots and getting rebounds. I feel like those are things he could always do. Just seems like he's not quite as ready as we would have liked.

[tamaraw08]

I'm a little concerned with Zubac. He's just not doing much. He's not getting a lot of shots up and sometimes in summer league it can be hard for a big guy like that to get the ball unless the coaches put a focus on it. Even at that he's not blocking shots and getting rebounds. I feel like those are things he could always do. Just seems like he's not quite as ready as we would have liked.

Very hard to defend a guy who had 0 rebs and 0 blocks for the entire game. :(
The only thing is he is only playing bet 15-16 mins/game just like Friday where Wear played 8 more mins. Is he failing to do things he's been tasked to do like getting to certain spots on the court?
Or is this by design just like when Luke started benching Mozgov bec he prefers a smaller lineup?

[dd24]

I think anyone of us could get 1 rebound luckily somehow in a summer league game lol.

[dd24]

I just saw the highlights. Looks like Lonzo just put up the best game of the summer.

[bladefd]

I just saw the highlights. Looks like Lonzo just put up the best game of the summer.

I was laughing today reading some of the Lonzo haters shift their positions from "Lonzo is a bust" to "He won't be able to do anything against actual nba players." If he does well in preseason against actual nba players, I expect many of these folks to shift to "Well, he won't do it in regular season."

:lol

I don't put much stock in summer league or preseason, but it is pretty fun regardless to watch.

[dd24]

Well, Lonzo ended up on the first team and as the MVP of the tournament. Lonzo had an impressive summer league. 4 games with over 10 assists is unheard of. Speaking of unheard of, Kuzma ended up on the 2nd team. I didn't know who he was heading into Vegas this summer. He can really score the ball and is an excellent shooter. The Lakers have been looking for that stretch 4. I could see him getting some playing time this season.

I know it's just summer league but this season's rookie class looked a notch above the previous few summers. There's 5 PG's from that class that looked terrific and it feels like they are going to be starters next season. Not to mention the wings like Tatum and Jackson. Even in Orlando the lottery picks seemed solid. Kennard was pretty good for Detroit. It seems like he might crack the rotation there, which is very rare for SVG to do.

[bladefd]

This might end up being the best class since the one that had LeBron, Melo, Wade, etc back in 03. Deepest draft we have seen in years as well.

I am looking forward to this season for sure! Much more so than last 4 years because we actually have something to look forward to rather than kobe chuck mode or youngsters not sure how to play team ball last year.

Kuzma will be the guy to watch tbh. I am hoping he can become our go-to shooter off the bench. His versatility and range could potentially make either Randle or Nance Jr expendable down the road. I kind of hope we can trade one of them, possibly Randle, for an upgrade elsewhere. I like what Nance brings defensively and the composure he brings - not the reckless fire you get from Randle.

If Lonzo can hit his shots at slightly better consistency, I think we have a very deadly weapon on our hands beyond even Steve Nash level. Even if he can't, he will still be deadly with his great court vision that truly boggles my mind. He can transform this team into one based around teamwork. A team united is vastly more dangerous than a team like the Thunder that were pretty much Westbrook dribbling around the ball for 40 minutes each night lol

[dd24]

Yeah, I think the one thing this draft doesn't have is the superstar level players. It's a lot of all-stars. There's no Durant, Curry, etc. But that's fine. Those drafts weren't as deep as this one.

[tamaraw08]

I was really disappointed Josh hart got hurt and was not able to play more than 2 games.
Everyone is talking about Lonzo and Kuzma but I think Matt Thomas if they don't sign him to a 2-way contract will be signed by another team. The guy has a real good stroke, even JVG as impressed. Shot 60% in 8 SPL games from the 3pt area. Yes, he'll have problems defending the fast guards but he can really stretch the floor out there. 4 Year player= A lot more mature.
I'm torn about Vander Blue now bec of his ability to penetrate and finish. Also has decent stroke, but I'm not sure if it'll translate. Is Ian Clark so much better tho?

[kkinchen]

I hope we sign Matt Thomas. He is a sniper from three and a big part of why we won the championship. I also would rather have Travis Wear on our roster than Luol Deng. Vander Blue deserves a training camp invite also.

[dd24]

I agree about Hart. We all would have liked to have seen what he could do against the slightly better than college competition. Vander is one of those guys I can't figure out. It's pretty obvious he can score the ball with ease. But is he just one of those guys that can dominate the G League and Summer League (kinda like Jimmer)? He had one decent game for the Lakers a few years back. He hasn't really had much of a chance for some reason. There has to be a reason after all these years not one team has given him a chance. I've always said the best players of the G league should always have a shot. He was the MVP of it.

[$LakerGold]

I agree about Hart. We all would have liked to have seen what he could do against the slightly better than college competition. Vander is one of those guys I can't figure out. It's pretty obvious he can score the ball with ease. But is he just one of those guys that can dominate the G League and Summer League (kinda like Jimmer)? He had one decent game for the Lakers a few years back. He hasn't really had much of a chance for some reason. There has to be a reason after all these years not one team has given him a chance. I've always said the best players of the G league should always have a shot. He was the MVP of it.
He was shooting "okay" in the SL, I don't know his shooting %. He likes to drive which was really nice because he did it well during head to head games. Kept the Lakers alive.

I think it's really because most of the teams are trying to replicate GSW now, and an average shooter/defender like him just wouldn't cut it. But idk, I'm confused as well. He could always be a drive and kick out guy.

[tamaraw08]

I agree about Hart. We all would have liked to have seen what he could do against the slightly better than college competition. Vander is one of those guys I can't figure out. It's pretty obvious he can score the ball with ease. But is he just one of those guys that can dominate the G League and Summer League (kinda like Jimmer)? He had one decent game for the Lakers a few years back. He hasn't really had much of a chance for some reason. There has to be a reason after all these years not one team has given him a chance. I've always said the best players of the G league should always have a shot. He was the MVP of it.

I think a lot will depend on their ability to defend and find a significant role on offense. I really like Matt Thomas' ability to shoot from the perimeter, the guy was consistently good from his college years AND SPL. But if he or Van Blue can't play good enough defense then it'll be a bad fit considering that Lonzo is also having some trouble defending. I think that was one of the biggest reasons they traded Russell aside from lack of leadership and inability to make teammates better, his atrocious defense.

[bladefd]

I was really disappointed Josh hart got hurt and was not able to play more than 2 games.
Everyone is talking about Lonzo and Kuzma but I think Matt Thomas if they don't sign him to a 2-way contract will be signed by another team. The guy has a real good stroke, even JVG as impressed. Shot 60% in 8 SPL games from the 3pt area. Yes, he'll have problems defending the fast guards but he can really stretch the floor out there. 4 Year player= A lot more mature.
I'm torn about Vander Blue now bec of his ability to penetrate and finish. Also has decent stroke, but I'm not sure if it'll translate. Is Ian Clark so much better tho?

I felt Hart looked uncomfortable out there, but he didn't play much. He will have plenty of time throughout preseason to get acclimated to nba. Hopefully he gets comfortable enough like Kuzma and Lonzo

[bladefd]

Jeez, a lot of people watched the Lakers games :lol
Lonzo style of play filling up seats and getting high ratings

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFHSMqeU0AAuyXz.jpg

[dd24]

Being in Vegas they're basically like home games for the Lakers fans. It's not quite as convenient as the Pyramid lol. That means that more of us had to watch at home though. Plus there wasn't much to be excited about these past few years. At least now they have some good young talent to watch in the summer.

[tamaraw08]

I felt Hart looked uncomfortable out there, but he didn't play much. He will have plenty of time throughout preseason to get acclimated to nba. Hopefully he gets comfortable enough like Kuzma and Lonzo

Well the first game, he hardly played along side Lonzo so he was not set up well in the perimeter plus...just like Lonzo, he probably was too nervous and excited.
It would have been nice to see if he really fits well along side the other regulars like Lonzo, Kuz and Zubac. If he can indeed defend the perimeter etc.