Lilliard named co-MVP of Vegas summer league

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...mian_lillard_grizzlies_josh_selby_select.html

 

http://sportstwo.com/threads/184417-NBA-Draft-Thread-Vol.-2-(Merged)?p=2605163&viewfull=1#post2605163

 

Selby ain't no PG!

 

The Co-MVP was a good call. Even really rewarding someone with an "MVP" after four or five games is a joke, but that's always been the nature of these small events.

Lillard dominated and had more of 'complete' performance than Selby, but what Selby did was also very impressive and telling in his own right.

Selby hacked up a lot of shots, and a lot of them were ill-advised, but he knocked them down at a high percentage and did so very consistently. Most of the time that he'd throw up those contested attempts, I'd cringe and think, "Why the hell did he take that?!" but then the shot would then fall through the net as Selby fell on his ass.

However, I get the feeling that Lillard's performance was more of a foreshadowing of a great rookie season, and Selby's was more irrelevant. You can't be sure how much time he'll get next season or if the Grizzlies plan on playing him at the two with Mayo's departure (because NBA TV never asked our coach real questions), but at least as Blazers fans, you know Lillard could be given the playing time and touches next season that he got in Vegas. As Grizzlies fans, we're looking at Tony Allen and Mike Conley taking up the majority of backcourt minutes, and our only first round pick (Wroten) and only signee thus far (Bayless) will be vying for minutes alongside Selby. There are only so many opportunities to be had for Selby with our current roster.

 

In today's NBA, is there really such thing as a PG? In a few years there will just be guards.

 

You have seen your day, Durant and LeBron!

We have one of the top two finishers for MVP of one of the two annual summer leagues held this week!

 

I agree, I just don't think Selby will be a primary ball handler.

 

Yeah, and with his lack of size, that could make it hard for him to find a niche on the NBA level.

However, Selby playing SG could be a distinct possibility this season with the addition of Wroten. He's tall and quick enough to defend the two but a decent enough ball handler to allow Selby to play the two on offense, just like they did in summer league this year.

The only thing is that Wroten's not the best decision maker, and I'm not sure how much time a team that's trying to at least make it to the WCF is going to want to give to a rookie PG that makes questionable decisions. If the Grizz throw a backcourt of Selby/Conley or Bayless/Selby out there, they're giving up a lot of size defensively, especially with their best defender, Tony Allen, already being on the bench.

 

I think there absolutely is. Probably more so than at any other time in the league's history. The difference is that there are a lot of scoring point guards now. Point guards are the players that initiate the offense for their team though. You will see exceptions like LeBron in Miami, but point guards are the directors for their teams.

 

There was no doubt in my mind that he was going to take home the hardware after the third game.

 

OH, Kingspeed! Spelling Lillard's name wrong in a thread honoring him. 50 lashes with a wet noodle!

 

If there was a *deduct rep points* option this would definitely warrant it!

 

I thought the whole idea behind a punishment was to make it unenjoyable? 50 lashes with someones noodle in a hot tub sounds like a Saturday night for Kingspeed

 

Whoa, I didn't add hot tub! That's why it's a mild punishment. And I get to pick the noodle!

(this thread is going bad places)

 

Even Memphis knows he isn't a PG. He's a tiny SG who will never be an NBA starter.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-120721/daily-dime

As I said yesterday, he's a smaller version of Bayless, and less athletic.

 

The league has always been a combination of "pure" PGs (like Bob Cousey), scoring PGs (Gail Goodrich, Tiny Archibald) and combo guards (Jerry West). Until the Bulls rolled out the triangle, the offense was almost always initiated by the PG (or combo guard). The triangle in Chicago and LA took the ball out of the hands of the "PG" (John Paxson, BJ Armstrong, Derek Fisher, etc.) and turned them into spot up 3-point specialists.

Good coaches will always find a way to get the most out of their talent. You want the ball in the hands of your best player as much as possible. When you have Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James you want them to have the ball more than John Paxson, Derek Fisher or Mario Chalmers.

BNM

 

Hell, the bulls ran with two shooting guards in their backcourt.

Ron Harper and MJ.

 

Plus a 'point forward' in Pippen. Bottom line is teams still need a primary ballhandler to initiate an offense and also run a break. The Bulls had all three that could initiate a triangle set, and both Pippen and Jordan could drive the ball down the court on the break.

Selby hasn't proven he can involve others while creating his own offense, and he's a second-year player. Just because the "PG" position has changed (which I disagree with, but I'll play along) doesn't mean that teams don't need somebody to take care of the ball and involve others in the offense. Whether that person is short or tall, it doesn't matter, but every great team has a player who can dominate the game with the ball in his hands and create offense for himself and others.

 

Sam Amico ‏@SamAmicoFSO
Posting my list of best & worst at NBA summer league shortly. Blazers PG Damian Lillard best summer performer I've seen since Durant.