Watch Summer League -- GS vs. Hornets -- NBA.com

<div class="quote_poster">custodianrules2 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Did you see that putback attempt by Brandan Wright? Damn. Nice moves by Belinelli btw.

I like how Patrick O' Bryant destroyed Jackson Vroman in the post. LOL.</div>

Wright?? I thought he wasn't playing due to the hip thing...

edit: oops AO beat me to it

 

Oh nah ! -- Bellinelli comes off the screen and releases before he can even see the rim -- all net, plus the foul!

 

That was awesome!

 

<div class="quote_poster">AlleyOop Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Brandan Wright hasn't entered the game. He is DNP. He has a lingering injury and he may be sitting out the entire summer league. I think that was C. Powell (not Josh Powell), #34.

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/games/...meId=1520700005</div>

Ok, thanks for clarifying. It's hard to tell because the video quality is really bad on my end. BTW who is #26? POB right? He had a nice play earlier.

Nice dunk by Kelenna LOL. Great assist by Pierre Pierce.

 

I assumed cus was talking about Julian Wright but got the wrong first name. But I won't be surprised if Nelson invites another former UCLA Bruin Toby Bailey to preseason camp. Pierre doesn't look bad either. What happened to Lasme? He only played like two and a half minutes. Did he get hurt?

 

Well, that was fun. All games will be on nba.com. Also, many will be on NBA TV -- channel 416 on Comcast. Here's the schedule, showing televised games:

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/schedules/index.jsp

This was a good game to watch. GS won.

Belinelli: 37 pts on 14-20 FG

Azibuike: 29 pts, 6 reb

Pierre Pierce: 21 pts

 

<div class="quote_poster">DTKennedy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Wright?? I thought he wasn't playing due to the hip thing...

edit: oops AO beat me to it</div>

Yeah my bad.

BTW, how about Belinelli, Pierce and Azubuike today?

Put those guys in at small forward or shooting guard and we might have some really good Nelly ball performance off the bench. They might be too small defensively, but they were moving with and without the ball very well and they were just very natural at scoring.

 

I found myself getting all giddy every time Belly's name was mentioned with a play. I only got to see the last half of the 4th quarter, but he had some nice plays and 34 pts at the time. I guess I am officially a fan of Bellinelli!

 

Belinelli is a beast!

 

<div class="quote_poster">custodianrules2 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah my bad.

BTW, how about Belinelli, Pierce and Azubuike today?

Put those guys in at small forward or shooting guard and we might have some really good Nelly ball performance off the bench. They might be too small defensively, but they were moving with and without the ball very well and they were just very natural at scoring. </div>

Belinelli was a man among boys!

 

I'm glad that an NBA team is finally taking a chance on Pierce. If he can get his head straight, he can be one of the best guards in the league. Does anyone else remember watching him in his Big Ten ROY season for the Hawkeyes?

If any of you guys post in the college forums, you know what a big fan of the kid I was at the time. I'm still a fan of his game; he's quicker with the ball than anyone I've seen since Charlie Bell, and he's a lot bigger and more explosive than almost all of the point guards in the game today. It's hard to get behind him as a person though, especially after he's been given chance after chance to reform and continues to screw up.

For those of you who don't know his history, here's a brief of it from Wikipedia -

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">2002

In 2002 Pierce was charged with third degree sexual abuse. At a parole hearing in 2005, he described the event, "It was a friend I knew."[1]

Pierce eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault causing injury. Pierce sat out the 2002-2003 season, completed 200 hours of community service, a year of supervised probation, and counseling. Afterwards, since he had successfully completed the terms of his plea bargain, the charge was expunged from his record.

Since Pierce had no prior criminal record, he was held out of competition for one season, taking a redshirt year, but he was allowed to remain on the team. That decision sparked a number of campus protests by students, who wanted Pierce removed from the team. The protests also objected to what some felt was excessive involvement by school officials and Coach Steve Alford in mediating the criminal charges against Pierce. [2]

2005

In January of 2005, Pierce was involved in an incident with his former girlfriend at her townhouse in West Des Moines, Iowa. According to police reports, Pierce threatened to harm the woman while displaying a kitchen knife, forcibly removed her clothing, and made unwanted sexual advances.

Following confirmation by the police that Pierce was a subject of a criminal investigation, coach Steve Alford dismissed Pierce from the basketball team. Alford stated that "...(Pierce) betrayed the trust we placed in him when he was given a second chance two years ago." At the time, Pierce was leading the team with 17.8 points per game, and he had a total of 1,072 career points.[3] Pierce unsuccessfully appealed his dismissal from the team.

On February 9, 2005, Pierce turned himself in to the West Des Moines police. Pierce was initially charged with felony first-degree burglary, false imprisonment, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, two counts of domestic assault and criminal mischief. On August 22, Pierce entered into a plea agreement in which he pled guilty to third-degree burglary, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, false imprisonment, and criminal mischief. He will serve a five year suspended sentence and probation for the burglary. On October 28th, Pierce was sentenced to two years imprisonment on the assault charge and one year each for the false imprisonment and criminal mischief charges.

After 332 days in prison, Pierce was released from the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on September 24, 2006. While his sentence was reduced because of good behavior, Pierce still faced four years of probation. He was also required to register as a sex offender following release.[4] On March 8, 2007, Dallas County judge Gregory Hulse rejected Pierce's attempt to leave Iowa in order to pursue a career in the National Basketball Association.[5] Pierce had been restricted to living in Iowa during the terms of his probation. However in May of 2007 officials in both Iowa and Illinois agreed to Pierce's request to move back to Illinois to live with his parents.[6]</div>

His line tonight - 31 minutes, 21 points (7-15 FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers

 

VC, I remember that because Wtwalker is a fan of the hawkeyes and he mentioned it. Pierre Pierce's got skills, but I don't want him getting in the way of all these young guards we have in the rotation. Plus the major reason is I don't like the idea of having a guy that's worse than Sjax in terms of off-court behavior. Sjax is a thug, this Pierre Pierce guy is possibly a perverted psycho. I would say no. Azu, Ellis, and Belinelli over this guy any day of the week.

If he's truly reformed, yeah it might be worth it if we figure Azu is more of a small forward and we want Ellis to play the point. But, I'm not so sure about the off-court behavior thing and giving this guy any kind of nba money. But oh well, I do like his game.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">His line tonight - 31 minutes, 21 points (7-15 FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers</div>... and 0 forced sexual assaults, awesome.

 

There's lots of nice stuff about Marco on the nba.com home page now. Here is their article about the game. It is kind of strange that he tied Ike Diogu for second most points in the Las Vegas summerleague. Fortunately Marco isn't undersized like Ike is. But Marco also says he likes the team's game style. That is good to hear, though perhaps not extremely shocking.

BTW on a few of Marco's open fast break points for easy dunks, I was waiting for the 360 to happen. But yeah, go Marco! Rookie of the year, at least so far, haha.

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting nba.com:</div><div class="quote_post">Golden State 110, New Orleans 102

LAS VEGAS, July 7 -- Marco Belinelli and Kelenna Azubuike lit up the COX Pavilion Saturday afternoon in the first game of the second day of action at the NBA Summer League. The duo combined for 66 points en route to the Warriors 110-102 win over the Hornets.

Belinelli, a 6-5 guard from Bologna, Italy, played professionally in Italy for each of the past five seasons, was the 18th overall pick of the Warriors in the 2007 NBA Draft. His 37 points (14-20 FG, 4-6 FT) tied the second-most points in the four-year history of the summer league in Las Vegas. Ike Diogu had 37 points for the Warriors in 2005, while Keith Bogans set the record with 38 points for the Orlando Magic in 2004.

“I like it a lot,” Belinelli said of the Warriors style of play. “I can grab a rebound and run up the court, it’s a lot different from what I’m used to.”

Azubuike’s 29 points (10-20 FG, 6-7 FT) came on a variety of drives to the basket and long-range jump shots. Guard Pierre Pierce chipped in 21 points (7-15 FG) in the win, while 2006 lottery pick Patrick O’Bryant had a game-high 10 rebounds.

The game was a see-saw affair that had nine ties with the last coming at the 3:20 mark of the fourth quarter. The Hornets had a shot shortly thereafter to take the lead on two free throw attempts. The Warriors capitalized on their next opportunity, a three-point shot by Toby Bailey and took the lead for good, while scoring 14 of the final 20 points down the stretch. Overall, the score changed hands 14 times.

The Hornets used a 16-2 run in the second quarter to take their first lead of the game at 53-52 late in the quarter. New Orleans’ lead ballooned to 12 (72-60) on an Anthony Roberson lay-up and foul shot mid-way through the third quarter.

13th overall selection Julian Wright was impressive in his NBA-debut scoring 10 points (5-9 FG), grabbing three rebounds and blocking one shot for the Hornets. Wright displayed a lightening quick first step, soft jump shot within the collegiate three point line and was everywhere on the defensive end. On one sequence, Wright came from the weak side of the defense to block a Warrior shot, grabbed the rebound and dribbled down the court before dishing to second round pick Adam Haluska for a lay-up.

“I thought we did a god job defensively today,” Wright said of his first NBA game. “I felt pretty comfortable out there and just tried to do anything I could to help the team. I expect us to be 4-1 at the end of the league.”

Point guard Roberson led the Hornets in scoring with 22 points (8-15 FG), while center Hilton Armstrong collected 17 points (5-11 FG, 7-7 FT) and five rebounds.

“Last year I just wanted to get the feel for it”, Armstrong said of his game “This year, I want to work on some things offensively. Take this into training camp and just go from there.

Armstrong, who looked to have added a few pounds of muscle in the off-season, showcased a nice jump shot from the college three-point line in his 19 minutes of play. He went down with a left ankle sprain with 6:25 left in the game and did not return. He is probable for the Hornets next game against Minnesota on Monday.

“It’s a little sore but alright,” Armstrong said of the ankle sprain. “I just have to rest up, I’ll be back.”

NOTES: Warriors’ rookie Brandan Wright of North Carolina did not play due to a hip flexor.</div>

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/games/...WNOK/recap.html

 

The game is on the nba.com archives now.

http://www.nba.com/video/index.html

 

Yeah, the difference between Marco and Diogu is that what Marco did in the first game are shooting with quick release and Jordan-like fadeaway, which should work in regular NBA, while Diogu basically pushed away lesser opponents with his strength. Marco won't average 37 pts in NBA by any stretch of imagination, but at least he looked pretty comfortable in his first summer league. I was worried about Marco, because he had subpar year in Europe and not-so-great workout, but the first game was extremely impressive...

 

Wow thasnks for posting the archive game. i plan on watching it in a bit. I had no idea it was on...iw atched both the chinese team vs memphis..... why is Yi playing on the Chinese team and not for the bucks....interesting...also the lakers pick was there.

I would have to say Yi looked good. He has really good footwork in the post and likes to upfake and step through. He has a nice shot with pretty rotation and looks a lot stronger than i imagined. As they say he has a great base. The chinese is simply too slow .... they were out quicked the whole game .... and defensively Yi is a bit slow and reaches but the effort is there. I can see why people are high on him and he does remind me of dirk minus the range. He gets the ball near the hole and finishes strong.

I also watched some of the portland/boston game..... not much to say..g.erald green is coming along..... lamarcus aldridge looks great....

I cant believe i missed the dubs

 

<div class="quote_poster">HiRez Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">... and 0 forced sexual assaults, awesome.</div>

LOL. I'm sure he'd lead the entire nba at some point in his career.

I'm watching the game again, I'm truly amazed how accurate Marco is taking those off balance shots off the screen. His shoulders are always squared up and his release is picture perfect and quick. Nice. I'm sure some of the excitement will die down when he has an off shooting night and he's finding it hard to score against stronger opponents inside. But, when he's on, please set this guy some screens and get ready for the offensive rebound just in case! The guy can't miss much when that happens. Also, a plus is that his high arc on his jump shot lessens the chance that a missed shot will bounce out to the other team's backcourt to start a fast break against us. That was often in the case of guys like Dunleavy, Richardson, Clif Robinson, and Murphy who were all so tall (or one of them so high jumping) they'd have to shoot downward to feel comfortable about making a three pointer, and then the ball would bounce back out. Less arc, means less chance of an angle to softly touch the inside of the cylinder for a made basket.

Azu was also pretty impressive to me even though he missed a few shots badly. Azu made up for it with his hustle and his court awareness. I think he belongs in the nba much like he should have been a late first round draft choice. Consistent play is the key for him. In today's game he made good decisions rather than trying to force the issue.

I think POB did a good job on the boards as well, but in a game where guards typically control the ball and let guys get by on defense, I don't think centers or power forwards have much chance to set the tone. But that's okay, the Warriors summer league team has to match the tempo and go towards their strengths which means ride Belinelli, Azu, and Pierce. While POB did a good job filling the lane and rebounding, I hated his shot selection. It was piss poor at times. It was like he was trying to play in the same way that Marc Jackson plays by taking perimeter shots. For him to get a chance in summer league he needs to be scoring on point blank shots that the smaller team has no way of defending. But his shots... I think he took two of them from far out which weren't even close. Thank goodness he only took a total of four shot attempts. The guy should go inside or roll towards the basket for the layup or dunk. That's the only way to slow the tempo of fast guards and forwards trying to run out. Score point blank, make them inbound the ball, make the other team go perimeter. Defensively, POB made some mistakes, but he also was more of a presence inside the paint than any of our other guys. I think he was better than Josh Powell today and right about equal with the opposing center (Hilton Armstrong) even though that guy scored a lot more. Both were intimidating shotblockers for their respective teams.

Former Warrior Anthony Roberson also did pretty well for New Orleans. I hope he gets rewarded by joining some nba team. He's a good shooting guard, but can he be a good combo guard? He's kind of small, but he can shoot. Overall, I liked the game. Very close type of game until the Warriors ran away with the 3rd and 4th quarters.

BTW, Rudy Gay in the Grizz vs. China game was awesome. He totally posterized Yi when Yi tried to cover on help D. If I were Yi I'd be mad at whatever slow poke forward was supposed to guard him. LOL. But then again the Chinese team looked totally slow, even the guards. They got nobody athletic and strong except for Yi.