Blazers vs Knicks! Summer league game thread! Satuday, 1pm!

Will Barton was impressive. Robinson and Freeland also played well. McCollum has regressed from last summer.

 

Shoutout a hoolah! to HCP for muscling the TV guys to stop destroying every SL game with a quarter-long interview. First time in years.

That was your doing, HCP?

 

Well I was afraid CJ was our next Nolan Smith. Gonna love Blake come regular season. Allan Crabbe is making Luke Babbit look like an allstar so far

 

Hard to feel good about our bench when they lose to a bunch of guys that haven't played in the NBA.

 

My pick for worst player is actually Bobby Brown, because we looked better with him out of there and he stopped us playing CJ or Will more at the point. Again I ask, why no Appling? Is the plan to give each of the PG candidates a game to see if they can cut it?

I wish there were Summer League trades. I think the Blazers and Brown would both be happy with him gone. He's used to being a primary scorer but was clearly aware that he had to show he could distribute.

 

Shannon Brown! Hardaway Jr.!

 

Its summer league, its fun to watch but its like watching a guy in college and projecting what he will do in the NBA, its very hard to do.
I guess I should take out the "fun to watch" comment because we just looked out of sync and just overall sloppy. I liked Trob he played great and Barton was okay at times but CJ just seems like he couldn't get into a rhythm and it effected every part of his game.

 

We no longer have the Stampede to stock with SL players so I don't think the roster fillers have much value

 

I was disappointed with CJ in the first half, but he really picked it up in the second. Notably they started that half with no Bobby Brown. And, as people pointed out, even when his shot was clanking, he was getting steals. He's no Nolan Smith, I promise. (But he doesn't look much like Reggie Jackson, either.)

 

So TRob, Will and Joel are the only NBA ready players playing today for the Blazers

 

Hardaway can ball. I remember him going nuts in the Rookie/Sophomore game.

 

CJ was alright.

 

We need SL trade threads. I want Dee Bost and I'll give up Appling to get him. With Paul Allen's money we have a chance.

 

I don't think we need to get too down about this. The only signed player who looked lost was Crabbe, and we're used to that. Everybody else both had their moments and had their bloopers. People are singing TRob's praises, but he still has hands of stone. And the Knicks' "steal" Cleanthony Early looked totally pedestrian. I'm kind of pleasantly surprised Larkin didn't go off on us, because we don't really have anyone designed to stop waterbugs.

 

The refs definitely called a ton of ticky tack shit.

 

We have more draftees than other teams, so we're supposed to be better. But I have come to learn that non-draftees play harder. It's like watching "Desperate Women."

 

I thought Barton played quite well. He didn't shoot it great but was 1-2 from 3pt range for 11 points to go with his 7 rebounds and what should have been 6-8 assists. Multiple times he set up his teammates perfectly only to have them miss chippies, wide-open jumpers or simply fumble the ball away.

If he was playing with the regular roster, he would have been nearing triple/double range.

Crabbe looked awful and can't believe how much CJ bricked it up from the FT line. Thought he was supposed to be a shooter.

Nice game from T-Rob other than the turnovers, a couple of which would have been assists for Barton if he holds on to the ball. Quite impressed by Will being under control and making a lot of the right decisions even if there wasn't the desired result.

 

And then swallowed the whistle at the end when Freeland got clobbered.