Game 1 Phoenix vs Portland SL (SPOILERS)

Obviously these refs weren't on the jury. They think everyone is guilty of something.

 

I might not be thrilled with the loss or crappy play by most, but the one thing I wanted to see the most I saw, CJ is for real.

 

Bottom line, Phoenix pushed us around. Not just on the boards, but when they played defense. They took us out of what little rhythm we had and we crumbled.

 

One of the reasons I think we barely make the playoffs and then lose in the first round (probably badly) is that we don't play defense. It is a point of emphasis every year but we don't seem to get any better.

 

My take:

CJ: He's ready now, he CAN run the point. He was the best player on either side, by a lot.

Barton: Able to get his shot, completely unable to finish. Stats will look better than he played because he hit a few at the end in garbage time. We spent too much time trying to develop him which cost us the game. Reminded me of last year when we spent a lot of our summer league time putting Babbitt in the high post, then cut him the next year. He's worth developing, but he needs more seasoning before he's a reliable contributor.

Crabbe: Nondescript, need to see him in more games to evaluate.

Freeland: Not an NBA player, gets no respect from the officials.

ML: A 3rd string player. Fringe NBA players are not afraid of him on either side of the ball.

TRob: Good player, but not dominant. Wish they would have gone to him more.

Terrel Harris: Gotta cut him. Why? He played well. The problem is that ML has clearly demonstrated he's a 3rd Center. We need to either cut Harris' nonguaranteed contract or just waive Freeland. We need a backup C badly.

Defense: it sucked in the 2nd half. If you want to watch the game tonight, I highly recommend just watching the 1st half.

 

All y'all need to remember, this is the first game after a butt load of time off, playing with new people in a abnormal situation. Chill the fuck out. This does not mean anything. In aggregate all of the summer league games can inform, but the first game is full of jitters and nerves, out of shape players and no plays learned or understanding of how your teammates move and react.

 

anyone want to give Ewill another chance and dump Barton?

 

Sure but for all we know the guy is still injured/can't play.

 

Thanks for the updates, all -- couldn't watch, but sounds about like what I'd expect. Really excited to see how CJ plays with DL...

 

Last year I saw for the first time in my life a 7 footer shooter desperation junk shots from his waist. This is a basketball abomination. A year later, he's still doing it. The main problem is between his ears - some things are obvious after 1 game.

 

Yes.

 

I bought the summer league pass today thinking that I would be able to see the replays of the games after they ended. Still can't watch anything. Anyone else having the same problem? Do I have to wait until tomorrow?

 

Freeland looked better when we first drafted him. At that SL he was active and looked like he had a clue -- at 19.

 

Yeah, he's been a major disappointment. I wonder if he'd agree to cancel his contract so he can go back to England.

 

Would you volunteer to give up 5 or 6 million dollars of free money?

 

If he got out of his contract, he could go to England and make the same amount, so it wouldn't really be like giving up money, it would be like quitting your job and taking one somewhere else with equal pay.

 

NBA contracts are guaranteed even if you get hurt (for a year or for life) or you just don't play well. I don't believe European contracts are.

 

I'm watching nbatv why is this not on?

 

1030

 

Ok cool beans. Thanks fez. I'm drunk and want my fix