Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaars ago. Come on dude. You do recognize that summer league has evolved by leaps and bounds, no?
Not as much as you want to make it seem. The gap from being an NBA guy to a fringe NBA guy isn't that big of a margin. Now if were talking NBA stars vs fringe NBA player than yes. The main objective when they came out with SL was to showcase undrafted and free agent talent in hopes they could get training camp invites. Giving the high draft picks burn was a "well why the hell not" type decision.
Actually, has anyone else been reminded of Malone when watching Swannigan? Especially when he takes that one footed fade away style shot ala Karl?
Somewhat. I think the basic instincts and fundamentals translate. Of all the skills that translate from one level to the next, rebounding has the highest correlation (but still isn't universal). The caveat is the stupid 10 foul rule. 10 fouls in a 40-minute game??? Are you kidding me? I know the refs suck, but you are giving these guys a free pass to hack away. So, beware of guys who are posting good rebounding or defensive stats, but also racking up 7 or 8 fouls a game. That simply isn't realistic at any level and doesn't teach these guys how to play good defense without fouling. That was one of the negatives about Collins in college, that he racked up a lot of fouls for a bench player that only averaged 17 MPG. So far, and it's only been two games, he has shown the ability to play good defense without committing excessive fouls. I find that mildly encouraging. But, it's only been two games of summer league play. I try not to overreact, one way or the other, to such a limited sample size in a compromised setting. BNM
