Who's the most impressive rookie you've seen? For me it's Stephen Curry. He's much quicker than I thought, and a better PG than I thought. And he can get to the rim and finish. He just looks ready right now.
Hmmm ... maybe. But as we saw with Jerryd there's a pretty substantial difference between the competition level you face in summer league and the level of competition in the regular season.
Jerryd would've done fine playing the position he did in summer league - shooting guard. It was because we insisted on playing him out of position that he couldn't get minutes.
Evans. His combination of ball handling, size, and strength on display yesterday were reminiscent of Roy when he played in summer league. I think if he improves his shooting stroke, he will be an impact player as early as this season.
DeJuan Blair: 22 mins, 13 points, 10 rebs, 1 steal, 4-7 FG, 5-6 FT and 2 knees still holding up. Sounds like a pretty good debut, especially in summer league games where guard play is more emphasized.
Other stats that jumped out to me from Sunday's games just to throw out there: Hornets Darren Collison: 34 mins, 19 pts, 5 rebs, 6 assts, 6-13 FG Spurs Malik Hairston: 29 mins, 16 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast George Hill: 30 mins, 25 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 4 TOs TWolves Jonny Flynn: 28 mins, 11 pts, 1 reb, 7 asts, 7 TOs Wayne Ellington: 24 mins, 4 pts, 2-12 FG, 8 rebs Corey Brewer: 18 mins, 14 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast Rockets Maarty Leunen: 32 mins, 6 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 5 fouls Chase Budinger: 21 mins, 11 pts, 2 rebs, 3 asts Thunder James Harden: 18 mins, 4 pts, 1 reb, 3 asts, 1-5 FG Russell Westbrook: 23 mins, 14 pts, 2 rebs, 3 asts, 4 TOs, 6-9 FG Shaun Livingston: 22 mins, 4 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast Grizzlies Hasheem Thabeet: 20 mins, 9 pts, 2 rebs, 4 fouls, 1 block Marcus Williams: 28 mins, 7 pts, 17 asts Sam Young: 20 mins, 14 pts, 3 rebs, 2 steals, 6-10 FG Bucks Joe Alexander: 29 mins, 8 pts, 5 rebs Brandon Jennings: 30 mins, 23 pts, 2 rebs, 8 asts, 5 stls, 3 TOs Jodie Meeks: 31 mins, 16 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asts Salim Stoudamire: 8 mins, 2 pts, 1 ast
The two best teams I've seen have been The Lakers (which is surprising given that it's essentially the Stache and a bunch of nobodies, but their center McCauley (sp?) is a keeper) and the Pistons. Austin Daye can play (in this setting, at least), DeJuan Summers was a steal, and Deron Washington is a human highlight reel, with the best hair in the building.
Watching him I was thinking, if Jerryd Bayless is Jarrett Jack on steroids, then Evans is Jarrett Jack on HGH. He's big, he bulls his way to the rim on every play, and he just doesn't do much for his teammates. I think Sergio is going to get a lot of minutes at PG.
By FAR AND AWAY the best PG I've seen has been Marcus Williams. I guess he always had that talent, but it's amazing how simple he makes things for other players. Little bounce passes for layups, the whole bit. Nobody else (including the sainted Jonny Flynn) has looked close. Another player we were supposed to be interested in and I wish we could've got was Darren Collison. He's looking good too. Everyone's ooing and ah-ing over Westbrook. He's okay - clearly better than most people he plays, but more because of size, speed and confidence than basketball skill. He and Evans are the same kind of player - neither of them is a natural point. They better have somebody else who can see the floor playing with them. With Westbrook, that might be James Harden. I can see where the Brandon Roy comparisons are coming from.
DaJuan Blair 13 point and 10 boards his first game. In 22 minutes. I think my blood pressure just went up.
Well there you have it. Your whole thinking pattern that you base all thought off of is flawed. That explains everything. You should really try not to think of everything as being a version of JJ.
