ScooterHD is a really good poster on the ESPN boards. Well he is in Las Vegas right now watching the games and has been writing good recaps and scouting of the games. I'll just post them here because I feel they're worth a look. 1st game First Impressions Jeff Pendergraph is a little bit more muscular than I imagined. I had seem in twice down in Corvallis and he was a bean pole. he has filled out a bit. he still needs to hit the weights, but its more promising that he can fill the role of an active banger at the backup PF position. he is also extremely cut. Cunningham is even more tone if thats possible, although a bit skinnier than i thought. at the combine, he had one of the lowest body fat percentages and you can see why. he put up an impressive 18 reps at the combine, so i was expecting to see a broader chest and some thicker arms. but hes obviously strong. just looking at both of these guys, you can really tell that they were drafted for very different purposes. it's not just a situation where we took 2 PFs and hope that one of them develops. Cunningham is much smaller and quicker and is more suited towards defending perimeter orientated bigs or small forwards. Pendergraph is taller and bulkier and more suited towards defending the post. he is a more traditional 4. these guys are already good friends. they worked out together for several teams and really challenged each other to outperform Hansbrough in the workout for the Blazers. they came into the stadium talking and laughing. they didn't seem to nervous, or at least weren't showing it. Bayless on the other hand has headphones on. this is business and he is focusing. Bayless actually looks lighter and more cut than he was last year. he was already in great shape but this guy has probably been working out every day. he was quoted earlier as saying that he didnt take a vacation after the season because he didnt deserve one. the kid is only 20 and if i snuck a beer to him he would probably dump it out and down another protein shake. when warmups started he loosed up a bit and starting really talking to the other players and coaches. i could be too optimistic about Jerryd's plan to become more of a leader and a true PG, but i dont remember him doing that last year. -------------------- First Half Notes Bayless gets an early TO off a tough pass in transition to Pendergraph. the pass actually got through but Pendergraph wasnt expecting it. would have been on the highlight reels if Jeff could have finished it with a dunk. alot of his other passes, even basic ones in the half court, are quick one handers. Bayless is barking out for guys to talk to him on defense. hes aggressive on the ball and cant see screens. forces DeRozan to misdribble and TO. Roko cant get by him without a screen. very aggressive early. had 3 extremely quick fouls. luckily you get 10 in the summer league, but he was taken out about half way through the first and then to team and the lead fell apart. Bayless looking to pass back to the screener. hes dropping some nice bounce passes in pick and roll situations. the Raptors are trying to hedge him, which means the screeners defender is drifting way off his man. but they arent able to contain Bayless and he is getting the ball back to the screener or is splitting it. he looks unstoppable here in the pick and roll/pop. Bayless splits the screen and throws up a floating lop to Pendergraph for a dunk. a very nice pass. looked just like a lob shot and caught the defense off guard. Pendergraph ends up getting fouled and making the and one. next time Bayless drives down the middle he hits a 12 foot floater. when he shot the crowd gasped because they were expecting another lob pass. so was the defense, in fact they almost goaltended the shot. through the first half we are scoring at a much higher rate when Bayless initiates the offense. so far he is creating shots for others. when he hands the ball up we end up playing one on one and taking bad perimeter shots. Cunningham dives to the floor about 3 minutes into the game. not many guys do that here. also chased down a loose ball into the corner for a rebound. Cunningham beats his man down the floor for an easy layup. Cunningham just bulls someone over going after a loose ball. hes making an impact right away. very high energy level. Cunningham is really pressing Davis out on the perimeter. if you are not a big threat off the dribble Cunningham is going to be in your face. right before the half, Cunningham forces a terrible pass by Ibekwe at the top of the key. he is really extending his defensive pressure. even standing at half court while the Raptors are inbounding the ball. looks like he might try to trap the PG if the PG brings the ball up to quickly. Pendergraph is in all the right spots early but is just having a little bit of trouble with his touch. missing some box outs defensively as well. maybe too used to playing in zone. Pendergraph is having a little trouble with the size of O'Bryant. hes got 3 or 4 inches on him and is heavier too. Pentway gets a nice dunk on a 2 on 1 for the Raptors, but what you probably didnt see on TV was Cunnigham running full speed the full length of the court to get back and almost disrupt the lob pass. a few minutes later in the second quarter, Cunningham does get back and does break up a lob. Cunninghams mid range jumper looks very nice. hes got good form and has a suprisingly quick release. he doesnt hesitate either. hes got confidence in that shot. end of half situation where we get the last shot. all eyes on Bayless. Ukic defending. wow. Bayless gets a finger roll after going around 3 guys. -------------------- Second Half Notes looks like playing in that 4 guard offense at Villanova really helped Cunningham learn how to set picks. also is very quick to run to inbound the ball. he knows his duties and he doesnt mess around. when the Raptors make a bucket he grabs the ball and goes. this is one of the more up temo and higher scoring SL games so far. Cunningham comes from nowehere to steal a rebound out of Obryants hands and make the layup. all in a quick motion. he doesnt waste much time. hes surpsingly smooth. Bayless forces a turnover on Ukic. Roko went to shoot the ball, Bayless was going to block him and Ukic threw it out of bounds trying to make a mid air pass. Bayless looks very calm and confident. not worried at all about ball pressure and is just running around guys. if you just watch him it looks like he is just going half speed yet he is flying by defenders. Bayless had made 3 half court passes so far and hasnt connected on any of them. they've been close but the guys arent looking and either ended up not catching them and having them go off their hands or simply watching the ball fly by them. dumb turnovers. im not sure if thats Jerryds fault or if his teammates need to get their heads up. at least the passes were on target. maybe we clean things up after some game experience. Paul Davis finally hedges Bayless but Jerryd just continues to run into him and gets the foul call. he's still good at drawing fouls. Bayless finally loses his handle. Ukic takes off for what should have been an easy layup but Cunningham gets back and forces a miss. no surprise there. Cunningham would probably take off after a cheetah if it stole his sandwich. he doesnt care if he can get there or not, if theres some kind of transition he is running. another turnover for Bayless in transition. threw a quick pass to his left but Gardner wasnt expecting it and couldnt grab it. would have been an easy layup. i put that one completely on Gardner. its a fast break, the point guard has the ball, you are on the wing, so why arent you ready for the pass? Cunningham has a bit of an akward motion on his free throws. he kind of pauses half way up and shoots from his chest. could probably work on that and boost his percentages a bit. he has a good midrange game, so he should be able to translate that to the stripe with some coaching. he made 5 of 6 today, but was under 70% in college. Bayless gets Gardner and then Moss wide open looks on consecutive possessions. but they both miss rather badly. with under 5 seconds on the shot clock, Bayless is able to get his man in the air and then to jump into him for the foul. he didnt have anything else going for him. he might have got bailed out by the refs a bit, but at least it was a high IQ play. Bayless gets Gardner another wide open three after making a nice pass to the corner from under the hoop. Gardner misses again. at least he caught it this time. Bayless drops a nice pass in to Pendergraph for the dunk after collapsing the defense. another and one situation as guys try to recover from the havoc that Bayless creates. and Pendergraph made him self available and was ready for the ball. Bayless gets blocked twice by OBryant. we are down 10 and he is forcing the issue and trying to score late in the fourth. the offense is getting really ugly right now. lots of turnovers and charges. definitely falling apart late. a little too panicked. thats where playing 2 games before this one is helping the Raptors. we really lost it in the fourth quarter. -------------------- Additional Notes Nate is here along with all most of the Blazer entourage including Blazer scouts. i dont see KP or Penn though. someone keeps saying that Bayless is 'too quick.' everyone is loving what Cunningham is doing. especially the way he pressures the ball. Nate has said 'get em' a couple of times. they are all watching him run the floor, especially back on the defensive end in transition. one time Nate even yelled out like he was coaching on the floor, "Back! Back! Back!." but it was in a good way, like he was encouraging Cunninghams hustle. they think Jeff is playing in the paint too much on the defensive end and is letting people shoot over him too easy. Prunty is on it too. Taggert has hit three 18-20 footers on three attempts over Jeff and Prunty yelled for him to 'step up' on the third attempt. never got the chance to learn from such clear direction. -------------------- Notable Statistics Bayless 22 points, 7 assists, 6 turnovers, 4 boards Cunningham 21 points, 9 board, 4 offensive boards Pendergraph 12 points, 9 boards To me the numbers make Bayless look worse than he actually played. 3 of the turnovers were from dropped passes. he lost his handle twice. not including Bayless, the team shot 13 three pointers. most were open looks and im willing to bet that half of them came off passes from Bayless. we made 2 of those 13. 7 assists is good, but he could of had more if guys could hit from outside. Cunningham had a good all around game. i like his midrange game but if he could just work on a pumpfake and drive to the hoop he would be much more efficient. got to love his energy though. his stats really show how involved he was. he took as many shots as Bayless and was all over the place defensively and on the offensive glass. summerleague suits him well. he is used to getting up and down with guards. Pendergraph really just kind of stumbled into a near double double. i wasnt too impressed with his rebounding. 9 boards is solid, but when you are playing 26 minutes at center thats almost expected. he was out of position though. and you get whats expected from him offensively. hes not the go to guy, hes just supposed to set screens and get in position to receive some passes in the paint from Bayless. and this is summer league and hes a big. we only ran one play for him in the post and he actually made a really nice move but just missed the hook shot. every other point came from putbacks. defensively he didnt look to comfortable stepping outside. remember he played zone in college and would is used to just standing under the hoop.
2nd Game -------------------- First Half Notes Bayless matches up with Green early. Bayless posts up on the first two possessions and is able to get decent position but passes out both times. one is a turnover that probably should have been caught and turned into a layup by Cunningham. Bayless is trying to be a facilitator but we are again missing shots, and down 10-2 Bayless starts shooting off the pick and roll. Bayless throws up a nice lob to Pendergraph but he misses the dunk. i cant help but to think that if thats Oden, the rim is coming down. later Moss misses a alley oop from Bayless after cutting down the baseline. again, if thats Fernandez, Batum, or Outlaw - thats 2 points and an assist. KP says to Penn, "its hard because he has to score 20." this in regards to Bayless. and KP is probably right. if Bayless doesnt score 20 theres little chance for a win. just when the offense is starting to look terrible with no motion, Cunningham hits a face up jumper. haven't seen him post up like that and then turn and hit. then Pendergraph hits a 18 footer at the top of the key. good range and nice form. last game all his points were put backs inside. he hits a 12 and then an 15 footer on the baseline later. both challenged shots. Pendergraph is really fighting for position on both sides of the ball. really trying to box out Dorsey. even fronting Dorsey a bit. on one rebound Dorsey gets called for a technical after jockeying for position with Pendergraph. he is definitely acting as a banger thus far. After the first quarter Bayless doesnt seem to be having quite the same influence on the game. although he does end the quarter with a 20 footer. the defense is making more of an effort to slow him down. they dont respect the wings outside shot and the whole defense is within a step of the paint. the big three dont start the second quarter and the team struggles. Padgett hits a couple close hook shots and has a nice touch but he cant box out or jump. help defense is terrible. Cunningham comes in quickly and gets two quick steals in the half court. game is very slow and sloppy until Bayless and Pendergraph come back in with 4:21 left. Bayless immediately forces an over and back with his defensive pressure. Bayless gets a turnover from a baseline pass from under the hoop. the shooter didnt drift to the corner and forced a very tough angle. Bayless collapsed the defense, but the PG cant do everything. you have to make yourself open. Bayless probably picked he dribble up to early, but if the shooter is in the corner its a wide open look. Cunningham is not having the same level of productivity in the first half but is still hustling. he has some tipped passes and tipped rebounds that wont show in the stat sheet. on one play he came from nowhere to keep the ball alive after a missed shot from Moss. Bayless picked up the tip and hit a nice outside shot. Bayless again looks to end the half but it called for an offensive foul. not sure that he pushed off as there was some major flopping but he did bump his man. seems like he is playing a little at half speed so he can see the floor better. also has picked up his dribble a few times in an odd place. he's good enough to dribble out of pressure, but isnt splitting double teams so far in this game. part of it may be the defensive game plan as Bayless is shooting well, but just isnt able to get inside and have his way. -------------------- Second Half Notes Pendergraph starts out really well. He scores on another jumper. then Pendergraph takes a charge from Dorsey. a few possessions later Pendergraph gets a nice block from behind after nobody can grab a defensive board. Cunningham again knocks the ball out of the hands of a post player and Pendergraph picks it up. Cunningham immediately takes off down the floor, gets the ball back and is fouled at the rim. Bayless gets to the rim but is blocked. looked like he was expecting a foul call to bail him out. he is struggling in the paint. theres always bodies around him. Pendergraph is still a little too slow to get out to perimeter shooters. Leunen hits a three over him. Bayless is playing the two guard now with Pooh Jeter in the lineup. we are down 5 and that does give us a much better scoring lineup. Bayless can play the SG 100 times better than Moss and Gardner. Pendergraph another 15 footer with a hand in the face. showing a much better touch and some range this game. i like seeing this side of him. Cunningham posts up and beat his man to the right and hits a nice one hander. Cunningham also hits a contested 20 footer. a few possessions later hits a nice 18 footer off the pick and pop. teams are not stepping up to challenge him so he is shooting away. he is being told to shoot when he is open. Cunningham hits another 18 footer. Cunningham has some great hustler plays. He keeps Dorsey off the glass and is able to chase down a loose board and draw a foul on Dorsey. Cunningham misses a 15 footer, follows his own shot and gets the rebound, takes it the rim and gets fouled. Seems like Cunningham is shooting a high percentage right now. he missed a 3/4 court shot to end the 3rd so scratch one miss out of the stat sheet. but his midrange game looks great. no hesitation and he isnt forcing the issue. he has not been a chucker, hes just getting open looks. Bayless out jumps 6-11 Darrel Watson for a rebound. wow. Cunningham misses a layup, but he got to the rim in impressive fashion. Cunningham posted up on the left block, turned to face up and then gave a series of fakes before exploding to his left toward the baseline. when he got underneath the backboard he jump stepped towards to hoop and around a help defender. put up a nice layup off the glass but it just rattled out. first time we've seen him attack the rim with the ball. its nice to seem him do something other than shooting jumpers, but thats what the defense is giving him. i cant fault him for that but i want to see him get to the rim. maybe pumpfake and put it on the floor. Bayless misses a three. but hes playing the 2 guard and at least drifted to the corner while Pooh Jeter drove. Bayless created the passing line. Pooh was a little late getting it to him and the shot was challenged, but Bayless plays off the ball better than any other guard on the team. thats a good thing if you are going to be playing next to Roy. Pendergraph grabs another defensive board with Dorsey on his back. nearly split the ball in two the way he grabbed it. i critized his rebounding last game even though he had 9. regardless of the stats this game, he is rebounding better. showing more focus and intensity. Dorsey isnt out muscling him like O'Bryant did. Bayless drives and gets the ball back to Cunningham who of course missed from 10 feet. been shooting well all night but when Bayless passes it, its a miss. Pendergraph gets a defensive foul while fighting Dorsey for position. Prunty yelled, 'thats fine' and Pendergraph just laughed. he doesnt seem to be frustrated or annoyed with the physical play. its not something that he has to do, it seems like he enjoys it. wow. Jeter through a bad pass to Bayless that was tipped into the backcourt. the defensive player had a running start towards our hoop and Bayless started from a standstill but beat him to the ball by diving. he then passed the ball back to Jeter from the ground. good hustle play there. the crowd loved it. the next play Pendergraph draws another charge on Dorsey. hes showing that he can bang, but also play smart. doing a good job for a rookie of selling the calls too. tied game. we have been down a few points for most of the game but have caught up with Jeter at the 1 and Bayless at the 2. Jeter is doing a good job, but thats what i feared when the roster was announced. theres no good wing players unless Bayless moves over. and Jeter is very close to being an NBA caliber PG. how do you not coach or play to win and move Bayless to the 2? Cunningham hits another long jumper after a great pass from Jeter. give us the lead with 2:30 left. Pendergraph just got scored on by Dorsey, but he was providing help defense to the driver and actually did a good job of recovering and putting a body on Dorsey without fouling. just forced a tough shot. last game he seemed to have trouble getting back to his man when committing to the driver. he's showing some improvement. Jeter hits a nice shot and is fouled. he and Cunningham are running the pick and roll/pop really well right now. Jeter is racking up assists in the second half, but most of them are off jumpers. and theres little help defense because Bayless is working the opposite side of the court. Jeter has a good first step though. and he's pretty experienced. i think we have to at least be looking at him for a 3rd PG. he played well in the first game too, but is even better today. down 2 with 25 seconds left, but Cunningham forces up a tough turn around and misses badly. not really the best look for Cunningham. seemed to force a shot, but Prunty is bright red right now and its not a sunburn. he wanted a foul. even Monty yelled from 10 rows up, 'come on now.' pretty sure that was directed at the regs and not Cunningham. Blazers foul. Rockets make 1 of 2 and extend the lead to three. just 14 seconds left. Prunty needs to draw up a quick strike. eh. hopefully that wasnt the plan. Jeter took a nasty looking three. that was a shot you take with 1 second on the clock. games over. another loss. -------------------- Additional Notes KP is here today. he is sitting up several rows higher than Nate. i remember them sitting apart last year as well, so nothing to read into that. theres plenty of room in the sectioned for staff and most of the guys are sitting a bit apart from each other. if for no other reason then having some leg room. this is pretty standard stadium seating and most basketball coaches and execs are pretty tall. KP and Penn were relatively disinterested in the game. both made phone calls and were reading emails or texting or something. not a whole lot of comments other than the Bayless one early on. seems like they already have a good idea about who is on the roster. KP and Penn were even talking about getting new sandals. but i did get something interesting before the game. the Suns played before us and Earl Clark took a pretty nasty spill. Kerr and the rest of the Suns staff were in the same section of the crowd that the Blazers staff was moving into. KP and Kerr started talking about Clark. i couldnt hear much as everyone was moving in and out of the arena between games, but as the conversation worn on Kerr asked about the 'offer being off the table.' KP said, 'yep, we have all the same options.' read into that what you will, but im fairly certain they were talking about Odom and that KP felt that even if the Jazz matched Millsap, everyone that was available before the Millsap offer (Odom, Lee, Marvin Williams, Miller, Sessions, etc.) is still available. in that case, even if the Jazz match, we didnt lose anything but just made a division rival have to move one of their better players and go deep into the luxury. and not just this year, but the next as well. -------------------- Notable Statistics Bayless 13 points, 2 assists, 6 turnover, 6 boards Cunningham 22 points, 5 boards, 2 steals Pendergraph 11 points, 5 boards Jeter 15 points, 6 assists, 1 turnover all around a much worse game from the big 3. Bayless could of scored more but just didnt take the shots. he did shoot 50%. this time he earned most of his turnovers though. Pendergraph stats are worse than last game but i felt that he played much better. he showed more versatility. he didnt get as many garbage buckets though. he just didnt get many opportunities around the rim because nobody could get there. when we missed, it was outside shots, not layups for Pendergraph to put back. he got 11 and probably scored 7 without an assist. Cunningham wasnt quite as efficient either, but we relied on him to score more. hes got a good midrange shot, but should never be a number one scoring option. in the NBA hes going to be a energy, hustling, bench player. so hes playing out of his role but is still playing well. Pooh played well in the second half. but still i think you cant read that much into his assists numbers vs Jerryds. when Jeter was on the floor without Bayless, he didnt look as good. he didnt play with Jerryd last game and didnt have any assists. i dont think he had any assists in the first half without Jerryd either. when Bayless played with him at the 2 guard, the floor opened up and Jeter was able to use his quickness on the pick and roll to get open looks, paths to the hoop, and assists on the pop. if Bayless is playing the point and Fernandez (or someone to keep the defense honest) is standing on the opposite side, then the Rockets give him the same defense. and like i said, its not like Jeter was serving up dishes all over the place. he just fed it mostly to Cunningham on the pop, and Cunningham nailed the shots. still, he looked good today.
