(MORE) Summer League Thoughts I wanted to give everyone a few short thoughts on some of our youngins so far. Please note that these are based on watching behaviors and tendancies on the court, not stats, etc. <u>Banks:</u> Ok, we all know I have reservations about him. They will remain. He's got the tools to be a good pg in this league. Mental issues plague him though. IMO, Banks will pass the rock, but if it comes back to him in the same possession, then he's going to try to score. Seems to be his wiring. Hopefully Doc can instill more offensive patience and the realization that we have others better suited to scoring. <u>Allen:</u> He's not quite as athletic as people talk about. He is talented and will end up being one of those late first rounders who actually end up contributing to thier team in his first 1-2 years. It'll be off the bench, but he's got the goods. <u>Jefferson:</u> I'm not going to be able to find enough superlatives to describe what I believe he's going to become. I now know why the kid could only lift 185 twice at his workout: He looks like he's never lifted a weight in his life. He's working off natural/functional strength. Get this kid time to put on muscle and it will round out his already phenonmenal offensive skills. This kid already has confidence on the floor. <u>Perkins:</u> If we're talking about Jefferson's confidence, then we should talk about the fact that Kendrick's isn't quite developed yet. Still tenative, but he's a Man-Child. He's not developed yet into the Amare like player he's going to be. His progress from what I saw last year is remarkable. He just needs time. Him and Jefferson have me thinking that we're going to have one hell of a front court in 2 years. <u>West:</u> Has me worried. Maybe it's just me, but he looks a little lost and used to doing things "the college way". I hope that he'll be able to adapt, because right now, he looks like he's going through the motions of what he thinks he's supposed to be doing for his college coach. <u>Ernest Brown:</u> Physical Monster. If we can find a way to keep him on the roster, we need to IMO. Someone else will grab him up, I have no doubts about this. He's determined out there and doesn't appear to give up on any play.
I haven't been able to watch these SL games, so thanks hagrid. One thing that doesn't surprise me is West. I liked him in college but he doesn't seem capable of becoming a good NBA PG. The more I hear about Perkins and Al, the better they sound. I have one question though, was Banks able to keep down the turnovers in the halfcourt offense?
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I have one question though, was Banks able to keep down the turnovers in the halfcourt offense?</div> As you can guess, there wasn't much semblance of a half-court set. However, Banks did appear to be trying to lead the floor. I have to give him credit for that. His patience needs major developing though, because if he got the ball back in the same possession, he was literally a black hole. The ball stayed with him and he tried to score. I saw him try to fake a guy 3 times with the same move and then pulled up for a 3, which he clanked. Oh, BTW: Here's the full article I wrote: http://www.celticsblog.com/
I was looking at some box scores and what really surprised me was Perkins lack of shots/points. It seemed like he was just a rebounder and didn't get any shot oppurtunities. But it looks like he does have some passing skills,he had one game with five assists in about twenty minutes.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hagrid:</div><div class="quote_post">Perkins will take his shots when his # is called, but he wasn't out there calling for it.</div> i saw banks in the summer league last year and thought he was gonna develop quickly. to be honest, he was better than lebron when i saw them, that obviously changed, but banks is the future and has great potential.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">to be honest, he was better than lebron when i saw them,</div> Ok, I'll bite. Do you mean in a particular game that you saw? I would have problems believing you meant overall.
WOW! In a Summer league game vs. the Nugs... Jefferson- 27 points, 6 boards Tony Allen- 21 points, 4 assists, 3 boards, 3 steals Kendrick- 12 points, 12 boards, 4 assists, 6 BLOCKS! Banks- 22 points, 5 assists Fast break points- Boston 18, Nugs 6. Granted, this is SL. But, I really like what I see in our future...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hagrid:</div><div class="quote_post"> Ok, I'll bite. Do you mean in a particular game that you saw? I would have problems believing you meant overall.</div> ya i saw them in a game and lebron missed a free throw to tie it at the end, he missed a bunch of shots, and marcus had alot of points and assists, we all know what its like now...
Installment II:(Thursday's Game) <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">http://www.celticsblog.com/</div> Here's a little tickler: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I might have been wrong on West.</div> Enjoy. I look forward to your thoughts.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LAS VEGAS - After a week on the strip watching drunken rich kids hit 15s into a 10, I hold these truths to be Celtics evident: No one can predict how things will develop in a few years, but right now I can tell you with certainty the Celtics took three guys in the first round who can play in the league. Considering how many picks never get close - especially late in the round - this is no mean feat. Even at 19 and directly out of high school, Al Jefferson is no gamble. He never made it into the Dwight Howard paragraph of draft talk, but half the NBA people in Vegas are saying he can play right away. The other people insist they were trying to move up to get him. The most impressive thing to me about Jefferson's high school numbers (42.6 points, 18 rebounds per game last season) is the simple fact he wanted the ball that much. Sure it was against people below his gifted level, but how many stars figure out how much they need to do to excel and then stay in that sphere? This guy was greedy enough to do the dirty work for 18 boards a night. Now think about how many people in the NBA don't play hard enough to reach their potential. As cool as everything looks with the Celtics' young guys pressuring the ball and getting out on fast breaks, the Vegas group is woefully weak on overall outside shooting. And the way the NBA works today, you have to stick enough jumpers to keep defenses from collapsing and suffocating your attack. The defense should be there, but assuming no major roster changes, the Celts can rise through the ranks only as far as their shooting allows. Danny Ainge acknowledged the problem and added: ``That's why I like Delonte West so much.'' </div> Celtics Rookies Can Play
Thanks for that article Shapecity! We've definetely got some shooting question marks, but I think alot of that is development related. It's quite a change from having 2 guys accounting for >50% of the offense to wondering where the offense is going to come from. I think we have guys who can shoot long range in Jiri, Paul, West, Raef and Waltah (god help us all). Mid-Range guys are Ricky, Banks, Blount. Mihm, Jefferson, Perkins all round out the guys who probably do thier best scoring within 5-8 ft. Apparently, Allen needs overall work on his offense, other than the spectacular dunks he's provided to SL watchers. All in all, not horrible, but there's alot of wondering about consistancy there. I love this part of the piece: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The media is allowed to watch the last half-hour of Celtics practices during the season, but I've already offered cash money to be in the gym the first time Tony Allen bodies up Ricky Davis on defense. </div> Also, I think this comment lends itself to providing me some credit in the analysis of Ernest Brown: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Want to know how much deeper the Celtics are than they were a few years ago? Ernest Brown likely won't find any room at the inn, but he's better at his stage than Mark Blount [news] was when the Celtics signed him in 2000. </div> :thumbsup:
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I might have been wrong on West. </div> Don't feel bad hagrid. I'm the one who compared him to Joe Forte! That will come back to haunt my credibility real soon.
