Nets Are Scorching

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The Summer League stats for the Nets are now up on our Statistics page, and over the five games a some interesting indicators came up in the numbers. Because of that, I’m going to do a quick statistical breakdown of the Nets players and how they fared last week.

First, the Big 3:

Terrence Williams (18.8 PPG, 3 RPG, 5 APG, 4.2 TPG, 44.3% FG%) was the star of Summer League. While he was off at times – in game 3 he struggled from the floor, shooting 8-26 – he was the most consistent producer for the Nets throughout. Attacking the rim regularly, T-Will took almost 16 attempts from the floor per game and a little over 6 attempts from the free throw line.

One important note is that in the 5th game, he only played for the first five minutes, so only looking at his stats from the first four games produces a line of 23-6.3-3.8-5.3-44.7%, which other than the huge turnover number is very impressive. As I mentioned in the game 3 recap, it did seem that T-Will was experimenting a lot with his game, so the turnover number doesn’t bother me too much. If he tightens his play up for the regular season, he will have a very good year.

Damion James (18.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1 APG, 46.4 FG%) showed a lot of signs that he’s going to be an impact player at the next level. Although he was forced to sit out the final game due to injury, James was aggressive at all times on both sides of the floor and really showed off his impressive stroke. He hit many mid-range jumpers and shot 4-10 from the field over the five-day period, two of those in his 30-point breakout on Wednesday. His only serious issue is free-throw shooting – he shot 19-34 (a paltry 56%) from the charity stripe, which is worse than his college average this past season (67.4%) but not by much. His weaknesses pale in comparison to everything he brought to the team last week, and he’ll have a definite impact on the Nets next year.

Derrick Favors (10.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 4.8 FPG, 46.7 FG%) Had an up-and-down Summer League performance, but really started to put it together by the end of the week.  While struggling with foul trouble, turnover issues, and an occasional lack of aggressiveness early in the week, Favors dominated in the final game of Summer League, breaking out for 23 points, 11 rebounds, and a variety of post moves and high-flying jams. After watching in-depth for a week, the talent is clearly there – he just needs to work on his aggressiveness in the lane and work on the flaws in his mid-range jumpshot. He’s got all the unteachables – an NBA body, ridiculously smooth athletic ability, and a knack for finishing around the rim – all he needs now is a coach who will get in his head that he actually can score on anyone. Luckily, the Nets have the perfect man for the job in Avery Johnson.

The rest:

Jakim Donaldson (7.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.6 FTA/G, 73.3 FG%) quietly emerged as my favorite Summer League player outside of the big 3. A hustle player, Donaldson fought for boards on every possession, took smart shots, and attacked the rim, as evidenced by his 4.6 free throw attempts per game (which he made 70% of). This past year, Donaldson played in Spain, averaging 17.7 points per game and 10.9 rebounds while shooting over 60% from the floor. He has won consecutive MVP’s in the Gold (Second) Division in Spain and he is, according to the FEB website,  “poised to establish itself as the best player in the 13-year history of the league.” and A little undersized for the PF position at 6’8″ and 220 pounds, Donaldson makes up for his shortcomings with constant energy and excellent awareness. While he might be a longshot to make the team, he was great in the five-game span.

Ben Uzoh (7.0 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 46.2 FG%, 42.9 3P%) looked solid all week, if unspectacular. He mostly deferred to T-Will when the two were on the floor together, but was able to free himself for open looks on many occasions. He was not extremely aggressive, despite playing 124 minutes (third-most on the team) and instead fell into the mold of a spot-up shooter. He is guaranteed an invite to training camp, and I’d say he’s on the fringe of making it on the 15-man roster.

Brian Zoubek (3.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.2 APG, 50% FG%) was a disappointment. He was exposed defensively multiple times, as he simply seemed unable to rotate over to slashing guards and contest layups at the rim. His offensive IQ was poor at best, and while he was able to pull in ten offensive rebounds over the five games, he simply looked uninterested in creating his own offense. While I originally was pulling for him to make the team – I always root for the Jersey boys – after his poor showing he’d have to put in a ton of work to make the team out of training camp.

Brandon Heath (8.7 PPG, 2 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 50% FG%, 66.7% 3P%) only played in three games (starting once), but looked extremely comfortable in his 52 minutes on the floor. He ran the offense very well, as evidenced by his four assists per game (second only to Terrence Williams’s 5) and displayed a very impressive shooting stroke. After watching Summer League I prefer him to Uzoh, although that could be attributed to the small sample size of Summer League.

Tweety Carter (5.0 PPG, 1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 39.1 FG%, 37.5% 3P%) was solid, but unimpressive. I’ve always been a fan of Tweety, probably for his nickname alone (his real name is Demond), but he never really stood out in his four games. He was able to knock down some threes – six in sixteen attempts – but other than that was mostly a non-factor.

Connor Atchley (7.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 44.7 FG%) played well in spurts but overall was inconsistent. Atchley’s shots in the five games: 3-10 (0-4 from beyond the arc), 4-7, 3-4, 3-6, 4-11. He was effective when he wasn’t pressing it, but there were a few times where you could tell he was uncomfortable shooting his jumper and instead of setting up he’d flinged up an ugly brick. He had a few solid hustle moments – one specifically jumps to mind where he hurled his body after a loose ball hoping to get a timeout – but didn’t really stand out over the course of the week.