Reviewing Summer League Performances
Jul 13, 2009 2009 Offseason, Analysis, CDR, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Orlando Summer League, Terrence Williams
The Orlando Summer League has been finished for two days, and after some reflecting, I decided to look at the performances of our two guys Chris-Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams.
Before we get to that, let’s look at that team record of 0-5. While it doesn’t look too pretty, can you say that this wasn’t expected? You had two different coaching staffs with two different philosophy’s, plus you have players who have never really played together before. Now I know that a lot of you guys would much rather see a record of 5-0 instead of 0-5, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that our big 2 (T-Will and CDR) showed what they can do. Now let’s look at the Nets/Sixers stats:
Chris Douglas-Roberts:
CDR is the player who really impressed me the most (well, besides Ryan Anderson, but let’s not talk about that right now) this summer league. He shot over 50% for the league, and he scored a total of 69 points on only 40 shots (1.725 points per shot – anything over 1 is pretty solid). Compare that to the “great” Marresse Speights scored only 2 more points on a total of 31 more shots.
CDR also showed he was very determined to get to the basket. Douglas-Roberts only attempted 1 three pointer, and he got to the line a total of 35 times in 5 games. I would have liked to see him make a couple more foul shots to get his percentage over 80% (He shot around 77% from the line), but that will improve with practice. CDR limited his TOs to 6, but he wasn’t really effective rebounding the basketball (only 2.0 RPG). If he is going to want to play the 3 spot, he is going to be a little more aggressive attacking the glass. However, that is the only flaw I see in his game right now after the summer league.
Some people were a little worried when they saw CDR’s play and scoring drop off a little bit from the first two games to the next 3. This isn’t anything to be worried about though. Why? Because he was just following orders:
“We talked the first day, talked a lot,” Douglas-Roberts said. “He said you have to police yourself sometimes. He said he policed himself a lot in his career and that’s what I have to do. And that is what I’m learning.”
So while feeling in his gut he could take the ball and score, or at least get to the line, Douglas-Roberts accepted the role on the split Nets/Sixers squad that was asked of him in the last two games, including yesterday’s 83-62 wipeout loss to Oklahoma City.
“The first two games I played really well. The last two, the game was going in a different direction,” said Douglas-Roberts, who has worked tirelessly this off-season on his shooting and ball-handling. “The first two games, we were running things that put me in a position to be aggressive. Simple as that.”
Not so the next two.
“I always say I’m not going to force anything,” he said. “The last two games, the game wasn’t coming to me so I was pretty much following directions, doing what the coach and the team wants.”
Terrence Williams:
Terrence Williams had a rocky start shooting the ball in the Orlando Summer League, and while it improved a bit over the final three games, it still wasn’t great (19-56/34%). What he lacked in the scoring department, he more than made up in different areas. Terrence Williams averaged 6.6 rebounds a game (from the 2-guard spot where he played most of his minutes). Terrence also totaled 14 assists in the 5 games for an average of a little under three. He also picked up about a block per game (1.2 to be exact). This is why I was so high on Terrence before the draft. Despite not being the best shooter, he can do so many other things on the court. So when he has a poor shooting night (lets face it, they are going to happen), he can still be productive.
So the poor shooting doesn’t really worry me. I mean you can work on that. The one thing that did worry me about Terrence’s play is the TOs. The Nets/Sixers squad turned it over a bunch as a team (and that is expected when you have guys not familiar with each other playing together), and Terrence Williams was the leader with 20 over 5 games. For someone who wants to be used at the point from time to time, this isn’t acceptable. Now these turnovers can be blamed on nerves and stuff like that. When the preseason games come around, I will be watching Terrence closely to make sure he is more comfortable with the ball.
Summer League Games Quick Recaps
Jul 8, 2009 2009 Offseason, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Orlando Summer League, Terrence Williams
Before I start talking about the Nets’ first two summer league games I just wanted to say that I think you guys should definitely check this article on the whole Nets/Sixers situation from Truehoop. It is an interesting read, so yeah, check it out.
One could argue that the team that is impacted the most from the happenings of the Orlando Summer League is the New Jersey Nets. They have two guys who should be getting significant minutes this upcoming year, so it is interesting to see how they play against “NBA-level” talent. The results of the games don’t really matter at all (We lost one game to the Pacers’ squad in OT and we lost the other in blowout fashion to the team representing the Utah Jazz), and while I was only able to watch one of the two games so far (the first one), I do have some thoughts about the games.
The Good:
CDR. He is second in the league in scoring right now averaging 23.5 points (20 in game 1 and 27 in game 2). It isn’t really the point totals that are impressing me, it is the way he is getting his points. He is shooting over 50% from the field, and he is getting his points on not of lot of shots (6-12 in game 1 and 8-14 in game 2). He is also getting to the line a ton (24 foul shots – he made 19 of them), and hasn’t shot a three pointer yet. This means he is set on improving his driving ability, and he isn’t settling for bad shots. From the game I watched he is being very decisive, and he isn’t really hesitating. Last year he seemed awkward when he attacked the basket. Not this year (or at least in the summer league).
Terrence Williams’ disruptive play – In this case the word disruptive isn’t a bad thing. From the first game I watched it seemed like Williams was flying all over the court. Granted he didn’t shoot well (look farther down), but he crashed the boards very effectively (9 rebounds in game 1 – 6 in game 2). Seeing this really made me happy. It shows that even if Williams isn’t getting it done on the offensive end, he is willing to go all-out and contribute in other ways. It shows how versatile Terrence Williams is.
The Bad
Terrence Williams’ Shooting – This was Williams’ biggest weakness entering the draft, and while he is working hard on improving it, he hasn’t really shown much improvement during the summer league games. He was 1-8 from the field in game 1 and he was 3-11 in game 2 (a total of 0-3 from 3). Now some of it may be nerves and some of it may be getting used to the speed of the game, but it is becoming obvious Terrence needs to continue to working on his shot.
The Shot Happy Sixers’ Pros – Many people who saw the summer league seemed very impressed with Marreese Speights’ 28 points. I wasn’t. He did it on 11-26 shooting. Jrue Holiday also went kind of shooting crazy for the guy who is supposed to be playing point on the team (3-11 in game 1). While the guys slowed it down in game 2 (Speights went 3-12 and Jrue went 2-6), it just bothers me a bit seeing these guys taking shots from the Nets’ players. I know it was bound to happen, but it is such a weird situation and I seem to find myself cursing out Speights every time he throws up a crazy fade-away jumper.
The Perception of “The Disease” – In case you don’t know what I am referring to, the announcers covering the summer league for the web broadcast decided the Nets/Sixers needed a team name, and that is what they came up with, with help from e-mailers. The team was also referred to as “The Cheapskates”. I know this is all in good fun, and these are just jokes, but it just goes to show that the Nets are looking cheap to not just us Nets fans. Everyone else is starting to see how cheap that the Nets have become. It was also strange to see the players playing in standard non-descript blue practice jerseys.
Our Invites PT – The one guy I was real interested in seeing play was Jeff Adrian. Out of all our invites, I thought that he would be the one guy that we would think about signing. So how is he playing? I wouldn’t know. He has only played about 12 minutes in the first 2 games combined. Now maybe he hasn’t impressed coaches in practices, but it is becoming obvious that he won’t be getting minutes. I know the Sixers are looking for a PF, so they probably aren’t really pushing to see Adrian get minutes.
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Game 3 is tomorrow at 7, so I will be able to watch it and I will be taking notes as the games go on. Who else is going to be playing at 7PM tomorrow? Ryan Anderson. He has been killing it in the summer league so far (leading the league in scoring), so it will be fun to see him and CDR go at it. Hopefully he doesn’t torch us too much.
Remember, you can watch the games here:
http://www.nba.com/magic/2009_Orlando_Pro_Summer_League.html
Watch Summer League Live
Jul 6, 2009 2009 Offseason, Orlando Summer League
OK, the link I gave you this morning is wrong. To watch summer-league games live, go here:
http://www.nba.com/magic/2009_Orlando_Pro_Summer_League.html
I just turned it on, and I am trying to record it so I can break it down, the score right now is 26-26.
Update: Recording attempt failed. You didn’t miss much, and it wasn’t a pretty game. I will have a box-score and a little recap either sometime tonight or tomorrow.
Is A “Split Squad” Smart?
Jul 6, 2009 2009 Offseason, Bruce Ratner, Cheap, Orlando Summer League
With the economy at a downturn and the Brooklyn move on the horizon (I admittedly don’t know too much about the Brooklyn move other than it is still up in the air, Netsdaily has a lot of info on it), the Nets have been doing a lot to try and save money here and there. They have done stuff like fire employees, implementing summer hours at the facilities, giving the assistants pay-cuts. Now these moves suck, and as a Nets fan I would rather see them not do these things, but one can understand why they need to be made. The one money saving move that Bruce Ratner (I assume that he is the one who made this decision) has implemented this summer that I vehemently disagree with is the “split squad” for our summer league.
Finacially sharing a summer league roster with another team makes sense. However, from a basketball standpoint this is a stupid decision. There are so many basketball-related cons to this move, it is just plain silly. Lets look at them:
Easier To Scout
Many teams are private when it comes to practices. They usually don’t let media in until the end, and they sure as hell wouldn’t allow other teams to be involved and watch practices. So why is it ok during the summer league? Now granted we probably won’t be running our normal stuff, but Sixers’ coaches are going to be able to see Nets’ players who will be getting significant playing time (Terrence Williams & CDR) behind close doors. They are going to be able to pick up on little tendencies and weaknesses that might not be known to other coaches and scouts. Let’s say that when Terrence Williams dribbles to the left twice behind the three point line, he shoots it (This is not true, and is just an example). The Sixers’ staff will be able to pick up on this in our “joint” practice sessions and scrimmages, and then they can use this as an advantage during our regular season games.
Less Roster Flexibility:
Normally during the summer league, you see a fair amount of young pros mix with a couple of unsigned rookies to make up the squad. This year, the Nets only have 1 player who played for them last year on the roster. I would like to see players like Brook, C. Lee, Yi, and even Devin (If we had our own team, this would be 6 pros and 6 unsigned rookies) be able to play in the summer league so they can mesh, learn to play together and improve. I am most disappointed that Courtney Lee isn’t going to be there. This would give him an opportunity to play with some guys on the roster and allow him to get a headstart on learning the system.
Along the same lines, with a split squad we can’t really experiment playing different guys at different positions. For example, I (and I am assuming the coaches) want to see Terrence Williams play the point during these games to see if he can handle playing the point from time to time during the year. He won’t be playing much point though. Why? because Jrue Holiday, the Sixers’ first round pick will probably getting the most minutes at point.
You Lose An Advantage With Unsigned Rookies
Unsigned rookies have the ability to sign with any team they choose, so if you find a guy that you like and that you are thinking about signing, you want to make him feel special. During a summer league, that is when that happens. Your coaches teach and talk to the unsigned rookies and they become familiar with them. That way, when it comes down to signing with a team (whether it be a 1-year contract or a 10-day contract), they remember how well you treated them and they sign with you. With a “joint” roster, you have two sets of coaches.
Also, let’s say the Nets find a diamond in the rough, a unsigned rookie that just plays phenomenal (someone like Jeff Adrian comes to mind if he plays well this week). Guess what? The Sixers see this too, and they have immediate access to the player. Let’s say both teams love Adrian and want to sign him. It is a good possibility he could end up with the Sixers even though he was our invite.
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Am I making too much of a big deal about this? Maybe. Maybe I am overreacting and a week long summer league isn’t that important. But what if it is? What if the Sixers just absolutely frustrate us during the regular season because of something they picked up during the summer league? I am not saying it will happen, but it is possible.
Nets/Sixers Roster and Schedule
Jul 6, 2009 2009 Offseason, CDR, Orlando Summer League, Sixers, Terrence Williams
I know the roster and schedule have been up for a while, but with the Orland league starting today, I figured I should get it on here. Remember, this is a split squad with the Sixers (I will be talking about this later today), so we got some Sixers on the roster.
Roster (big ups to Netsdaily who had the roster breakdown of invitees):
- AJ Abrams (Nets Invite)
- Jeff Adrian (Nets Invite)
- Blake Ahearn (Sixers Invite)
- Dionte Christmas (Sixers Invite)
- Chris-Douglas Roberts (Nets Roster Member)
- Jason Ellis (Nets Invite)
- Gary Forbes (Sixers Invite)
- Jrue Holiday (Sixers Roster Member)
- Chris Johnson (Nets Invite)
- Rob Kurz (Sixers Invite)
- Marreese Speights (Sixers Roster Member)
- Terrence Williams (Nets Roster Member)
Schedule:
- 7/6 vs. Indiana – 3:00 PM
- 7/7 vs. Utah – 5:00 PM
- 7/8 vs. Orlando (Ryan Anderson is playing for them) – 7:00 PM
- 7/9 vs. Oklahoma City – 3:00 PM
- 7/10 vs. Boston – 1:00 PM
Now box scores and everything will be on the Orlando’s website. As for watching it live, I am not sure if it’s going to happen, but if you go to the Nets summer league center, there is a watch live link under each game. Nothing happens when you click it now, but it is worth a shot to try around game time.