Caught six days of NBA summer league action in Las Vegas last week. Here are the top players I watched and some disappointments:
TOP DOGS
Damian Lillard – Shot poorly through 2.5 quarters of his debut, then went absolutely off, dominating the competition. Averaging 26.5 points per game, living up to his billing as an excellent scoring guard.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – Shut down almost immediately, but wowed the crowd in his lone appearance, doing a little bit of everything and leading his Bobcats.
Josh Selby – Nobody ever questioned his talent. Wasn’t a good fit at Kansas and didn’t play much in the NBA last season, but tore it up in Vegas, leading the summer league in scoring at 27.5 per game. Athletic scorer.
Kawhi Leonard – No surprise, starter on league’s best team, dominated against weaker competition.
Klay Thompson – Unstoppable scoring force was shut down early once the Warriors saw enough.
Donatus Motiejunas – Rockets pick played hard, the number one issue most had with him, and showed off an offensive game as advanced as any big man in Vegas.
Jeremy Lamb – Another of Houston’s exciting young crop. Averaged 20 points per game and was difficult to stop.
Brad Beal – Didn’t dominate, but showed, as expected, he had the skills to be a good scorer and rebounder.
Eric Bledsoe – Does a little bit of everything, but is not a point guard. Averaged almost as many turnovers and assists. Athletic, scoring guard who can rebound.
Cory Joseph – Pickering NBAer was great. Showed an improved handle, set up his teammates well and was hitting his jump shots. Averaged 17 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game plus 1.8 steals.
John Henson – We’re big fans of Henson and he was a defensive force in Vegas while also chipping in offensively.
Tobias Harris – Another young Milwaukee talent. Harris can pile up the points.
Ed Davis – Everything looked improved, especially his jump shot.
Terrence Ross – While his jumper wasn’t falling, some of that was a result of fatigue. Showed top tier athleticism, smart positional play on defence and smooth form on his jump shot.
Markieff Morris – Good defence, great rebounding and solid inside-out scoring from the poor man’s Rasheed Wallace.
Bernard James -The 27-year-old rookie was solid. Shot over 60% and nearly averaged a double-double.
Malcolm Thomas -Don’t know much about him, but he owned the boards, pulling down almost 15 per game.
Wes Johnson – Long-time readers know we’re not sold on the former Syracuse star, but, credit where it is do, he was on fire from deep, shooting nearly 50%.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
Dion Waiters – 12.3 points per game, 30% shooting. Showed a good first step and that’s about it. One of the biggest risks in the draft wasn’t in great shape and looked far from a top 5 pick.
Kemba Walker – Yes, he led his team to wins, which is huge, but he still shot 35%. That needs to improve.
Kendall Marshall – Shooting was dismal and his turnovers were too high.
Thomas Robinson – He’s going to be good, but could not make any shots and turned the ball over like crazy.
Jared Sullinger – The double-double was good, the 25.6% shooting, not so much.