Before in what will most likely be our last summer league game Saturday against the Bulls I figured this would be a good time to discuss our impressions from this year's summer league season.
For the team as a whole I think we've learned a lesson that everyone should already know, moving the ball quickly and efficiently is better than isolation basketball. Look at the last two games, by far the Kings' best, much more of a free flowing offense that stems from outside shooting, passing, moving without the ball, and looking for others rather than selfish play. Hopefully this continues into the next game and more importantly into the regular season with our other players.
Derrick Williams: An extremely disappointing summer league in my opinion. It was refreshing to see him not play last game and as a result how well the ball moved. He had some hot streaks, but overall he is not a good shooter. He also was very disappointing on the boards, even though he was playing primarily PF. He is an amazing athlete, but rarely can translate to actual in-game play. I don't think he will end up being much more than a role player in this league, he can't do too much on his own and requires help from others to be effective. This is why he was better as a starter last year than as a bench player, if he plays with better players and is relied upon less then he will play better.
Ben McLemore: After the first two games I was thinking bust all the way. However after his last three I'm thinking we may have something here. He is learning to take advantage of the skills he has. His overall ball handling is still weak and may always be, but his straight line ball handling when driving is mostly solid, not to mention an amazingly quick first step. Many of us have been saying that he needs to drive more and don't rely on the outside shot as much and that is what he has done. Actually the driving has opened up more good outside shots for him which is has been making at a good rate. Another major improvement is his ability to finish at the rim, a problem from last year. Instead of trying to dunk everything he is rising above everyone and using his hang time to make layups of which he is converting almost every chance he gets. His passing has also improved, especially off the dribble. He got 4 assists last game and could have had more. Also for the record there have been several assists during this summer league that he hasn't gotten credit for, I'm not sure why that keeps happening to him, maybe they like talking about how he doesn't have any assists in his summer league career, who knows. Finally, I think while his defense needs work it has been much better, especially with his one on one defense. Just needs to get better with the overall mistakes, foot out of bounds when he receives the ball, bad passes, and fouling jump shooters.
Ray McCallum: Has been solid, nothing spectacular. I like how he moves the ball, definitely not a selfish player. He is racking up the assists, although by watching the games I'm not sure if that's more of his creating for others or his teammates simply shooting well that day. I like the mid-range shot he is developing, it has been a great equalizer, helping to end many opponents' runs. His defense has been solid as usual. I like his overall game, I'm not sure how useful he is as an off the bench PG, definitely not a sparkplug type of player. I think he is a bit slow for the PG position, especially with his straight line speed which will limit his ability to drive. He has game, we will see how it translates.
Nik Stauskas: I think he has been as advertised for the most part. He is the type of player we have been missing. Excellent at passing the ball, creating for others, and running the pick and roll. His shot has been good, but we definitely aren't seeing the best of it. He has been missing some shots and free throws that he usually doesn't, but he will find it. I don't see him as a copy of McLemore from last year, good shooter in college, not in the NBA. His defense has also been very good, much better than people gave him credit for. Over the last couple of games he has taken less shots and I think that is attributed to the better on-ball defense in the NBA. I think it has surprised him, he is not used to be attacked as much when handling the ball so he is stepping back to protect it instead of using it to his advantage and driving past his man. I think he will be fine here as well, his ball handling is much better than McLemore's, he won't have the same issues, just has to get used to the speed of the NBA.
Quincy Acy: I like that he has improved his jump shot, now it's time to get back under the basket and rebound. Last game was better when he was able to play PF instead of C. His outside shot has been good, he has gotten good garbage points, and nice transition buckets. He needs to stop posting up though, not his game, if the shot isn't there time to pass the ball.
Marshon Brooks: This guy might make the team, might be a good sparkplug off the bench. Simply a good scorer, can hit shots and score off the dribble. Defense isn't great and doesn't really pass the ball all that well, but we could use some firepower off the bench.
Eric Moreland: I like what I've seen and would like to see more. Good size at PF, definitely aggressive, rebounds well, and doesn't try to do too much. I like how he uses the pick and roll and actually defends it well from what I've seen so far.
Alex Oriakhi: Just one game so far so not a lot of information to use, but I will say this, he has the tools we need, but the question is, does he have the talent? Good size for PF or C, I would rather see him play PF. He is long and a good shot blocker. I expect him to rebound better than he did yesterday and I think he can, he was always in the middle of the rebound battles. He has a nice mid-range shot. Most of all I like what looks like a high basketball IQ. He can definitely run the pick and roll and is a good and willing passer. I definitely want to see more of him. He just needs to not commit the stupid fouls, stop reaching.
For the team as a whole I think we've learned a lesson that everyone should already know, moving the ball quickly and efficiently is better than isolation basketball. Look at the last two games, by far the Kings' best, much more of a free flowing offense that stems from outside shooting, passing, moving without the ball, and looking for others rather than selfish play. Hopefully this continues into the next game and more importantly into the regular season with our other players.
Derrick Williams: An extremely disappointing summer league in my opinion. It was refreshing to see him not play last game and as a result how well the ball moved. He had some hot streaks, but overall he is not a good shooter. He also was very disappointing on the boards, even though he was playing primarily PF. He is an amazing athlete, but rarely can translate to actual in-game play. I don't think he will end up being much more than a role player in this league, he can't do too much on his own and requires help from others to be effective. This is why he was better as a starter last year than as a bench player, if he plays with better players and is relied upon less then he will play better.
Ben McLemore: After the first two games I was thinking bust all the way. However after his last three I'm thinking we may have something here. He is learning to take advantage of the skills he has. His overall ball handling is still weak and may always be, but his straight line ball handling when driving is mostly solid, not to mention an amazingly quick first step. Many of us have been saying that he needs to drive more and don't rely on the outside shot as much and that is what he has done. Actually the driving has opened up more good outside shots for him which is has been making at a good rate. Another major improvement is his ability to finish at the rim, a problem from last year. Instead of trying to dunk everything he is rising above everyone and using his hang time to make layups of which he is converting almost every chance he gets. His passing has also improved, especially off the dribble. He got 4 assists last game and could have had more. Also for the record there have been several assists during this summer league that he hasn't gotten credit for, I'm not sure why that keeps happening to him, maybe they like talking about how he doesn't have any assists in his summer league career, who knows. Finally, I think while his defense needs work it has been much better, especially with his one on one defense. Just needs to get better with the overall mistakes, foot out of bounds when he receives the ball, bad passes, and fouling jump shooters.
Ray McCallum: Has been solid, nothing spectacular. I like how he moves the ball, definitely not a selfish player. He is racking up the assists, although by watching the games I'm not sure if that's more of his creating for others or his teammates simply shooting well that day. I like the mid-range shot he is developing, it has been a great equalizer, helping to end many opponents' runs. His defense has been solid as usual. I like his overall game, I'm not sure how useful he is as an off the bench PG, definitely not a sparkplug type of player. I think he is a bit slow for the PG position, especially with his straight line speed which will limit his ability to drive. He has game, we will see how it translates.
Nik Stauskas: I think he has been as advertised for the most part. He is the type of player we have been missing. Excellent at passing the ball, creating for others, and running the pick and roll. His shot has been good, but we definitely aren't seeing the best of it. He has been missing some shots and free throws that he usually doesn't, but he will find it. I don't see him as a copy of McLemore from last year, good shooter in college, not in the NBA. His defense has also been very good, much better than people gave him credit for. Over the last couple of games he has taken less shots and I think that is attributed to the better on-ball defense in the NBA. I think it has surprised him, he is not used to be attacked as much when handling the ball so he is stepping back to protect it instead of using it to his advantage and driving past his man. I think he will be fine here as well, his ball handling is much better than McLemore's, he won't have the same issues, just has to get used to the speed of the NBA.
Quincy Acy: I like that he has improved his jump shot, now it's time to get back under the basket and rebound. Last game was better when he was able to play PF instead of C. His outside shot has been good, he has gotten good garbage points, and nice transition buckets. He needs to stop posting up though, not his game, if the shot isn't there time to pass the ball.
Marshon Brooks: This guy might make the team, might be a good sparkplug off the bench. Simply a good scorer, can hit shots and score off the dribble. Defense isn't great and doesn't really pass the ball all that well, but we could use some firepower off the bench.
Eric Moreland: I like what I've seen and would like to see more. Good size at PF, definitely aggressive, rebounds well, and doesn't try to do too much. I like how he uses the pick and roll and actually defends it well from what I've seen so far.
Alex Oriakhi: Just one game so far so not a lot of information to use, but I will say this, he has the tools we need, but the question is, does he have the talent? Good size for PF or C, I would rather see him play PF. He is long and a good shot blocker. I expect him to rebound better than he did yesterday and I think he can, he was always in the middle of the rebound battles. He has a nice mid-range shot. Most of all I like what looks like a high basketball IQ. He can definitely run the pick and roll and is a good and willing passer. I definitely want to see more of him. He just needs to not commit the stupid fouls, stop reaching.
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