Vegas Summer League: Grizzlies vs. D-League Select Recap

by djturtleface on Jul 16, 2010 11:00 AM CDT Comment 3 comments

If you expected anyone but Sam Young to shoulder the scoring load now that O.J. Mayo has left Vegas, you shouldn't have. Against the D-League Select, Sam Young posted 35 points. Young just took over, dropping his head and just finding a way to get to the hole. Led by Young, the Grizzlies beat the Select team 101-85.

That's nothing new, we've known for a long time that Sam could score. One thing that was new? THABEET! The big guy dropped home 21 points, with 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 6 blocks (to just 5 fouls). Onto the list:

Hasheem Thabeet actually looked improved again, much like the first game. He finally dunked the ball, was pushing people around in the paint, and was incredibly effective on the defensive end. Three of his blocks came in the first, and then things slowed down because they didn't want inside.
Sam Young is such an enigma. He just doesn't look good ever really, but the guy undoubtedly can be a solid scorer.
After seeing him more, I think Sam's shooting percentages will be much improved this year. His form is still odd, but he's waiting till the top of his jump to release the ball now. That'll help on shots off the dribble, because he'll have a chance to square his shoulders in the air.
Greivis Vasquez has got to be the backup point guard. His ability to create space for teammates off the bounce is elite. It's like Vasquez can go Jedi and just move defenders. Should have had 10 assists.

Starting to run out of bad things to say about DeMarre Carroll. Again, he just does not impress me at all.
Carroll looks for his shot too often. He doesn't dribble well. On defense, he doesn't jump back up fast enough, because his defensive stance is unnaturally low. That means his man oftentimes gets shots off even when Carroll is close enough to challenge the shot.
Jeff Adrien had like 6 rebounds in just 12 minutes. Sign this man! He wears arm sleeves! And finished the 3rd by turning the corner and jamming home after taking off from almost outside of the paint.
Playing much bigger minutes this time, Vasquez only had one steal and looked much, much less jumpy on defense. He didn't overwhelm the D-League star point guards, but he didn't let them walk on by either.
Vasquez's jumper form really isn't bad at all. Again, he should improve as a shooter by his 2nd or 3rd season, and won't be a liability from mid-range this year.
Darrell Arthur played pretty well again. He's got a really, really well rounded offensive game now. Let's consider last year's return an aberration. If you had a rookie who platooned and look alright, than after one year off he was showing a full complement of post moves and near-three-point-range, wouldn't you be excited to see what he can do? Carl Landry-esque is not out of play.
Thabeet dunk, we don't see you often enough. I love that huge two-handed slam-home.
The difference today appeared to be an emphasis on using Thabeet in cutting and crashing the glass. He seems much, much more comfortable and effective in this role than posting up. His footwork and instincts actually look good when he's coming through the back door.
Give assistant coach Damon Stoudemire, who's now coaching the team, credit for the more guard-heavy game that let Thabeet just catch and dunk.

That's about what I've got. This is the first semi-dominate performance we've seen from the Grizz so far in Vegas. I know it was close until the 4th, but the D-Leaguers were pretty fortunate to stay that tight. Anyway, the kids are rounding into form. Let's see what the T-Wolves game tonight against more NBA-ers looks like.

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Thabeet!

when he does that in preseason, I’ll be more impressed, but he’s done well in college already, so it doesn’t really come to my surprise that Thabeet can do well in summer league. Does it look as if Thabeet can make it onto the 12 man roster?

by JackduhSun on Jul 16, 2010 12:03 PM CDT reply actions