Rookies, new coaches, new rules, in Las Vegas, everything is new enough.
As the Kings lifted the Summer League title trophy, the Casino Summer League came to an end in just ten days. Most players know that your success in the Summer League has nothing to do with your future glory and wealth, but that doesn't stop ambitious guys from greedily showing themselves this summer and racing against the clock to build relationships with teammates, coaches, and management — just like the hardcore NBA fans who follow every game in the Summer League and try to get a glimpse of the league's movements for the coming year.
To these friends, we have summarized the ten most noteworthy things in the summer league. For the new season that is about to start in October, they may not really have any guiding significance, but even if it is Tu Yile, it can be regarded as filling the emptiness of the long grass period.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="53" > is not watery</h1>
Cunningham's statistics didn't explode as everyone expected, but he looked pretty sedate, confident and full of leadership, which was the biggest difference between him and other rookies. When he shouts loudly on the court to direct his teammates to run, it's hard to believe that this is a 19-year-old who hasn't played a regular NBA game yet.
Everyone was not very optimistic about Cunningham's athleticism before, and in the summer league games, he did rarely dribble directly to the basket. This also led to him rarely going to the free throw line. However, in these summer league games, his ball quotient and superb skills have always allowed him to find a way to help the team solve its difficulties. This is also where he and his template, Luka Doncic, look most similar. In the game against the Knicks, he scored 24 points and shot 7-of-10 from beyond the three-point line. He can not only shoot the ball into the empty position, but also has the ability to stop the jump shot after dribbling.
Cunningham also needs more game experience to avoid unnecessary mistakes, but his ability to pass the ball to drive his teammates may be better than previous media promotions. When he plays with athletic teammates like Jeramie Grant and Isaiah Stewart next season, the Pistons are likely to play a delightful basketball.
In other words: this is worth it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="52" > rookie combustion</h1>
At any time, as long as you give Jaylen Green a microphone, he's more than willing to talk to you about "I think Detroit should sign me with a winner." That's what he said and that's what he did. In the summer league against the Pistons, he scored 25 points in 30 minutes and hit 10 in 11 free throw lines to help the Rockets win. Before he withdrew from the Summer League with sore hamstrings, he scored a total of 61 points in just 72 minutes, showing his athleticism, projection, foot movement and potential to be a great defender.
In addition to Green, Alperen Singhyn and Josh Christopher also performed well in the summer league. A player who had previously played with adults in Turkey, Shin soon became one of the most prolific rookies in the Summer League, walking to the free throw line 24 times in 3 games and blocking 3 times per game. Christopher relied on his contributions at both ends of the pitch to show his potential to become a new Juju Holliday in the future.
With these youngsters on board, Houston's training camp next season will be a lot of fun.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="51" > a large year</h1>
What is the biggest feature of the draft? Not the top high-level show, but an endless stream of low-level excellent newcomers. Obviously, judging from the performance of Xia Lian, this year is a big draft year.
198 cm, 13th pick, scoring guard. Pacers rookie Chris Duarte, who gathered all three elements at the same time, shined in the summer league. The 24-year-old older rookie averaged 18.3 points per game with his combination of ball and precise projection. In addition to the cut points, he also has a good vision and decision-making ability, which also allows the Pacers to beat their opponents by 30 points in the last two summer league games. Under the new coach Rick Carlisle, this is especially important.
A 180 club player at the University of Virginia, Trey Murphy III continued his efficient performance in Las Vegas, shooting 18 three-pointers and shooting 39 percent from the field. In a summer league game with a larger venue and more open play, the tall winger also showed off his passing talent that he failed to show during his college days. He delivered seven assists against the Cavaliers, compared to his college record of just four assists. He played well defensively against Patrick Williams, Jonathan Cumminga and Evan Mobley. If he can continue that play, he's likely to squeeze into the Pelicans' rotation for the new season to provide defensive and long-range support for Zion and Ingram.
Despite slipping into 20th place at the draft due to injury concerns, Jaylen Johnson quickly proved himself at Summer United. In Summer League, he averaged 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, shooting 62 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three-point range. The Hawks are picking up the treasure, and Cameron Redish should worry about his future.
What does Coach Thibodeau value most? defend. Through his performances in the summer league, Miles McBride's second-round pick has taken the first step into the Knicks' rotation lineup. As a defender with a height of 185 cm and an arm span of 203 cm, some people think that his style of play is similar to that of Rondo in his youth. As a fan of Kemba Walker, he will have the opportunity to learn a lot from Walker next season.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="50" > strong bench</h1>
If we have a summer league player list where "these people have proven themselves in the NBA and don't need to play Summer United," Teres Maxi should be at the top of that list. Two months ago, Maxi scored 16 points in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to help the 76ers drag the series to the tie-seven. In the summer league, he demonstrated the ability to reduce the dimension of the attack, scoring 52 points easily in two games. Next season he could be involved in the team's starting shooting guard competition to help Philadelphia go one step further.
Unlike Maxi, Jazz rookie center Udoka Azubuk didn't get any chances last season, so he poured his energy into his Summer United opponents. In the summer league, he showed everything a Jazz center should show: bouncing, speed, grabbing frontcourt rebounds, dunking, blocking, interfering with every shot of an opponent, and delaying the opponent's offense at mid-range. His dominant performances at both ends of the Summer United Arena prove that he is truly capable of playing NBA-level games. Although he will most likely be behind Whiteside at the start of next season, he has a chance to change all that and contribute to last season's regular season top spot.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="49" > erupted the following year</h1>
Similar to Azubuk, Trey Jones played just 269 minutes last season after being selected by the Spurs with the 41st pick in last year's draft, most of them garbage time. But in the summer league game, he proved it perfectly possible to become a qualified NBA bench guard. Unlike his older brother Tyres Jones, he was quick enough to keep him aggressive even when shooting was unreliable. In summer league games, he averaged nine points per game in the penalty area and shot 78 percent from the field. At the same time, he is also a smart passer and a defender with the ball above the standard. After Mills left the team, he was able to provide the Spurs with backcourt depth immediately.
Patrick Williams was also an underrated rookie last season. In limited playing time, the Bulls used him as a defensive tip, and he has already defended against players such as James, Durant, Leonard and Alphabet Brother on the court, which makes his rebounding and assisting defense in summer united seem to be comfortable. He came to Las Vegas mainly because of the addiction of the team's top card, and after having enough ball possession, we can see that his projection has improved (averaging 21 points per game, 43% shooting rate of 3-pointers), but the ability to handle the ball still needs to be improved. Considering that he is only 19 years old, he is fully worthy of a sentence that the future can be expected.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="48" > the Anomalous Green Army</h1>
Both historically and in recent years, the Boston Celtics have always been known for their quality defense. But in the summer league, the team played at the highest level of attack.
In today's NBA, it's not uncommon for a team to score more than 100 points. But in a summer league game with only 40 minutes in one game, it's much harder. After scoring only 85 points in the opener, the Celtics scored more than 100 points in three consecutive games, all the way to the final. Despite losing to the Kings in the final, this unabashed Celtic young man displayed extraordinary talent. Payton Pretchard, the player who has already performed well in the Celtics' regular season last season, has shown superior organizational and projection skills in the summer league. After him, Aaron Nesmith and Carson Edwards also performed well. They played beautiful team basketball and averaged 25.5 assists per game. Next season, the young talents will all break the head for a rotation in Udoka's mind.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="47" > the shield of kings</h1>
In this crazy March, Damian Lillard tweeted: "@Spider-Man Mitchell, dude how did you go to Baylor University?" I'm a little confused hahahahahaha
Mitchell, who played for Baylor University, has now lifted the Summer League title trophy for the Kings. His name is David Mitchell, not Donovan Mitchell's younger brother or clone, and Lillard will admit his mistake only because his game shows a maturity far beyond what a 22-year-old college student should have. The 9th overall pick is widely regarded as the most prepared player and the best defender of the rookie of the year for NBA-level games. In the first three games of the Summer League, Pu richard, who shot 15-of-26 from three points and delivered 26 assists but only four turnovers, was defended by him in the Summer League Championship game with eight assists and six turnovers, and three-pointers were 0-of-6. Under his leadership, the Kings forced the Celtics to make 28 turnovers, beating their opponents by 33 points.
After the start of next season, can he change the Kings, the team that is at the bottom of the defensive league? Believe it or not, the Kings' Summer League coach Bobby Jackson has believed it anyway.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="46" > African potential</h1>
As the Golden State Warriors' no. 7 pick, Jonathan Cuminga's performance is hardly good. He shot 42 percent from two-point range in the summer league and 27.8 percent from three-point range, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the most eye-catching players in the summer league. Despite the fact that the Congolese striker was always a fierce man plunging into the muscular jungle, knocking (or being) knocked over by his opponent, not scoring much and being an emotionless machine of mistakes, everyone insisted that he saw enough potential in him.
Newcomers from Africa with good figure and athletic ability generally let everyone wear such filters. But if you've watched Nigerian forward Jordan Nvola make his summer league debut with 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists, or Sudanese center Pol Ball playing the Celtics with 26 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, you'll also continue to invest in them for the long term — maybe a few days before they shine in the NBA, but there's always hope.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="45" > whistle</h1>
This summer, the NBA proposed a series of tweaks to the rules. Penalties will no longer be blown when a basketball player tends to or jumps to a defensive player in an unnatural posture, a basketball shooter kicks his leg in an unnatural manner causing contact with a defender, an attacking player suddenly blocks a defensive player's path and causes contact, and an offensive player hooks a defender with a non-shooter. The Summer League, on the other hand, became a testing ground for these new rules ahead of the new season.
In this summer league, Solar defender Frank Mason III became the first player to fall under the new rules. He won a foul by throwing a forward throw after swinging his opponent during a game against the Nuggets, and the Nuggets then challenged the coach, which was seen as "a basketball shooter leaning or jumping towards a defensive player in an unnatural posture" according to the new rules tried by Xia United, and the foul was canceled, and the two sides jumped the ball to continue the game.
It is worth mentioning that there is another rule in the new rules of the Summer League: when one side leads by 30 points in the last 4 minutes, if it is called a suspension, it will be deducted 25 points. However, throughout the summer united period, no team has made such a mistake. But if one day such a rule is introduced to the NBA, in case a team suddenly short-circuits and forgets about it, it will be really interesting...
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="41" > new coach arrived</h1>
Eight teams have changed managers this summer, with Willie Green and Jamal Mosley both choosing to coach the team from the summer league, eagerly aside.
Green's casino tour went very smoothly. As a coach who had apprenticed with Steve Cole and Monty Williams, he quickly developed good relationships with the players. The Pelicans showed a level of transfer and defensive activism that had never been shown under Stan Van Gundy, achieving a five-game record, and Najib Marshall also praised him in an interview: "Playing well under Willie's coaching." We are united and undefeated. It's so wonderful. He's a good player-type coach. It's easy to get along with him and everyone will try to play for him. ”
Mosley's magic only got 2 wins and 3 losses, but given the core players' consecutive injury stops or rotations, the most important thing is not the result, but the first contact with the matter itself. Getting acquainted with promising youngsters like Jaylen Sagas, Franz Wagner, Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton a few months in advance is also necessary for the rookie manager and his assistant coaching team.