A few important things before I resume Jury duty
2009-07-13
-More quick hits; sorry, but Jury Duty’s put me on normal human hours, and which means I have to adjust from vampire college student basketball blogger hours. We should be adjusted fairly soon.
-Just to clarify: my position on Eyenga’s chances to crack the rotation is simply based on his utter lack of  a resume. I’m sure he looked great in workouts, I’m sure he has some NBA-level skills, and I’ve seen tape where he looks absolutely fantastic, but he wasn’t in the rotation for a JV squad in Europe. He was actively failing to produce at a level several notches below the NBA. It’s not like a high school kid who was dominating at a ridiculously low level-at least he was doing well against the competition he was given. Can anyone name a NBA rotation player who was a complete non-entity on his college team? I’m a believer in potential, and the differences between the NBA game and the college/euro game, and all that, but there has to be some on-court basis to project on. We’re hoping this kid will fail upward, and I just don’t think that’s something that can be assumed. But I’ve been wrong before, and the kid certainly has talent. The odds are against him, is all.
-The big Summer League news of the day, in my mind, is that Jonny Flynn and Brandon Jennings both recorded 14-assist games. In summer league, a lot of times the important thing to look at isn’t how well the guys they play, but the way they choose to play when they’re essentially given carte blanche in terms of playing time.
At some level, either you’re born a point guard or you’re not. It’s a lot easier to get a fluke 30-point game than a fluke 14-assist game-just to provide a basis for comparison, Daniel Gibson’s career-high for assists is 8, Delonte’s is 12, and LeBron and Mo have both had one 15-assist game in their career. This season, LeBron was the only Cavalier to have a 14-assist game, and he only did it once. Obviously, the level of competition is a significant consideration, but the point is that 14-assist games aren’t all that easy to come by.
By all accounts, Flynn came out of the womb calling out 1-4 high sets, but the question with Jennings has always been whether or not he really wants to pass the ball and set up angles for others. Jennings might not be the best rookie this season, but he’s my early favorite for the Anthony Randolph memorial “we’re not sure how this guy is going to turn out, but we’re sure as hell not going to trade him,” award.
Meanwhile, Demar continues to put up red flags. He set his summer-league high for assists today with 1, and he needed 17 attempts to get his 15 points.
Roddy Beaubois is continuing to knock down threes in summer league, and today he was able to keep his fouls and turnovers down. He’s looking like a massive steal right now. This may be pure osmosis for being part of a draft-day trade with B.J. Mullens, who may be the first player ever declared a bust before playing in the NBA. And the Thunder traded him, too. The Thunder passed on Rubio, Steph Curry, and Beaubois, any of whom would have made them pretty much the coolest team ever. I’m legitimately mad about this.
-Blake Griffin hit a three!
-Meanwhile, the Iverson-to-LAC rumors continue to heat up. He’d be a great fit with Baron and Dunleavy. Good to see the Clippers continuing to pass on forming an actual core. Clipperdom needed Blake Griffin today.
-Tyreke Evans might not be Ricky Rubio, but you’ve gotta like a top-5 pick who’s enough of a bulldog to get himself to the line 19 times in a summer league game and pull down 9 boards.
-Alright, I’ve gotta get rest so that I can serve justice in the morning. Until tomorrow, all.
You want to know what the team’s problem was? Dwight Howard. They couldn’t guard Dwight Howard one-on-one so they tried to double him. When they doubled him, the Magic hit threes. It’s really much simpler than what you are trying to make it out to be. Mo Williams not being able to guard bigger players was not a problem. Rafer is not that much bigger, if he is at all (I don’t feel like looking it up). Mike Brown overthought things and made Bron a roamer by putting him on Rafer. I mean, if we look at the past champions,… Read more »
Im not saying LBJ can’t run the point,but the offense stagnats when he is controlling the ball a lot.Didn’t any of you notice at times how the rest of the offense just watched him go one on one…. because you can’t see or understand others views,it doesn’t make them wrong.Stop being defensive about LBJ and open your eyes to what your team’s problems are.Winning 66games and coming up short tells you something isnt right.To win it all,you have to figure out what went wrong.The playoffs and regular season is two different games.Teams that are successful in both regular and post… Read more »
Mo wasn’t great in the Orlando series, a couple of those late J’s he hit in the regular season woulda been nice, but he wasn’t the reason we lost. You don’t need a true point, because LBJ has those skills. Orlando didn’t have one. Lakers don’t have one. Only the Celtics of the top 4 teams have a true point. And a lot of times that offense works through Pierce. So, I’m not buying what you’re selling. As to Eyenga, I agree that he’s got a long way to go. But on a very raw prospect, you gotta give him… Read more »
You’re both stupid. LeBron basically is our PG. That system helped the Cavs to 66 WINS last season! How easily some people forget.
Im glad so far someone get it…you are right as well HoopsDog,a bigger and play a more well rounded game at the point is what they need.I hope they learned from their most recent matchup problem in the playoffs.Small ball don’t always work,especially in the playoffs.
I agree, bobo. Perhaps they sign and trade Wally for Miller. I think this would piss Mo off though. The problem with that now is that they need a big point guard, so that they can cross match, and Jason Kidd was the only one of those guys left.
You’re a moron^^^. That is all.
M.Bol could hit the 3pt.shot too but i wouldn’t recommend him to the Hall of Fame.I hope B.Griffin brings his D to the table as good as he has the O…T.Evans has the makeup of a NBA player already,and expects him to adjust easier than some others.I like Jonny Flynn’s attitude towards the game and hope he will develop quickly.As good as the Cavs may be,that was a surprising stat that Lebron and Mo led in highest assists ever on the team,not.Ithink thats one of the problems with the cavs at times,LBJ is the leader in all catorgories to often.The… Read more »