Summer League Recap: Nuggets 84, Cavs 76
2022-07-11The Summer League Cavs didn’t have the juice tonight, with a lackluster defensive effort in the first half and a lackluster offensive effort the second half to lose to the Nuggets 84-76. Some thoughts about the game…
1. Not enough hustle, not enough unselfishness
The Cavs as a team were outrebounded 48-31 and outassisted 20-9. There’s no chance to win putting up those kind of numbers. The playmaking limitations of RJ Nembhard and Cam Young were on full display. They’re not creative enough to get other guys easy buckets by leveraging their ability to break down a defense off the dribble. All they could do tonight was chuck their own shots. That’s simply the reality for a lot these guards in Summer League trying to earn a job. Hopefully they can bounce back next game.
The lack of rebounding is more troubling and embarrassing. Rebounding is about effort, and the Cavs did not put forth a quality effort on the boards, giving up 14 offensive rebounds. Isaiah Mobley was completely out of his depth along with Malik Osborne and others. There’s no way to sugarcoat it, they flat out stunk at the boards.
2. Ochai Agbaji got his homework
It was a little bit of good and a little bit of bad for the 14th pick this evening. On the plus side, there were flashes of good defense and a willingness to pull the trigger on jumpers. Also, Agbaji recorded six rebounds and three assists, which is very good for a guy who’s never been known as a rebounder or passer.
On the minus side, he went 1-4 on shots around the rim. That’s a very bad night. He’s going to have to work on how to finish at the rim using his athleticism. Also to beat a dead horse, his handle is extremely limited although he did have one nice drive on the night, which happened to be his only bucket in the paint:
Tough and one from Ochai🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/QVrp7VmVmu
— Aint No Seats Podcast (@AintNoSeatsPod) July 10, 2022
3. Give Sylla more minutes
Amar Sylla continued his scorching hot shotmaking with a 5-6 performance from the field including a three pointer. He was also a +14 plus/minus in 18 minutes but for whatever the reason, Mike Gerrity decided he wanted to look at other players. Give the man some run, let see what he can really do, Coach!
4. Nice bounce back for Pickett
Jamarko Pickett, the Georgetown product and G-League vet, had a nice bounce back performance after laying an egg in the first game. Pickett went 3-4 from the field, with four rebounds and a steal. He also posted a +3 plus/minus in 13 minutes. He’s got length and he can shoot. Maybe he’s earned a little more run.
5. Next up, Charlotte
The Cavs will play the Charlotte Hornets next on Wednesday afternoon, at 5PM and nationally broadcasted on ESPNU.
live thread up for this afternoon’s game
Rule changes announced today:
Play in tournament is now permanent.
“Transition Take Fouls” (to stop a breakaway) will now be one foul shot + possession, with the coach selecting the shooter on the foul shot.
from: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-approves-stricter-penalties-for-transition-take-foul-makes-play-in-tournament-permanent/
What’s the difference between that and clear path because if any non-clear path foul is same as clear path, wtf is this league? An all star game? That isn’t competitive basketball, that is an exhibition. Wtf is the point. Exciting. I guess. All star games are pretty exciting these days if you like exhibition and no-defense.
Here is a def I found on “USNews.com”:
“The take foul — in which the defender does not make a play on the ball — is what the league classifies as one that occurs either “during a transition scoring opportunity or immediately following a change of possession and before the offensive team had the opportunity to advance the ball.” The exception is in the final 2 minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.”
This MIGHT be something like if Team A loses the ball, and a Team A player grabs a Team B player just to stop play?
Goodbye smart delly fouls. Hello exhibition. NBA has way gone past the point where scoring efficiently is easy. They’re going further. This era basically is as bad as the late 90s and early 2000s but in the opposite direction.
I believe this is the first time I’ve seen somebody defending take fouls. They stink!
At some point there won’t be any defense allowed.
‘Take fouls’ aren’t defense, though. No one is stopping a team trying to defend a fast break. All the take foul does is remove fast breaks in a ridiculously contrived manner.
what stinks: take fouls? or calling take fouls?
can anyone give a better definition of a take foul that the one I guessed at above?
In general, I am against any intentional foul. The million odd fouls I made were different: I didn’t give up on plays, but was clumsy!
Yes, sorry, to be clear I hate take fouls. They should absolutely have stiffer penalties. They’re not “smart plays” they’re cheating
I like the “play on/advantage” rule in soccer. If offensive team has an advantage, let the play continue & cone back to the foul at the next dead ball.
EJ Liddell torn ACL. In a summer league game. Hate it.
Dang that’s an expensive injury for EJ. Bummer
Seconded.
GET IT DONE KOBY!!! https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1546972364348329985?s=20&t=FN7L9KiDhPyxgUKDDYIeWA
I don’t think Sexton + Cedi is quite gonna be enough. This would be a final piece type move. We’d have to ship picks & swaps for 5-7 years plus 2+ rotational guys (Sexton, LeVert, Lauri, Love, etc). And, you guys are going to kill me, but I do not love the fit with DG in the backcourt. Though if it did not work, he would be flippable for something. Depends on what we’d have to give up. I am a full believer that the Jazz are in tank mode. Mitchell is good. Damn good. But not #1 guy on… Read more »
I don’t think that’s controversial. I def wouldn’t go all out for Mitchell. I’d rather just roll with Sexton and keep the powder dry
hard to predict how it would work, but I pretty much agree with Jason and TTM
Yeah if I’m pushing chips in, it’s not going to be for Mitchell.
From ESPN: “Sexton’s negotiations with the Cavaliers could hinge on his willingness to accept his qualifying offer, which was reduced to $7.2 million because he did not qualify for “starter criteria” after missing the final 71 games of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a meniscus tear.“
ooooo that’s an interesting new tidbit, thanks for posting Raoul!
YEP TARI IS ON A SUMMER LEAGUE TERROR —HAVE TO REMIND OURSELVES IT IS SUMMER LEAGUE WHICH IS ‘BUILT ” FOR A PLAYER LIKE TARI TO SHOWCASE HIS SKILLS—I LIKE YOU WAS SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTED CAVS DID NOT SELECT HIM –BUT AM ‘SIDING ‘ MORE WITH JASON THAT OCHAI IS THE BETTER “FIT ‘ FOR THE CAVS …………..” MORE BEER PLEASE ‘…….HOT SUMMER DAY IN NORTHERN OHIO AM ON A “PERSONAL MRS NOMAD HONEYDO LIST STRIKE TODAY…………..THAT IS UNTIL SHE ARRIVES HOME
If we didn’t have Mobley & Allen I’d love me some Tari. Or maybe even if we had another established shooter at the 2 already.
IDK, we have a lot of non-shooters who play a lot. Not just in the frontcourt (Allen, Mobley, Okoro, plus some for Stevens, Lopez) but in the backcourt as well (Rubio, LeVert).
I like the positional versatility defensively and ability to create some from the wing.
Why do you think he’s not a shooter? He’s exactly what we need. Somebody who could play the 3 and score
Yup, shooting 33% on 5 attempts for a rookie in SL, I’d bank on that improving a bit.
Keon Ellis shooting 60% on over 6 attempts!
Ochai 40% on over 7 attempts, thankfully!
Are you seriously taking 2-3 games of SL as a legit sample? Really?
I guess it depends on how much you believe the 2nd year stats (35.9% on 3s, 2.4 3PTA, 80.3% FT) or the first year (24.1% on 1.3 tries, 57.4% FTs).
Big improvement (especially on FTs), pretty low volume on 3s. Color me unconvinced. Even so, big diff between 36% on low volume and 41% on high. Now could he turn into an OK 3PT shooter? Sure. But that is a projection. Agbaji can shoot NOW.
A shooter is someone whose shooting is a weapon. Korver. Ray Allen. Reggie Miller. Steve Kerr. Paxon. Glen Rice. Joe Harris. Patty Mills.
Leaps from poor shooter to a very good one are rare in my opinion, and usually take a while (think Jadon Kidd). Poor to great almost never happens. Hell, poor to very good quickly is rare (Kawhi).
For me, Eason’s best offensive quality is driving with the ball. Here, Mobley + Allen will clog the lane, reducing his effectiveness. And Garland will have the ball most times.
FWIW, I see Eason as more of a 4 than a 3. Mobley, Markkanen, Love, Wade, Stevens. Offensively, at least. Honestly, watching LA play with 3 non-shooters (Bron, Brow, Russ) should be instructive. Going around with 4 (Allen, Mobes, Eason, LeVert).
If Agbaji hits, he fits as a starter at the 2-3. Eason for me is a reserve on our team. His fit with the starters is poor (assuming the shooting below to average).
Surprise, surprise, Tari dominating again
Branham agenda finally taking off… TyTy solid game without scoring. All my guys performing.
sweet move! https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1546639755399630848?s=20&t=FvV5wRU2XZBdco7TSg3z1Q
First Webb photo will drop at 5:00 at https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages
The first released image is a doozy. I was an Astronomy major for 3+ years in college, so this stuff has especially interested me.
The gravitational lensing is incredible.
I was never a major, but took several courses.
Steven Weinberg’s last book, “Lectures on Astrophysics” is a delight — all the easy stuff that you can actually solve, presented in a conversational fashion by probably the sharpest guy since Albert.
Hell yeah, just checked it out it looks beautiful. Took Astronomy freshman year at Ohio University but all we really ended up doing trig and algebra problems LMFAO
haha — i skipped the first quarter with that boring stuff. it gets a lot better when you get to planets and stars.
Looks like Hubble deep field. Appropriate for the first released photo. Presumably Webb can see much farther.
From a span of sky equivalent to a grain of salt at arm’s length.
Mind blowing.
great cap, thanks!
Let’s hope that Amar Sylla continues to play at this level. Any idea what options the Cavs have to keep him? I have no clue what control comes with having someone on a summer league team.
Cavs are the only team that can sign him while summer league is still in season. As soon as it is over, he’s fair game for everyone.
Great info Cordonazo thank you!
thnx. let’s hope he continues to pop so that it becomes an issue. The Cavs will have about a week to figure something out!
Just hard for me to see it with the Cavs roster crunch, but we’ll see. He’s pretty athletic, and plays hard, just so skinny. Wish I could see what he looks like in real NBA games.
yeah, I think he’d be cool on the G-League squad he’s not ready for the NBA yet.
Not sure how the Cavs are looking on 2-way contracts, even assuming they really like him…presumably Elder Mobley is one…
yeah, and gotta think Nembhard keeps his two way unless another guard emerges or picked up.
yeah, major long shot, but a great story if it happens. His FG% has fallen from 100 to about 94, but his 3% has gone from 0 to 100.
Thanks Raoul as always!
THANKS CLF—AND ALL YOU CTB BROTHERS WOH POST—I DON’T WATCH THE GAMES SO YOUR ACCURATE ANALYSIS HELPS WHO DID WHAT———SOUNDS AS IF GERRITY IS FOLLOWING THE ” JB// WINDLER APPROACH ” WITH SYLLA —-GROWING PAINS EXPECTED IN SUMMER LEAGUE—IS WHAT IT IS
Yes sir, thank you as always NOMAD!
Thanks Chris. Pickett has shown a quick, smooth shot. Also looks pretty long out there.
All in all, pretty typical summer league game, with guards driving and jacking up a crapload of shots. Not exactly scintillating hoops.
You’re welcome as always Mike!
Yup, agree with you on all counts.
haha: reminds me of when I gave a shot at walking on to the freshman team at a mid major. I couldn’t ball handle at that level, so I never got to shoot. I did get to hang out for a week.