Official Summer League Games Thread

[ragincaucasian]

NAW hits all his free throws then misses the two most important ones he takes all game. He puts way too much air under his free throws, but he seems to make most of them.

They need to play last years summer league MVP, Bluiett more minutes! NAW, Bluiett, Didi(maybe), Williams, & Hayes are by far our best players!!

NAW pulling that hero ball! How did he miss that layup? Oh well shooing free throws. Dude plays too much with his left hand where he can’t take advantage of it. The only thing he does with his right hand is shoot it seems. Every pass he makes is with his left hand as well. Players are just gonna read the scouting report and focus on his left hand on drives. He needs to switch it up, so it becomes a huge advantage. Unless he’s terrible going right even though he’s right handed.

We wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him. You take the very minor bad things with the insane amount of good things. He is the best player in the entire summer league.

[jawznola]

NAW is the steal of the draft...

[WildlifeAirGrp]

Gentry coaching now?

He's caught the fever...wants in on the action

[ragincaucasian]

I want ZION for the rest of the tournament dammit. Lets kill some teams.

[DaPelFromHell]

******** geezus what is wrong with you?

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I want him to be the best player he can be and as a fan I can critique him. His left hand makes him an unreal player, but if he only focuses on it he gonna get stopped in the league most nights. I don’t think I’ve seen him go right or make a right handed pass which is crazy for a right handed player

[Pelicanidae]

I don’t think I’ve seen him go right or make a right handed pass which is crazy for a right handed player

Watch the highlights from last game. He made two exceptional bullet passes with his right into assists. He had a number of very good right handed passes in game 1 too, but none of them were assists.

[WildlifeAirGrp]

NAW is the steal of the draft...

"Steal"...is that even the appropriate word? There has to be a stronger word or phrase.

[bahmamamba]

I want him to be the best player he can be and as a fan I can critique him. His left hand makes him an unreal player, but if he only focuses on it he gonna get stopped in the league most nights. I don’t think I’ve seen him go right or make a right handed pass which is crazy for a right handed player

critiquing him is one thing what you're doing isn't critiquing him you want ******** bol bol who hasn't done anything over didi who has been consistently good on d bc he had a bad game on offense lol wow

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[bahmamamba]

Watch the highlights from last game. He made two exceptional bullet passes with his right into assists. He had a number of very good right handed passes in game 1 too, but none of them were assists.

he doesn't seem to actually watch the games or he watches 1 out 10 every few mins

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[ragincaucasian]

https://www.nba.com/summerleague/2019/lasvegas/bracket

[Pelicanidae]

Nickeil Alexander-Walker average through his first three summer league games for #Pelicans: 27.7 points, 6.3 assists, 4 rebounds, 2.6 steals, 1 block. Has made 28 of 57 shots from the floor (49 percent) and 11 of 25 3-pointers (44 percent). #NAWlins

— Rod Walker (@rwalkeradvocate) July 14, 2019

[wuggie]

St. Nickeil is a baller

[jawznola]

Fellas, do you send NAW to G-League to get deep minutes or do you let him play with superior talent on limited minutes? Same thing with Hayes; I actually think Hayes would benefit by getting more time in the G-League due to his limited starting experience.

NAW could easily average 5-6 apg in the NBA as a rookie with the second unit, but in time I can really see him develop into a staring caliber PG similar to Van Vleet and his role in Toronto.

[redrum]

I like Hayes potential, but man is he raw, he does not even know how to box out on a free throw. Athletic freak but a basketball novice. 2 years of coaching and watch out.

NAW.....he can play! NBA is a different level, but all signs point to solid NBA player.

[ragincaucasian]

Nickeil Alexander-Walker average through his first three summer league games for #Pelicans: 27.7 points, 6.3 assists, 4 rebounds, 2.6 steals, 1 block. Has made 28 of 57 shots from the floor (49 percent) and 11 of 25 3-pointers (44 percent). #NAWlins

— Rod Walker (@rwalkeradvocate) July 14, 2019

Not just the stats, but the leadership and being able to say "Screw it, i'll win it myself".

[ragincaucasian]

I've never even been close to being interested in watching a Summer League game. Today was like watching a Saints playoff game. I love it. The passion is back.

[HartOfaPelican]

My takeaways:

1. NAW is flat out amazing! He missed those free throws mostly because he was ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED!

2. Hayes is going to be great but not for a few years. He has work to do but the nice thing is that they are all fundamental things. His box out for rebounds is terrible and he does not move well off the pick and roll at all!


The Pelicans looked tired in the second half. You can tell the young guys are not in game shape.

Other than that. Great game to watch and tons of fun. The FO did a hell of a job in the draft!

Can’t wait for tomorrow’s game! Hopefully the team isi t exhausted for the game. I can see them sitting Walker if he’s too tired.

[new city champ]

How sick would a line up of NAW, Jackson, Kenny Hustle, Zion and Hayes be tomorrow night with Chris Wood coming off the bench...

But I actually wonder if you play NAW tomorrow with all the minutes he logged tonight...last thing you want is a stupid fatigue-related injury when guys are out of game shape in summer league...

[Pelicanidae]

I like Hayes potential, but man is he raw, he does not even know how to box out on a free throw. Athletic freak but a basketball novice. 2 years of coaching and watch out.

NAW.....he can play! NBA is a different level, but all signs point to solid NBA player.

I don't see why we shouldn't give both Hayes and NAW first year minutes. I've seen some people saying that we should only do that if we're looking to miss the playoffs come February, but frankly I don't care about the playoffs this year. Would be cool if we made them, and I think we can, but developing the young guys into real players should be a higher priority than a first round exit.

Personally, I think NAW should get priority minutes over both Moore and Frank based on what he's shown so far. That probably only translates into 15-20 minutes a game, but I think that's extremely valuable, and based on what he's shown in SL, I think he'd be capable of handling it.

Hayes should fill that role Diallo played last year. 10-15 minutes per game as the third big. He does need real training in big man fundamentals, sure, but he has way more touch, feel, hands, and far better defense than Diallo did when we were feeding him those minutes. Give him the summer with the coaching staff and Favors to work with, get him to put on 10 or 15lbs of muscle over the next 3 months or so, have him doing all the big man drills, and play him 10-15 minutes.

Again, not much, but I think it's more valuable than letting them put up empty 35 point games in the G League.

[Pelicanidae]

''Coach told us to impose our will, to keep pushing. The bad calls, we couldn't control, so we had to turn our energy around together.'' - NAW's postgame interview.

Great mentality.

[60minutes]

I don't see why we shouldn't give both Hayes and NAW first year minutes. I've seen some people saying that we should only do that if we're looking to miss the playoffs come February, but frankly I don't care about the playoffs this year. Would be cool if we made them, and I think we can, but developing the young guys into real players should be a higher priority than a first round exit.

Personally, I think NAW should get priority minutes over both Moore and Frank based on what he's shown so far. That probably only translates into 15-20 minutes a game, but I think that's extremely valuable, and based on what he's shown in SL, I think he'd be capable of handling it.

Hayes should fill that role Diallo played last year. 10-15 minutes per game as the third big. He does need real training in big man fundamentals, sure, but he has way more touch, feel, hands, and far better defense than Diallo did when we were feeding him those minutes. Give him the summer with the coaching staff and Favors to work with, get him to put on 10 or 15lbs of muscle over the next 3 months or so, have him doing all the big man drills, and play him 10-15 minutes.

Again, not much, but I think it's more valuable than letting them put up empty 35 point games in the G League.

I agree.

[BigChris504]

Hayes needs serious coaching and growth man. He can't roll very well, doesn't know how to box out and a erratic defender. G league will definitely benefit him for the foreseeable future because he is the epitome of a Raw player, however with some real elite potential and upside however. Nothing wrong with that imo. NAW on the other hand is more NBA ready now, and should be given more of a role on this team

[Pelicanidae]

Hayes needs serious coaching and growth man. He can't roll very well, doesn't know how to box out and a erratic defender. G league will definitely benefit him for the foreseeable future because he is the epitome of a Raw player, however with some real elite potential and upside however. Nothing wrong with that imo. NAW on the other hand is more NBA ready now, and should be given more of a role on this team

Agreed with NAW. Can't agree with Hayes. It's obvious that there are raw aspects to his game, especially on the boards, but he's shown serious signs of defensive versatility and perimeter discipline. His one defensive downside (aside from the boards, again) his that he tends to swipe a lot for blocks instead of using his verticality. That can be solved relatively easily by a serious training staff.

Definitely don't agree about his rolling though. He's been consistently rolling to the rim after almost every screen he's set, and very frequently he's there before the ball handler has even realised the pass is available. The largest problem is that he's spent a lot of his minutes on the court where the lead ball handler has been someone like Tony Carr, which has meant his rolls have turned into very little and he sometimes doesn't go into them as fiercely as a result. When NAW is on the floor though, he rolls well.

[carpo]

Fellas, do you send NAW to G-League to get deep minutes or do you let him play with superior talent on limited minutes? Same thing with Hayes; I actually think Hayes would benefit by getting more time in the G-League due to his limited starting experience.

NAW could easily average 5-6 apg in the NBA as a rookie with the second unit, but in time I can really see him develop into a staring caliber PG similar to Van Vleet and his role in Toronto.

I start him active on the pels. Get him some garbage time minutes early, see if he can take some of Jackson/Moore/Harts minutes. He shapes to be 1 of 3 playmakers on our team so it's entirely possible. Would be good even just to have him in the Pels organistation, seeing the prep guys like Jrue and JJ go through and how they carry themselves. If by mid Dec he hasn't broken through to warrant 12+mpg I put him in the G-league.

Hayes I am more inclined to push to the G-league early, but again on the how to be an NBA player off the court front I would be hesitant to do so too early. But i think Hayes needs significant minutes to bridge the gap to the NBA. He is too weak and a poor rebounder, that can come in time but letting him get beat up consistently in the NBA I don't think helps him.

[Taker597]

Agreed with NAW. Can't agree with Hayes. It's obvious that there are raw aspects to his game, especially on the boards, but he's shown serious signs of defensive versatility and perimeter discipline. His one defensive downside (aside from the boards, again) his that he tends to swipe a lot for blocks instead of using his verticality. That can be solved relatively easily by a serious training staff.

Definitely don't agree about his rolling though. He's been consistently rolling to the rim after almost every screen he's set, and very frequently he's there before the ball handler has even realised the pass is available. The largest problem is that he's spent a lot of his minutes on the court where the lead ball handler has been someone like Tony Carr, which has meant his rolls have turned into very little and he sometimes doesn't go into them as fiercely as a result. When NAW is on the floor though, he rolls well.

He also went from playing as big on like 20 minutes a game with only 5 shots... to 25 minutes and 15 shots per game against grown man. For a rookie that's basically flying by the seat of his pants that came from a horrible program in Texas. He has made some strides that I didn't expect. His issues is moreso things THAT HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DO instead of bad habits and low IQ play.

Hayes is the kind of person that just happens learns better with experience rather than try to coddle him. .