Summer League Discussion

[N.O.Bronco]

After Summer league, NBA's Scott Howard-Cooper says he doesn't buy into summer league translating into NBA production and his rookie rankings ladder for the regular season is:

1. Simmons
2. Buddy
3. Ingram
4. Murray
5. Dunn
6. Bender
7. Brown
8. Poeltl
9. Embiid
10. Prince

With the news of Evans possibly being a question mark next season, I can't say I disagree with the ranking.

If Evans is limited or not available that gives Buddy a prime opportunity to step in and be pretty successful. And in comparison, his situation is probably the most advantageous of the guys he will be competing against. Assuming we can stay relatively healthy that is. He will get to be a catch and shoot guy and probably garner the third or fourth most attention given the lineup but have the superior supporting cast outside of maybe Minnesota or Boston(But Brown is RAW).

I would put Dunn right behind him though. But he will likely not start with Rubio still on the roster.

[GuardianAngel25]

No question this doesn't mean Buddy won't translate to the NBA. Not only should we not out much into SL but we should even temper expectations for his rookie season. Nothing wrong with hoping he puts up some great numbers but some are already putting some pretty big expectations on this kid. SL still means something being competitive basketball at a high level but at the same time it means nothing. None of this takes away from the fact that Buddy just sucked. He did some things well but for the most part was bad. Would have been nice to see him play great and put a couple of complete games together. Atleast he had some nice flashes to make these next few months of waiting feel a little better. Can't wait to watch this kid develop over the next few years.

[RUFshreve]

No question this doesn't mean Buddy won't translate to the NBA. Not only should we not out much into SL but we should even temper expectations for his rookie season. Nothing wrong with hoping he puts up some great numbers but some are already putting some pretty big expectations on this kid. SL still means something being competitive basketball at a high level but at the same time it means nothing. None of this takes away from the fact that Buddy just sucked. He did some things well but for the most part was bad. Would have been nice to see him play great and put a couple of complete games together. Atleast he had some nice flashes to make these next few months of waiting feel a little better. Can't wait to watch this kid develop over the next few years.

Buddy didn't suck in the SL, he just had some bad nights shooting the ball. Every single minute, of every summer league game, the opposing team focused on shutting Buddy down. He was constantly getting doubled and trapped. He was still trying to make things happen, so it didn't always look good. If we had actually had other players who could score, Buddy wouldn't have forced so many bad shots or turned the ball over nearly as much. I think his summer league performance was a result of the lack of talent on the team, rather then him just playing bad. I still think he'll be in the conversation for ROTY, but Simmons most likely gets it.

[GuardianAngel25]

I'm not talking about him being doubled or not being able to be a 3rd-4th option. He plain and simple was bad in SL. I don't understand why everyone feels the need to make excuses for him and I'm sure he would tell you the same. He did some good things but that doesn't mean he wasn't bad. He had flashes but other then that he was not good. His defense was good but nothing great and he showed he could create for others being above average passing the ball. Was very good at rebounding while being flat out terrible scoring the ball efficiently. If you wanna sugar coat it and act like he didn't suck because of some nice passes and good rebounding go ahead. Him being bad in SL has nothing to do with his ROY voting and how he will perform during the season. Multiple things likely impacted his performance from bad team, being doubled/trapped a lot, and not getting proper warm up but he was still bad.

[Paul Overt]

They realize the: all-nba summer league First and Second team: http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/release...st-team-160717

And this is a video about: surprise player of summer league http://hoopshype.com/2016/07/15/top-...summer-league/

[Pelifan]

Still. still. Don't see the appeal in Murray. Yes he scored. But how did he do it?

Floaters... He took floaters.

[HornetGuru]

I'm not talking about him being doubled or not being able to be a 3rd-4th option. He plain and simple was bad in SL. I don't understand why everyone feels the need to make excuses for him and I'm sure he would tell you the same. He did some good things but that doesn't mean he wasn't bad. He had flashes but other then that he was not good. His defense was good but nothing great and he showed he could create for others being above average passing the ball. Was very good at rebounding while being flat out terrible scoring the ball efficiently. If you wanna sugar coat it and act like he didn't suck because of some nice passes and good rebounding go ahead. Him being bad in SL has nothing to do with his ROY voting and how he will perform during the season. Multiple things likely impacted his performance from bad team, being doubled/trapped a lot, and not getting proper warm up but he was still bad.

he wasn't bad at all, the only thing that was bad was his shooting. Like u said his passing, rebounding and defense surprised at times.

[AIP504]

Everybody has flaws, no one goes into summer league as a finished product. Ben Simmons struggled with his shot, Ingram struggled on offense, Jaylen Brown struggled on offense, Dunn turned the ball over, Bender struggled to hold his position. The players who played well were mostly 2nd year players... But Buddy did play well on defense, created for others, rebounded well and played with energy which translates to season play... His effort was there. He did take bad shots but he had to because teams game planned to shut him down and he didn't have any real help. He also turned the ball over but it was him forcing the issue. Im encouraged however I would give him a C in summer league....

[GuardianAngel25]

Shooting is what makes Buddy great. How can you say be wasn't bad? It's not like he did other things to such a great level. He was good with his passing not great, his defense was ok not great, his rebounding was very good for a guard not great, and his shooting was terrible outside of a few spurts. Shooting his biggest asset and putting the ball in the hoop is the most important thing in basketball. Buddy was bad plain and simple. Doesn't take anything away from what he's can be or how his season is going to go. I don't understand how anybody can honestly try to say he played decent because he didn't. If Buddy played the same way during the regular season would we not say he played bad? I think we would be saying he is playing terrible.

[AIP504]

A season is 82 games not 4... It takes more than 4 but not 82 to adjust to a different level. He exceeded expectations in every other category than what he does best... That is a good sign because we all know he can put the ball in the hoop... Once he has better talent around him and he is not the sole focus of a defense he wont have to rush/force shoots and once the game slows down, it will get a lot easier for him to play at a higher level and score the ball more efficiently. His shooting was poor but that's it...

[DaPelFromHell]

Tyus Jones won the Vegas summer league MVP! Damn T-wolves didn't need Kris Dunn! Guess they will end up playing him a lot out of position at shooting guard. Man I wish they would of taken Buddy or Murray like they should have done. A Dunn & Jrue backcourt could of been deadly IMO. The T-wolves top 4 guards Kris Dunn, Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, and Tyus Jones are more point guard than off guard IMO. None of those guys are really good shooters either. I know Thibs loves his defense, but I think he may regret not adding a knock down shooter to the roster instead of another ball handler like Dunn.

Just hope Buddy doesn't struggle as much when he's the 3rd-4th option on offense instead of the only guy the D really has to worry about. I think Buddy will be fine.

[DaPelFromHell]

Buddy wasn't bad?? He didn't look good for sure!! To me it sounds like some have on Red & Blue colored glasses on(whatever colors we wear lol). He had a good amount of turn overs and missed a ton of shots. Yes he had some assists but when the defense is focusing on just you, you better get some assists.

I guarantee if we selected Jamal Murray over Buddy and Buddy had those games for Denver, you same people would be saying that Buddy Hield was HORRIBLE! Glad we took Murray over that bum. I know you will say otherwise, but I guarantee y'all would be saying that...lol

[Eman5805]

Doesn't take team colored glasses to know that Summer League doesn't matter. If he puts in the work, Hield will be fine. I'd bank money on it.

[GuardianAngel25]

Tyus Jones won the Vegas summer league MVP! Damn T-wolves didn't need Kris Dunn! Guess they will end up playing him a lot out of position at shooting guard. Man I wish they would of taken Buddy or Murray like they should have done. A Dunn & Jrue backcourt could of been deadly IMO. The T-wolves top 4 guards Kris Dunn, Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, and Tyus Jones are more point guard than off guard IMO. None of those guys are really good shooters either. I know Thibs loves his defense, but I think he may regret not adding a knock down shooter to the roster instead of another ball handler like Dunn.

Just hope Buddy doesn't struggle as much when he's the 3rd-4th option on offense instead of the only guy the D really has to worry about. I think Buddy will be fine.

Lavine is a 40% 3 point shooter. Don't know how that isn't a knockdown shooter. The kid isn't even close to being fully developed in that area and should only get better. He is definitely not a PG. Dunn and Lavine can be a great backcourt and fit better then a Lavine/Hield back court.

Buddy wasn't bad?? He didn't look good for sure!! To me it sounds like some have on Red & Blue colored glasses on(whatever colors we wear lol). He had a good amount of turn overs and missed a ton of shots. Yes he had some assists but when the defense is focusing on just you, you better get some assists.

I guarantee if we selected Jamal Murray over Buddy and Buddy had those games for Denver, you same people would be saying that Buddy Hield was HORRIBLE! Glad we took Murray over that bum. I know you will say otherwise, but I guarantee y'all would be saying that...lol

Exactly! Plain and simple Buddy was just bad. He didn't do anything so great that it made up for his shooting. Sure he was the focus of other teams but so was Lebron when he won MVP along with Curry/Harden who have averaged 30 ppg. Sure they have good players around them but they also are playing guys who are twice as good. I have seen people knocking Murrays performances but hold onto anything Buddy did well like it makes up for everything else. I think the kid is going to be a star and will look much different during the season for many reasons. None of that takes away from him just playing bad. Making some nice passes and playing ok defense is not enough to let you look past his shooting.

[GuardianAngel25]

Anybody see Valentine tonight? Was pretty awesome what he did. Only shot 2-9 with 5 points but scored the buzzer with a 3 pointer to send it to OT while following that with the buzzer beater to win the game.

[Mythrol]

Every area of Buddy's game was better than expected, except for shooting. Even his ball handling after the 1st game was pretty solid outside of maybe a handful of plays. People acting like because his shot wasn't falling he was bad. He wasn't. Defense, rebounding, passing, hustle, everything else he was a positive.

[GuardianAngel25]

Doesn't take team colored glasses to know that Summer League doesn't matter. If he puts in the work, Hield will be fine. I'd bank money on it.

Nobody is saying it matters or if he will be fine during the season. It's evaluating him like we should and stating the facts. Everyone wants to sugar coat it and throw every excuse out like he wasn't bad because of a few nice passes each game. Lots of thing likely factored into why he played bad but that doesn't take away from how he performed. If he plaid great everyone and me included would be sitting here talking how this and that will translate to the season with him being ROTY. Since he played bad none of his performances matter and only the good things he did seem to matter. I think SL means very little but it is still competitive basketball at a high level and I expected our 1st round pick to perform better than he did. He didn't so oh well on to the season with this being extra motivation for him to continue to work hard and know nothing will come easy at this level. Might be the best thing for him playing bad while still having some nice spurts to let him have a little confidence that he can do it just more consistently. I still think he's going to win ROTY.

[GuardianAngel25]

Every area of Buddy's game was better than expected, except for shooting. Even his ball handling after the 1st game was pretty solid outside of maybe a handful of plays. People acting like because his shot wasn't falling he was bad. He wasn't. Defense, rebounding, passing, hustle, everything else he was a positive.

Ok it was a positive but nothing special. This is so sugar coating what he did lol. All of the things he did good matter but nothing he did bad. His defense was average, passing was decent, while his rebounding and hustling were great. He didn't do anything to such an exceptional level that his shooting can just be ignored. He is being brought in to be a scorer and do everything else well. His scoring was flat out bad. Nobody is saying it isn't going to translate or impact him during the season just pointing out the facts. I would think people would be a little more honest about his performance but so be it.

[Eman5805]

"He didn't shoot well, he sucked."
"He did everything else well. In fact, no one was saying anything about his rebounding, defense, or passing coming into the league. Needs to get his off hand ball handling tightened up."
"But he sucked shooting though. Passing is easy, somehow. Just did it a few times. Admit he sucked."
"But if I said he did everything else well, doesn't that imply..."
"Nah, stop wearing glasses and coating things in sugar."
"Actually, that describes me quite well..."

[HornetGuru]

Anybody see Valentine tonight? Was pretty awesome what he did. Only shot 2-9 with 5 points but scored the buzzer with a 3 pointer to send it to OT while following that with the buzzer beater to win the game.

U said Buddy was terrible because he is a shooter and his shot didn't fall, even though he had a lot of assists and rebounds.

Valentine, a shooter, shot terrible, but passed well and rebounded well and won the game was amazing.

I'm confused. Buddy won us a game with a last second floater and sealed it. Why was Valentine amazing but Buddy awful?

[HoustonPelicans]

"He didn't shoot well, he sucked."
"He did everything else well. In fact, no one was saying anything about his rebounding, defense, or passing coming into the league. Needs to get his off hand ball handling tightened up."
"But he sucked shooting though. Passing is easy, somehow. Just did it a few times. Admit he sucked."
"But if I said he did everything else well, doesn't that imply..."
"Nah, stop wearing glasses and coating things in sugar."
"Actually, that describes me quite well..."

�������� LOL I read this too many times. Brilliant sir.

[DaPelFromHell]

No one is saying that cause he struggled in summer league, he will struggle in the NBA. He played pretty terrible in summer league and that's a fact. If you believe otherwise, then you are fooling yourself IMO..That's all I'm saying. So IF Steph Curry has a bad finals and I point out he played terrible that means I think he will always play terrible?? NO!! I'm just pointing out that he played terrible for a few games. That's all it means lol


LaVine only averaged like 1.5 made per 4 threes a game. IMO a knock down shooter should make at least 2 or more 3s while attempting at least 400+ not 300+ if they play a whole season. Eric Gordon almost shot as many 3s as LaVine and he only played in about half as many games as him. They also should shoot in the high 80s from the freethrow line and not high 70s like LaVine. He's not a knock down shooter IMO. Maybe he can get there, but you need more than one guy. And when it's only one guy, he better be elite and I don't see that with LaVine. The T-wolves needed another shooter more than they needed another point guard. Rubio, Jones, and LaVine can all handle the point guard position IMO. Now LaVine, Rush, and maybe Muhammed can play the 2 guard. Rush & Muhammed are more 3s than 2s. Rush shoots decent, but Muhammed has struggled from 3.

[DaPelFromHell]

And summer league may not mean jack squat, but if someone struggles in summer league it can't be a good sign. I'm hoping that it was just a bad couple of games on his part and not that he can't handle the pressure.

I just hope coach Gentry isn't like you guys and tells him "don't worry Buddy it was just summer league, you will be fine". He better tell him that he needs to work his tail off and get better cause he will be riding the pine if continues to turn the ball over and miss open shots!! lol

[ramsters60]

And summer league may not mean jack squat, but if someone struggles in summer league it can't be a good sign. I'm hoping that it was just a bad couple of games on his part and not that he can't handle the pressure.

I just hope coach Gentry isn't like you guys and tells him "don't worry Buddy it was just summer league, you will be fine". He better tell him that he needs to work his tail off and get better cause he will be riding the pine if continues to turn the ball over and miss open shots!! lol

Gentry might well say something like this, but he won't be the first person in Hield's ear.... you can bet your home that Buddy has already had this same conversation with himself....and I'm one of the believers that Hield is better suited for the big team (and the show) than he is for the Summer League....

[GuardianAngel25]

U said Buddy was terrible because he is a shooter and his shot didn't fall, even though he had a lot of assists and rebounds.

Valentine, a shooter, shot terrible, but passed well and rebounded well and won the game was amazing.

I'm confused. Buddy won us a game with a last second floater and sealed it. Why was Valentine amazing but Buddy awful?

Lol when did I say Valentine was amazing? I said it was pretty awesome what he did. He made 2 clutch shots to tie and win the game on buzzer beaters. I pointed out he didn't play good going 2-9 with 5 points. What he did was pretty awesome not his performance. He was bad as well. Buddy's floater was great, his 4 3point makes in a row was great, but his overall performance was flat out bad.