Hornets Summer League Thread

[Proudiddy]

Back like I never left... some confessions and observations:

 

In all honesty, I hardly watched any of the guys we brought in with partial guarantees to end the year bc I was so pissed off about us acquiring Plumlee and stinking it up down the stretch. Then, when we were rumored to have agreed to a deal with Jennings and passed it up to keep Weber, I REALLY became indifferent and figured I'd just put all my hope into the off-season.

 

That being said, I did watch, it at least follow, a lot of the games until we were officially eliminated... and in those games, the only partial guarantee guy I saw much of was Briante. I heard a lot of hype/excitement in various places about JOB, but hadn't saw much of him for myself. Now, with that preamble out of the way, I also was stoked with the Monk Pick, but super deflated when we announced he wouldn't be in SL. I thought he had a real chance to come out of SL as the best rookie going into the season...

 

Now, my observations... after watching today and having seen some of his game previously, Briante is like a poor man's Rondo. And in regards to offense, VERY poor. Briante seems to be an excellent floor general, but his offense is disgusting. Countering that is an unreal innate ability on defense. He does have an otherworldly knack for steals and great positioning. So, in that sense, going back to my comp, Rondo is a better offensive player in terms of scoring and knowing when and where to assert himself in that sense, but Briante appears to be a better defender... and again, I'm not saying he is or will be Rondo, but his game has similarities and he has potential to be a rotational guy in the league, but he has to at least develop a midrange. Overall, not as excited about him as I've seen some others, but I do LOVE watching good defense, and he has that - problem is, he has to have enough offense to make his defense worth it.

 

Now, the guy I was most impressed with? JOB. First time I really sat and watched him play. I believe a briefly saw him at some point before with GS maybe, but it was in garbage time and it wasn't enough of a look to even get an impression. Even with the level of comp in the SL, you can tell he's a baller. He's athletic, great build, and he even displayed some surprising, vintage-style big man moves that left me impressed. Just seeing him walk out on the court and move, with today's game, I automatically assumed - uber athletic big with no feel for the game, gets hustle points and outback. NOPE. Dude laid down some McHale like footwork and post moves. I was really blown away. He has a bright future in the league, and hopefully with us, if politics don't get in the way.

 

Bacon looked good in spots but didn't really assert himself, which seemed to be an issue that ked to his draft stock dropping between last season and this most recent season.

 

And I have to say, Suliamon and Gill probably round out my top 3 most impressive guys behind JOB. Gill is the floor running, hustle big archetype I previously mentioned, but he is REALLY good at it. He seems like a great team guy who does all the little things to make everyone else better around him. I was impressed. And Suliamon just has a great feel for the game - this coming from a UNC alum. He impacts the game in a lot of different ways and shows a willingness on defense that I really like.

 

I don't mean to get caught up in the moment, but I'm not gonna lie, I'd like to find a way to stash and develop the guys I mentioned, with JOB, Suliamon, and Gill the top candidates. And honestly, there isn't any stashing JOB... I think he is a solid rotational guy right now.  Weber is a fringe guy that are a dime a dozen.  We can find better, but wouldnt be mad of hes the 15th man to round out the roster of we cant find better.  But, less is more with Briante.  Just my thoughts...

 

[yasuhara2241]

@Proudiddy nice observations. My thoughts were very similar. I posted this somewhere else. 

Thoughts from Game 1:
* Our vet players (Weber, Graham, JOB) looked solid but not really extraordinary. I was hoping to see a little more from Weber but he showed the same as last year, great hustle and defense but loose handles and poor outside shooting. Graham looked like he was on another level which is a good sign but still is an end of bench player. 
* Liked what I saw from Sulaimon and Gill. Sulaimon really played a solid first half and kind of stood out to me. Gill looks to have an NBA type body and athleticism, so has some potential. 
* Disappointed with Karnowski. Looked lost and slow. Lots of quick fouls from lack of movement. First impression wasn't good. 
* Bacon flashed. Started off with a top of the key fade away jumper, nice behind the back pass for a jam and didn't notice him being bad on defense. His jumper wasn't falling too much but he showed potential. Might have been a little timid but didn't show nerves which is a great sign. 
* Screw the Heat. Bam looked really good.

[WOW!!]

Weber sucked..
He showed a lack of handles when pressed, he was trying to be a score 1st pg without scoring ability, only thing going for him was his defense.. Sulimon actually ran the offense better was looking to pass instead of score and made others look good and not himself.. Then he broke the press consistently..

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[Guest HonoluluFan]

Weber is still very raw, but super-athletically quick. All over the place offensively; he did hit a 3 @ around 5:30 here, but then carelessly passed it into the backcourt for a turnover on another play. I did read the Coaches have really been working with him on the 3-ball. With Carter-Williams now on the roster, we can go big or small defensively at PG now, a nice option to have...  

 

[The Huddler]

Literally the only one i care to hear about is Bacon

 

rest are scrubs

[zacka77ack]

This is summer league with a bunch of dudes who have practiced together like 3 or 4 times. These dudes have to balance playing as a team and at the same time show off. The offensive flow is going to be ugly and disjointed. You can't blame Weber for that. Weber ended the game with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists. You can't be mad about that. These dudes aren't starters or all stars. Most of them are rotationals, at best.


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[Proudiddy]

1 hour ago, zacka77ack said:

This is summer league with a bunch of dudes who have practiced together like 3 or 4 times. These dudes have to balance playing as a team and at the same time show off. The offensive flow is going to be ugly and disjointed. You can't blame Weber for that. Weber ended the game with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists. You can't be mad about that. These dudes aren't starters or all stars. Most of them are rotationals, at best.


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Like I said, I love watching dudes with a supernatural ability to jump passing lanes and create turnovers, as well as playing gritty defense...  So, I love that aspect of Weber's game, but you have to have some semblance of offense.  Even considering they're all basically playing with strangers, you can tell natural playmakers and floor generals from guys who don't really have a natural feel for it.  I think you can get better at it, but as someone else mentioned, a guy like Suliamon just seems to naturally have a feel for it...  Briante doesn't.  And honestly, his lack of a consistent form of offense makes it harder for him to be a floor general bc it takes away his options, and the defense knows it...  they can sag off of him and help on the passing lanes bc they know he cant consistently shoot well, or at all.  So, guys have a harder time getting open when he's the primary ballhandler.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Rasheed Sulaimon is a shooting guard

Not a point guard

[Proudiddy]

4 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

Rasheed Sulaimon is a shooting guard

Not a point guard

I know, and that's the problem if he's facilitating better than Weber.

[MillionDollarCam]

I don't really think Sualimon was distributing the ball better than Weber.

Sualimon was running the point better because he was more composed but a lot of times he was just taking the ball straight to the hoop. I did like his and Graham's aggressiveness, those two seemed the most comfortable out on the floor.

[MrBubba]

2 hours ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

As a Heat fan, I'm glad to see Bam look real good. 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in his debut. :D

Why wasn't Monk participating?

Hurt his ankle

[zacka77ack]

2 hours ago, MillionDollarCam said:

I don't really think Sualimon was distributing the ball better than Weber.

Sualimon was running the point better because he was more composed but a lot of times he was just taking the ball straight to the hoop. I did like his and Graham's aggressiveness, those two seemed the most comfortable out on the floor.

When I watch Sulaimon I do not see anything resembling a Point Guard. Dude is looking to score on every touch. Hes playing ISO ball, in my opinion.

[MillionDollarCam]

44 minutes ago, zacka77ack said:

When I watch Sulaimon I do not see anything resembling a Point Guard. Dude is looking to score on every touch. Hes playing ISO ball, in my opinion.

That's what I saw as well.

[MillionDollarCam]

Weber looks much better today and Treveon Graham still looks like the best player on the court.