Before the games began I found myself extremely excited, I had never previously attended NBA summer league and I really didn’t know what to expect. Well, I did have some expectations. I thought the games would be much like those of college basketball, slow and low scoring. My expectations were partially met, the games were low scoring but there action was a lot quicker than I expected.

My first game of the day was the Spurs and 76ers. Both teams had many guys who have played in the NBA or will play in the NBA on their rosters. The Sixers have ten guys who have either played or will play, they are first round picks Thaddeus Young, and Jason Smith, second round picks Derek Byars, and Hubert Hill, as well as 2006 second round pick Edin Bavcic. The Sixers have veterens too, they have 2006 picks Rodney Carney and Bobby Jones and 2005 pick Louis Williams, they also have Veteren Louis Amundson who previously played and UNLV and got a huge ovation. The Spurs only have four players who will or have played in the NBA. They include rookie Marcus Williams and veterens Jackie Butler, James White and Donnell Harvey.

The Sixers were a much better team than the Spurs, and they would lead most the game. The problem for the Sixers is that after their first unit of NBA veterens goes out their second string guys do not play very well together. The Spurs did have the lead for a while, but let it go because they can’t guard the three point line.

Studs and Duds

Stud
Louis Amundson, he had a double double and played really good defense all game, but he shoots to much.
Dud Stud
Louis Williams, He is amazing, scoring at will and he can pass too.
Dud
Rodney Carney, he doesn’t look like a first round pick. He looks like a player trying to make the team.
Stud
C.J. Watson, I never heard of him before but he is a good player.

Game two was the game I wanted to see, my Dallas Mavericks and the Seattle Sonics. Sonics have a lot of good young players but they lack discipline and a good point guard. The Sonics had 11 players who will or have played in the NBA, they are 2007 draft picks Kevin Durant, Zabian Dowdell, and Jeff Green. The Sonics also had other former draft picks of theirs Saer Sene, Johan Petro, and Mikale Gelabale, they also had veterans Julius Hodges who was a first round pick of the Nuggets, and Jermaine Jackson, and Anthony Roberson. The Mavericks had 9 players with NBA experience, such as Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Reyshawn Terry, Nick Fazekas, Eddie Basden, Desagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Brandon Bass, Jose Berea and Renaldas Seibutis.

The Mavericks had control of the game from the tip to finish, that is because the experience level between the two teams was a big factor. The Mavericks had a starter last year on their team and Seattle didn’t. Kevin Durant looked really good for the Sonics and he did cause the Mavericks some match up problems.

Studs and Duds Stud
Kevin Durant, well deserving of the #2 pick.
Dud
Johan Petro, he just sucked.
Stud
Maurice Ager, Another summer league another good showing for him. He just needs to do it in the regular season.
Dud
Jamon Gordon, I don’t know why he is even here on our team. He isn’t going to make it.
Stud
Julius Hodges, he is a good at getting rebounds for a guard.
Dud
Ronnie Burrell, He didn’t play very much and I can see why. He doesn’t follow the plays
Stud
Jose Barea, almost got a double-double. He’s a good quick PG with some mad skillz.
Dud
Renaldas Seibutis, He should go back to Europe.

The final game I watched was between China and Memphis. This was also the highest scoring and most fun of the three games. But it did look like for a time China was going to win this game by a huge number.

Both China and Memphis had a lot of players familiar with the NBA. China had first round pick Yi Jianlian, and second round pick Sun Yue, and former Maverick player Wang Zhi-Zhi. The Grizzlies had Kyle Lowery, Arthur Johnson, and Terrence Kinsey who all played for the Grizzlies last year, they also had first round pick Mike Conley and former NBA player Roger Powell.

The first few minutes of this game the score was close, than China began to run off with the game. Memphis made a few attempts to get back into the game, but they didn’t have enough fire power. China had a lot of big guards, and that caused Conley some problems.

Studs and Duds Stud
Wang Zhi-Zhi, I never saw him play this well when he played for the Mavericks. He was slow back than but is quick now.
Dud
Zhou Pang, Funny name, even funnier looking person.
Stud
Rudy Gay, had a good game but shot to many bad shots, also needs to learn to shoot of the dribble.
Dud
Arthur Johnson, he had 10 fouls in the game.
Stud
Yi Jianlian, He’s really big and can move. He is skinny too, way to skinny.
Dud
Sun Yue. He kept losing the ball.
Stud
Terrence Kinsey, Good shooter and good without the ball
Dud
Roger Powell, He just looked out of place.