NBA Summer League
Las Vegas | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |
Salt Lake. | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

The first game was between the Hawks and Spurs. The Spurs got off to a good start taking a five point lead after a Malike Hairston. Hairston had a very good quarter and helped them establish a Spurs presence in the paint. Anthony Toliver entered the game guns a blazing, he hit three three-pointers in the quarter and helped the Spurs build a nine point lead. One reason the Spurs had success was their rebounding, especially the rebounding of point guard George Hill; who had 5 rebounds in the quarter. The Hawks got some good play from point guard Acie Law; was able to get into the paint for an easy shot and knocked down some free throws. The Hawks had some troubles because Othello Hunter did not play.

The Spurs went up nine again after a Toliver shot, but like he did in Saturdays game Acie Law took over and helped bring the Hawks back. Law has been able to get into the paint in every game, but he still continues to struggle to score when he does this. The Spurs had some issue with turnovers, especially when Hill was not running the offense. After a Law lay up near the end of the quarter the Hawks trailed by only two points.

The Hawks took the lead in the early second half after a four point play by Law, but overall the quarter was very poorly played. Both teams missed a lot of easy shots, and turnovers were rampid once again. The Spurs had absolutely no offense in this quarter, they made only a couple of field goals but were able to get to the line ten times. The Hawks on the other hand couldn’t get to line and had they made some of their shots they would have ran away with this game.

Acie Law had another fantastic quarter in the fourth to help the Hawks take the lead. Law was able to get to the hoop but this time he made the lay ups. The final period was a mirror opposite of the third quarter, the fourth seen high energy and fluid offense with both teams scoring the ball very well. The Spurs countered the Hawks offense by going inside to Toliver and by hitting outside, most specifically two three pointers by Brian Morrison. The game went down to the wire, but the Spurs were able to pull away and win by one point.

Players to watch

Acie Law: Had a fantastic game. He was able to dominate the game and score at will. He still needs to learn to finish though, and I will continue to criticize him until he does.

Thomas Gadner: Had a quiet game, he can score but he’s really raw. Needs to learn to move on defense, he has terrible footwork and that must improve.

James Gist: He had his best game of the revue. He did a great job on the boards, but has terrible hands.

Malike Hairston: Must learn to play like a big man in the NBA. He did fantastic on offense but was gone on nearly all defensive plays. He doesn’t go for rebounds and played very lackadaisical defense.

Anthony Toliver: He can play no doubt. Needs to work a little more on his defense but he’s a guy who can do what a team needs. Don’t be shocked if he makes the NBA this year.

Brian Morrison: He’s a good shooter but not much else can be said about his game.

The Warriors played their second game of the revue vs. Dallas. The Warrior started off sluggishly looking like they still had a hangover from the beating they gave the Nets last night. The Warriors missed a lot of easy shots and found themselves down 11-2 a few minutes into the quarter. Dallas too had problems with sloppy play and turnovers, and it was the turnovers which changed the game and allowed the Warriors to take a 14-13 lead following some Courtney Sims free throws. The Warriors would maintain their lead going into the second quarter at 11-17. Anthony Morrow was a flat out stud in the first quarter for the Warriors, he was able to dominate down low getting any shot he wanted.

The Second Quarter was more of the same as both teams played sloppy basketball and most the scoring was done from the charity strip. The Warriors did get some good play from first round pick Anthony Randolph who was able to get to the line and make his free throws. Dallas got another solid quarter from Gerald Green who was able to knock down a couple of jumpers.

Dallas picked up their tempo in the third and closed to within 4 points at one point. The Mavericks surge was lead mainly by guards Reggie Williams and Gerald Green. Williams was able to get inside and than kick it out to Green on a couple of occasions and Green knocked down the jumpers. Williams also knocked down a pair of jumpers of his own, but it was the size of Randolph and Morrow who would ultimate dictate this game. The Mavericks big men were just not strong enough nor quick enough to offset these two behemeths of men.

The Warriors ran away with the game in the fourth as Dallas got ice cold again making only three shots and turning the ball over 8 times. Jamont Gordon went off in the final quarter scoring 14 points after the Mavs had cut the lead to 7. Gordon did a fantastic job of getting inside for easy lay ups and getting himself open for uncontested shots. Anthony Morrow continued his dominance down low by scoring 9 points in the quarter and helping the Warriors build a 17 point lead. The Warriors cruised to victory 90-73.

Players to watch

Reyshawn Terry: His stats say he had a good game, but in actuality he had a poor game at best. He is a horrible defender, think Dirk Nowitzki soft and Carlos Boozer lazy on defense. Not a good combination.

Gerald Green: Great ball player to watch, but piss poor attitude. I think Green will go down in the annals of basketball history as one of the great “what ifs”. “what if he had worked as hard as he bitched and moaned?”

Anthony Randolph: Fantastic free throw shooter, and great at getting to the line. Unfortunately he didn’t do much else.

Anthony Morrow: After night, there is no doubt he gets signed to a contract real soon. He’s a ball player in every sense of the word. He had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.

Jamont Gordon: Can get to the hoop and can finish. His defense needs work but I expect to see him on an NBA roster this winter.

The Jazz got started slow again. Their defense was atrocious, mainly that of Morris Almond. The Nets were able to get to the hoop almost all will during the first quarter, especially crowd favorite and former Utah State Aggie Jaycee Carroll who scored at will in the first. Utah’s mainstays of Almond, second year center Kyrylo Fesenko and rookie Kosta Koufos were really part of the problem, and like last night vs. Iran once they exited in favor or Kevin Lyde and Hiram Fuller things began to settle down for the Jazz. However, the Nets hot shooting allowed them to lead going into the second.

Utah played a little better in the second quarter, but Carroll and Chris Douglas-Roberts were still able to get to the hoop. Turnovers really killed the Jazz, on a number of occasions they had the opportunity to cut into the Nets lead but never could. On the flip side, the Nets could have blown this game open but they didn’t defend Morris Almond; who was able to keep the Jazz in the game. Utah made a surge and got to within six, but the Nets would take a 45-35 lead into half time.

Utah got some solid play from their bench in the second half. Yaroslav Korolev, and Ricky Paulding had nice quarters to help the Jazz climb back into the game. The Nets defense really hurt them, especially defense by Roberts and Carroll; both of whom were focused more on scoring than defense. Morris Almond continued to be lights out for the Jazz and he was able to lead them to within one point of the Nets at 63-62.

The fourth quarter was the Tyrone Brazelton show. Brazelton went off for 12 points in the quarter and gave the Nets defenders an absolute fit. Jaycee Carroll was the only high point for the Nets as he continued to knock down jumpers. Utah finally took the lead early in the fourth quarter, and after going back and fourth the Jazz pulled away and evened their RMR record at 2-2 after beating the Nets.

Players to watch

Jaycee Carroll: He can shoot from anywhere on the floor but his defensive intensity just wasn’t there tonight. He does however have a very good chance of getting onto an NBA Roster.

Ryan Anderson: He’s looking like a very solid pickup for the Nets. He’s big and he’s athletic, and can get to the line.

Brook Lopez: He was a bigger bomb than the one that hit Hiroshima sixty-three years ago. He did rebound nicely but was not there any other time. He let Utah centers go into him and didn’t put up much of a fight and committed a bunch of dumb fouls

Chris Douglas-Roberts: He’s fun to watch but needs to take better shoots and pass the ball more.

Morris Almond: Like I have said before, he’s a shooter who isn’t afraid to shoot. Tonight, however, he played, or attempted to play, some solid defense. He wasn’t great at it, but it’s a start.

Tyrone Brazelton: He dazzled the crowd and looked very confident running the show. I still think he’s a little too greedy for a point guard for the NBA, and his defense isn’t up to par but he did turn heads tonight.