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#1
07-15-2009, 03:26 PM
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Im glad to hear James Johnson is doing well. that coach at Wake should be shot. That team had some serious talent this year and they just got steadily worse as the season went on.
Johnson has great feet for a guy his size. It was interesting in the game I watched live against the terps, they put him on the smaller Vasquez to shut him down. He also at times was the point on the press. 
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#2
07-17-2009, 11:35 AM
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7/15
New York Jordan Hill wasn't great but again looked solid. He scored another 14 on 6-14 shooting. Looked a little lost on the defense end though but that's going to come. Toney Douglas still isn't hitting shots but looks like he's playing well. He only hit 1-6 and missed all three from long range but he gave 10 assists and continues to make good decisions with the ball and running the offense. Detroit OK so I'll admit it. I thought Austin Daye would be a bust. He's shocked me. He was very strong again with 27 and 13 boards. He's just always in the right place and around the ball. I don't like seeing guys that are 6'11" shooting threes (1-4) but he was 8-13 on the rest of his shots. He's got a lot of talent. Milwaukee Joe Alexander looks so much more comfortable now than he did in the beginning. He scored 18 and had five boards here. Brandon Jennings didn't shoot so great (4-10 for 14 points) but where he continues to impress is in his ability to get where he wants and get defenders on their heels and delivering good passes. He had nine more assists. Meeks did what has become the norm for him. Nothing spectacular but shot well (6-12) and played well within his ability to get his 16 points. Chicago James Johnson came down some from his first game. Didn't shoot nearly as well and I kinda feel like he settles for the long shot too often. Still, not too bad. Only shot 4-15 (0-4 on 3s) but fought his way to 16 points. Taj Gibson was very effecient with 12-8 but I didn't like the fact that he couldn't get to the line more. Didn't show much diversity to his offensive game. Toronto DeRozan had another solid game. He's so much like OJ Mayo in the fact that they just look like they are so much better than everyone else on the court, like he could score 20 in his sleep. Had another 20 here on 9-16 shooting and continues to give the impression that he'll be a solid pro. Quincy Douby didn't shoot so well but found a way to 16 points and continues to show he's ready to make someone's roster and contribute this year. Phoenix Earl Clark played in this game and had a pretty good outing. Only shot 5-12 and kinda forced things a little but was aggressive on both ends and had 13 and 12 boards. Gragic still can't shoot. Was only 1-6 from the field and missed some open shots pretty bad. Did pass the ball pretty decent but it's not looking promising for this guy seeing the court much for the Suns this year. Zabian Dowdell shot horribly. Looked like he was a little overconfident after the good first game and took some bad shots. Missed all three from long range and was only 3-12 overall for seven points. Sacramento Tyreke Evans didn't start and had a limited role because of what I think is a finger injury. Only scored five with six boards and three assists but he's already established his ability. Portland I really like Dante Cunningham. He has a nice variety in his offensive game. Scored 22 and had five boards and shot decently (8-20). He will be a good backup player behind Aldridge in Portland. Uses his size very well. Jerryd Bayless looked like he was just going through the motions. Unlike a guy like DeRozan, who acts like he's better than everyone else and is playing like it, Bayless acts like he is too but needs to work harder to get the same production. He's got ability but I just question his desire. Houston Much of the same as we've been seeing from the two players I've been watching. Budinger is solid. Like Meeks, he knows his limits and his range and is playing very well. Scored 17 on 6-8 shooting (including 2-2 on 3s) and is going to be a solid pro player. Joey Dorsey again didn't give you much on offense but is strong on defense. Is a lot stronger on the defensive block that I thought and hits the glass hard. Only had nine points but added 11 more boards. Denver Ty Lawson again struggled with his shot and didn't impress at all but this time, I'm not blaming his teammates. He wasn't as tentative but wasn't aggressive enough when the opportunities opened up. Only hit 1-8 and missed his only try from three. Added four assists but just didn't look like he's an NBA contributer. I am waiting for more because I know he's better than what he's shown. Washington Tyrese Rice and Alade Aminu look like wasted draft choices. Neither is giving the team anything and look overmatched and really, scared out there. Rice scored only three points (on a halfcourt buzzer shot) and had two assists. Aminu took one shot (missed) and didn't score and only had one rebound. Just nothing.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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#3
07-17-2009, 12:19 PM
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7/16
Toronto Whatever I said about DeRozan before, read it again here. Another game, another 20. Shot pretty well (8-13) and I am just about convinced that he'll make the all-rookie first team. Douby was about the same as he's been. Had trouble with his shot but scored 17 and had seven assists. Milwaukee Jodie Meeks was the story. He was a lot more aggressive than he has been and his teammates looked for him more. Shot 12-23 (4-8 on 3s) and scored 29. Watching him, a lot of teams are going to regret skipping over him. If they could redraft now, he'd be top 10. I really think Redd is going to be shipped out by the deadline. Jennings was decent here. Didn't shoot so great from distance but was not too bad overall. Scored only 13 but had seven more assists and ran the offense well and continues to be a pest on defense when he wants to be. Joe Alexander played well again with 19 and eight boards. He's much better than he was last year in the summer league and maybe the confidence gained here can carry over and he can do something during the season. He's got the talent. Houston Say what you guys want about what Bodinger can't do but the boy can play in this league. Inconsistent shot? He was 7-9 here and 3-3 on 3s for 25 points. In his last two games, that's 14-17 (5-5) and his final numbers from the league are 32-47 (68%) and 8-11 (73%) on threes for 17.8 points a game. It's like I said, he will get a lot better looks here than he got in college because he's not a focus of the defense and he CAN shoot the ball. Granted, this is not the real NBA but it is a big step up from college and he's stepped his game up to meet the challenge. He's been one of the top players here. I don't know what Joey Dorsey is but one thing he's not is garbage. He's a good example of a guy that knows his limitations. He knows he's not going to be an offensive star so he works hard in the areas that will earn him a living in the league. He tied the league record with 20 boards and for the tournament, averaged 14.8 boards and 9.8 points. He's not going to be anyone's starter but he'll contribute because he's a strong rebounder and solid defender. New Orleans Marcus Thornton had a decent game. He scored 21 but fell too in love with the long shot. Take out is 1-6 on 3s and he shot 5-8 from the field. Needs to follow the lead of Meeks and DeRozan and stay with what you are strong with and not try to do too much. Darren Collison couldn't keep up the pace he had been setting but wasn't too bad. Scored 14 and played good defense here. He missed all three of his 3s and has missed all four so far here. He's going to have to be able to hit those. Julian Wright looked horrible. So much for taking a step forward. Shot horrible and that took him out of his whole game. Didn't score well and didn't give anything on the glass. Golden State Anthony Randolph and Cartier Martin didn't play. Stephen Curry did but didn't do much. He's really fallen off in the last couple. Only shot 4-10 (actually good for him) and scored nine. Looked like he was gunshy out there. I say he's got to keep shooting. That's what got him here and the only way to start making them is to keep taking them. Just looked like he was scared to shoot cause he was scared to miss. Oklahoma City James Harden didn't play. Shaun Livingston is still struggling with his shot. Was only 2-9 from the field and just doesn't look like he's comfortable. Pretty decent at running the offense but he's just a shadow of what he used to be. BJ Mullens again looked like an amatuer. Had every opportunity but only shot 2-8 and had five points and one rebound. San Antonio Dejuan Blair had another solid game. Didn't hit the boards as hard but what it looked like was the team ran more offense for him and that's where his focus was. Scored 20 on 8-11 shots and seemed pretty comfortable in that role but I think he's going to earn his keep on the boards and on defense and I want to see more of that in the next couple of games. Jack McClinton probably won't make the team. He has yet to make a shot in three games and is giving them absolutely nothing on the court. Dallas After looking so good a couple of games ago, Rodrigue Beaubois has really come back to earth. Shot horribly (2-14, 0-6 on 3s) and only scored four and had one assists. It wasn't just that he missed shots but a lot of them were bad shots and he didn't make good decisions when he could have hit an open man, he instead was shooting. Ahmad Nivins didn't do much (5 and 6) and was kinda muscled around a little. He looked bored and was much better at the start of the tournament than he's been in the last two. Cleveland I was thinking that Danny Green would have a good shot at making this rotation. Now, I'm not so sure. He's just not doing much. What it looks like is in the first game, he took people by surprise but since they figured out he was a go-to player for offense on this team, he's been shut down. Only shot 2-6 (missed all three 3s) and scored four. Maybe when he gets to play with James in camp, it will open up the floor a little for him and he'll be able to get better shots and hit them. Not impressive here though. LA Clippers Blake Griffin had an odd game. He completely dominated the first half but was almost a ghost in the second. Overall though, he again showed all the skills that will make him a very good NBA player. He runs the court so well and is extremely athletic. Seems to make a lot of the right decisions and is patient. I remember thinking when I was watching Jordan Hill that he has ability but needs to slow down a little. Griffin doesn't have that problem. He takes it as it comes to him and doesn't force it. Love him. Memphis As good as Griffin looked is as bad as Thabeet has looked. If Thabeet was an undrafted free agent, it might not be so bad. But as the second pick, you want more. Griffin made him look like a grade schooler. He had seven with three boards and zero blocks although he did alter a couple. We already knew he was going to take some time to produce on offense but if he's going to give you this little on defense, that's a big problem. Marcus Williams didn't shoot too well but got to the line at will. The defenders just couldn't stop him. He scored 22 but 16 came from the line (20 attempts). Darrell Arthur was decent. Only scored 10 but I liked his work on the boards (eight) and on defense. He played better defense on Griffin than Thabeet did. Jeff Adrien didn't play.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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#4
07-18-2009, 11:12 AM
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7/17
Detroit Austin Daye with another solid performance. For someone so skinny, he really plays well inside. He had another double-double last night with 20-10. He continued to be more effective inside and on the boards than I expected and was very physical on defense. The thing I liked is even when he was muscled down there, he still at least tried hard to hold his position. Cleveland Another downer for Danny Green. He's just seemed to lose all his confidence. Shot 2-7 and missed all three from distance while scoring only six points. He's going to need a real good training camp to make the rotation. Sacramento Tyreke Evans returned to the starting lineup and looked more like his old self. Didn't shoot so well (6-16) but looked better as a point guard. Got where he wanted on the court and made good passes. Wasn't as aggressive as before as far as posting or going to the basket but we know he can do that. New York If Toney Douglas needed to prove himself as a shooter to make the league, forget it. Shot poorly again (4-14 and missed both 3s) but he worked himself to a 15 point night. Wasn't as much of a setup man here and overall, was a decent game but not great. Jordan Hill struggled with his shot. He only went 3-11 for eight points but again, you like the shots he's taking. He was more aggresive on the boards with 12 and you like to see a guy step it up in other areas when one is off. Minnesota Wayne Ellington played well again. The knock on him was that he wasn't athletic and couldn't create his own shot but he's actually doing that here. He's a long range shooter so you don't expect him to shoot 50% so his line of 6-14 (4-9 on 3s) for 19 points is about what you'd expect. Jonny Flynn had maybe his best game. He scored 21 and added five assists and shot 7-11 from the field. The thing I like about him more than a lot of these other point guards is that he doesn't settle for the bailout three. He'll get something good, either for himself or a teammate. He's really good at getting past his initial defender and making the defense collapse. Gerald Henderson got good minutes but didn't play a good game. Shot really bad (3-10) and looks like he's not even half the player Ellington is. Paul Harris has probably played himself off the roster. Only got in for a few minutes and did nothing at all. Washington Aminu was again a non-factor. Made both of his shots but only scored four and gave them only one board. He looked so good in college but looks scared here. Tyrese Rice, same thing. He just is having a hard time. If a point guard is not going to shoot well (2-7), he needs to be passing well. Didn't have a single assist last night. Oklahoma City James Harden was solid again if not great. He relied on the three a little too much but was hitting them (4-9). Finished with 20 and five assists. He's probably assured himself the starting role once the season starts. BJ Mullens continued his up and down play. Missed a lot of easy shots and looked rushed. Scored seven on 3-9 shooting but was good on the boards with seven. I just can't say which way I think he'll go. Livingston didn't play. Chicago I was saying earlier about Hill producing in other areas when his offense was out, well that's what James Johnson did here. Only shot 2-11 from the field although there weren't many bad shots. But he added 10 boards and seven assists and played an overall solid game. Very strong and physical player and creative with the ball. Taj Gibson didn't play. Denver The real Ty Lawson showed up. He finally looked comfortable on the court and his teammates looked better with him. He was very aggresive on offense with 11-16 shooting for 26 points and five assists. Still had quite a few passes that will be assists in the real games that these guys couldn't handle. What's great with him is he's always pushing. He's really good at looking ahead after getting the outlet or the inbounds pass and even though he's not getting an assist, he's putting the defense on their heels. I thought it was the best point guard performance of the tournament. Portland Jerryd Bayless is just not impressing me. You can see he's got ability but he's not making the step from a rookie to a guy that's ready to move to the next level like a guy like Nick Young or Anthony Randolph did. They are playing him at the point a lot because he's not going to get much time at the two with Roy in Portland and it's just not working for him. He dribbles too much and is not a willing passer. Shot 8-17 for his 19 points but didn't really have an impact. Dante Cunningham didn't play. Phoenix Goran Dragic finally showed something. He was aggressive out there and played pretty well. Had 17 and eight assists and looked a lot more in charge of the team. It's still a long way to go for him but at least he showed some signs. Earl Clark stepped back a little. He stayed on the perimeter too much for me and didn't take advantage of some matchups I thought he could have. Finished with 8-7 but wasn't really the factor he should have been. Dowdell is looking like a one-game flash. Only scored six here on 3-7 shooting and missed both 3s. Last two games have been below average for him.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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#5
07-18-2009, 11:33 AM
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Bayless really should have stayed in school, he would probably be much further along now. I think Toney Douglass makes the team regardless of what he does.
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#6
07-18-2009, 02:29 PM
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I don't think that Bayless' problem is that he came out early. You look at guys like DeRozan and Harden and Evans. Sure, they had a year of college but they more than likely didn't need it. Jennings didn't need it. Some guys just know how to play and look like what they don't have yet, they'll get. I am not sure Bayless needed it. I think if Bayless had gone to a situation like Harden did where he would have been given every opportunity to start and show what he could do, that would have helped. But going to Portland didn't help because he's just not going to see much time playing behind Roy. Last year at the summer league, Bayless killed it, leading the league in scoring. What's happening here is that they are trying to get him to play more of the point because that's where he's going to see the court in Portland and he's just not making the transition. It's made it hard to really evaluate him because if he was playing his natural position, I think he'd again be among the better players here. But at the point, it's just not there. Toney Douglas will be on the Knicks roster for sure. He is a very good floor general. He has such command of the team that it always looks like he's doing more than he is. He's good at getting the defender off balance and getting to spots that he wants and then getting the shot he wants or making the good pass. The shots will start falling and once they do, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him starting for NY.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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#7
07-18-2009, 03:38 PM
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Quote:
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