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Suns vs D-League Select: The Tale of Two Dragi

The story of this game is Goran Dragic, who came out of his shell to put up 17 points and 8 assists in the Suns 95 - 89 win over the D-league Select (DLS) team. His performance wasn't stellar from start to finish and by no means can be considered "break out," but it was an improvement and he knew it.

A smiling and jocular Dragic had this to say about himself after the game, "I was talking with Alvin (Gentry) and he told me 'Dragic, finally you showed up in Vegas' and I said yeah. [chuckle]"

There is no doubt that the entire Suns organization was looking for a better performance tonight from next year's backup point guard and he delivered that tonight.

Star-divide

He started the game with the first shot, a missed attempt driving to his left, and then settled in for a first half that was stifled by a combination of his natural point guard tendency to defer to his teammates and a defense that was focused heavily on stopping him. He had 3 points in 12 minutes of play until the final ticks of the half when he dunked the ball on a break away. He then had a beauty of a play, taking a sidelines inbound pass and blazing to the rim for a layup at the buzzer. It was just one play, so I don't want to get too carried away, but it was reminiscent of Leandro Barbosa.

Goran explained that he was focused on getting his teammates involved, which opened up the floor for him late in the game. He certainly got help with the spacing from Jiri Hubalek (8-11 for 20 points) and Micah Downs (8 -11 for 19 points). He was trapped frequently coming off screens and he made good decisions to find the open man.

The second half started with the DLS playing with far more passion and fire on both ends. They outscored the Suns 27 to 13 in the period and turned a 55-53 Suns lead into a 62-67 deficit going into the fourth. Dragic (2 points) and the entire team looked flat.

The come back in the fourth quarter was impressively led by Goran's 8 points, coming mostly on blow-bys to the rim which gave him the confidence to finally hit an outside jump shot. Mix in 8 assists and only two turnovers and I think we can call this game a success for the young Slovenian. By the end of the game his body language had improved and he at least looked like he was having fun. It's no great display of floor leadership, but it's a good start.

Goran also recorded his first technical foul playing in the US. It wasn't deserved. He had a couple of words for the ref on a questionable call and had turned and was walking away when he got T'd up. He certainly didn't get his money's worth on that one.

Neither Goran nor Suns VP David Griffin were happy with the pace of the game despite putting up 95 points in 40 minutes. I was told before the game that Zabian Dowdell would play together with Dragic to help speed things up, but that didn't happen. Dowdell (6pts/4asst) played his 14 minutes opposite to Goran's 25.

This game was all about Goran just as the first game was about Robin and the second game was the Earl Clark debut. Both of those guys were unimpressive in this one.

Robin did post a double double, but unfortunately he had 10 fouls to go along with his 10 points. Robin, perhaps distracted by his brother Brook sitting courtside, picked up 4 quick fouls in 3 minutes and had 9 halfway through the 3rd period. He did manage to play 4 minutes in the fourth before fouling out with about a minute or so to go.

Lopez' best stint by far came in the second quarter where he displayed the defense in the paint we'll be looking for come October. Playing against smaller and quicker guys who frequently pulled him from the rim, he still managed to recover quickly to alter and block shots. He had 4 in the first half, including an emphatic weak side swat that drew oohs and ahhs from the tiny crowd. Robin even threw in a stare down on his prone opponent.

Offensively Robin drew a lot of attention in the post and only managed 1 for 5 against the much shorter Selects in the first half. He did go 3 for 3 in the second with two assisted feeds and one nice face up bank shot from the left block extended.

Robin's best moves of the night were walking towards his brother and father several times to exchange words. I couldn't quite make out what the conversations were about, but it was hilarious to see Robin during small breaks in play head over to share a few words with his family.

Clark was a non-factor in the affair. He finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds and really didn't do much to garner attention.

We have to also give credit to a well-coached and well-prepared D-league team. They played with more cohesion and energy than most teams here and they certainly deserved to be in the game. The were impressive with their activity and out-rebounded the Suns 41 to 34, led by 10 boards from point guard Curtis Stinson, who played 28 minutes off the bench.

And that's a wrap for my 2009 Summer League coverage. I am pretty beat after working most days on other stuff from 7am to 1pm and then watching games until 10pm. Not to complain -- it's been a blast hanging out with some great people and watching some up and coming stars and some up and coming role players and some up and coming busts, but I am ready to go home in the morning. Mike Lisboa will be staying one more night, so he'll have tomorrow night's game against the Grizzlies covered. Hopefully, we will see Clark, Dragic and Lopez all play well at the same time.

Here's the audio for a very happy Goran:

 

 

 

Bonus audio: A few words from ASU stud and #3 pick James Harden

 

0 recs  |  Comment 17 comments |

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The difference between stars and benchwarmers is consistency

What you’re seeing with our bench players and rookies in the SL is their lack of consistency, which is to say the level of game they would bring to their middle 64 or so games (performance wise) during the season, bearing in mind that every player plays blinders and clunkers during the season.

It’s why players like Dowdell are valued in the league, because you know what you’re gonna get from them, night in and night out.

It can take 2 or 3 years for a player to be NBA ready, and deliver that consistency. Efficiency comes later, with experience

"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read".

by Pliny the Elder on Jul 18, 2009 12:41 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

+1

Said everything I wanted to say about it. He’s got to prove he can do it again. Can’t be satisfied.

Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves.

by SunDolphin on Jul 18, 2009 5:53 AM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

We are losing the possibility to make a great team.

The possible Nash´s new contract is mortgaging the future of the Suns

Which team is more competitive?
A)The current roster with Nash
B)another roster with Lee + Duhon instead of Nash

For me, clearly option B

by matrix7 on Jul 18, 2009 6:52 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

I agree

I love Nash, but is keeping him worth 3 years and 39 milion? First he goes out and tries to become the GM, saying he won’t stay if they aren’t ‘going in the right direction’, then he hogs all of the cap space. Iam very disappointed in him.

April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?

by Hawk42 on Jul 18, 2009 10:05 AM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

ahh thank you I have been saying this since the end of the season. Sure I love Nash and what he has done but if the end goal is winning a championship and building a championship caliber team you have to strike while the iron is hot. If teams are willing to give up good pieces to acquire Nash so they can make a run in the next year or so, trade him.

I mean lets be honest, truly contending for a championship is not in the picture for a least a couple of years. Might has well make some moves to build towards it

No day but today

by RyanMarcus on Jul 18, 2009 11:19 AM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

With Knicks in the need of conserve cap space for the summer of 2010, I think is the momment to make an offer for Lee.

Nash has proven that he is only interested in money; if he really wants to play in a contender team, he would request less money (about 5-6 m $), in order to have flexibility to can sign a free agent.

I know Steve Nash has respect from all players in the league, but I think that what we gain is more than what we lose in a trade with Knicks

by matrix7 on Jul 18, 2009 9:37 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Duhon-Dragic
JRich-Barbosa-Tucker
Hill-Dudley-Clark
Amare-Lee- Amundson
Frye-López

13 players; we don´t need add other players.

thinking in next season, if we don´t want to resign Amare for max, no problem, because we have an All Star caliber player (Lee) and we can go for another free agent (Wade).

by matrix7 on Jul 18, 2009 10:01 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

I wouldn't want Lee ...

as a backup to Stoudemire. That’s one expensive and talented backup.

by jburning on Jul 18, 2009 10:09 AM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think that this seems to be a good idea if we really want to plunge into rebuilding mode for a couple years. The Suns have consistently proven to be in the playoff for a good number of decades but have never been able to break through. Taking the “phased” approach rather than the plunge is good from a revenue point of view because having a .500 team for a couple years generates more revenue than having a lottery team for a couple of years. From the business side of things, Kerr might as well have his MBA degree perhaps, as he is trying to maximize his net present value and current profits rather than looking at the overall picture and having the foresight to take a financial hit now then realize a gain later. Sarver was a banker and so from a business perspective he is doing a good job, however from a :winning a championship" perspective one has to be comfortable to pay luxury tax which he has shown he is willing to do with Shaq. One must remember thought that paying luxury tax for a team that is not in a position to win it all might not be the best bang for his buck in Sarver’s mind…

by Rishmo on Jul 19, 2009 3:12 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Building a good and improving team is not like trying to finish a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
Duhon was inadequate in NY why would you want him here.

and the money…….a very important factor that one forgets is that dollars are a concrete way of determining your relative worth when comparing yourself to your peers/competitors……for the next three years is Nash more valuable than Kidd Turk or Odom…..to Nash he is and I agree

by overthere on Jul 18, 2009 10:20 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

I desagree

11 p & 7 as are good numbers

by matrix7 on Jul 18, 2009 2:36 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Meh, especially in a system like New Yorks

Remember the system? The inflated stats?

by egp the great on Jul 18, 2009 7:48 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Also

Duhon was, at least until the third quarter of the season, one of the players with more mpg, from what I remember.

by perep on Jul 18, 2009 8:22 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Duhon broke down fairly early on in the season..

Moderately effective as a poor man’s Nash, when he did play. They didn’t win too many games, though.

"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read".

by Pliny the Elder on Jul 18, 2009 8:39 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Best known as a defensive specialist

who fails to play any sort of defense. We should trade the (arguably) greatest player in franchise history for him.

by egp the great on Jul 18, 2009 11:13 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Duhon only has 1 year contract, so in the 2009-2010 season we can go for a good point guard via free agency or trade.

by matrix7 on Jul 18, 2009 2:28 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Worst of all is that I still believe that Kerr does not yet know what to do with the team.

by matrix7 on Jul 18, 2009 2:34 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

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