Summer League
2009 Phoenix Suns Summer League Wrap Up
by Mike Lisboa on Jul 22, 2009 12:56 PM MDT
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After a few long days in Las Vegas watching the Suns and a couple more recovering from those days, I figured it's time to give some final thoughts on what was seen there. Of course, Summer League is not the be-all end-all measuring stick for these players. Marco Belinelli and Marcus Banks both killed in Summer League only to fade to obscurity or worse in the regular season. Still, I think it's a useful laboratory for gaining some (albeit, limited) insight into what these gentlemen will bring to the table come October.
Goran Dragic - If any of the Summer Suns came out a winner, it was without a doubt the young Slovenian. It was possible to see his confidence grow with each game. As Phoenix Stan has pointed out, this is the first time in his career that Dragic has been asked to be "the man" on the court and it's a role he's still growing into. Clearly, the Suns are pushing him to be the team leader when he's running the offense. While he has yet (even against the limited competition of Summer League) to demonstrate he's got what it takes to be the heir apparent to Steve Nash, he definitely showed signs of improvement. He grew ever so slightly more vocal as the week went on and grew more fearless about attacking the rim and finding his own offense. And let me tell you, that first step of his is going to put more than one opposing guard on their heels. Best case this season is he gives the team 15-20 minutes off the bench and continues to develop his leadership skills. He's going to make mistakes for sure, but I'm hoping they're of the aggressive smart kind (like when he got rejected going hard to the rack versus the Grizzlies) instead of the meek, flustered kind (bad passes out of traps and whatnot). He was definitely the Suns' strongest player throughout Summer League.
Robin Lopez - Oy. I wasn't there for his one good game. Instead I saw three of his lesser, and what I can sadly believe are more typical, performances. And believe me when I say against the Grizzlies, he was terrible. Hasheem Thabeet had looked, not to put to fine a point on it, god awful up until that game, demonstrating no discernible basketball instincts. He absolutely dominated Lopez in the paint when they matched up. My entirely unprofessional opinion of what's ailing Robin is an interminable case of spazziness. Seeing him on the floor, it's apparent he has the physical attributes and ability to be at the very least a passable starting center. However, he hasn't figured out how to harness his intensity and direct his body into making the plays he's capable of making. I prescribe some yoga, meditation and Alexander technique classes. That's really only half a joke. If he learned how to slow himself down, and more importantly, control his body, I think we'd see those foul number drop precipitously. I don't question Robin's desire nearly as much as I question his ability to control that desire. He has to improve almost all aspects of his game in order to give the Suns many quality minutes at the 5. I think we'll see a lot of Stoudemire and Frye at center to start the season.
[Note by Phoenix Stan, 07/22/09 3:55 PM MST ]
As Mike indicated, if we were hoping that Vegas would answer questions about Robin we were wrong. My impression is that after performing so well in the first game he acted as if he'd proved all he needed to prove. The team seemed much more focused on Goran's progress and no one seemed particularly concerned with Robin but I left before his final two games. With his brother and family in town one also has to wonder how distracted he was.
Robin still has all the tools to be a very good player. I guess we will have to wait until he gets consistent minutes either starting or off the bench to get a better feel for his desire to be that player. And by the way, Robin wasn't the only 2nd or 3rd year player that had one good game and seemed disinterested from then on in. Andre Blatche comes to mind.
Earl Clark- For me, the jury is way out on Clark. As Phoenix Stan pointed out, the players at Summer League who were driven and want to excel clearly stood out. DeJuan Blair, Brandon Jennings, James Johnson and Blake Griffin all come to mind. Aside from his first game, when Clark posted a double-double, he didn't do much to distinguish himself. To be honest, I don't read too much into this. Unlike Blair and Jennings, he didn't come into Vegas with a chip on his shoulder and unlike Griffin, he wasn't expected to save the franchise. He did however demonstrate why the Suns took him in the first round. He's capable of: hitting from outside, driving to the basket, bringing the ball up, getting his fair share of rebounds, defending multiple positions. He has a lot going for him.
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Summer Suns Get Out-Everythinged by Grizzlies
by Mike Lisboa on Jul 19, 2009 3:36 AM MDT
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Repeat after me: It's only the Summer League; it's only the Summer League. That's the only way this Suns loss is remotely palatable. Aside from an increasingly and refreshingly aggressive Goran Dragic and a competent Zabian Dowdell, there is not much else good to report about this game.
The numbers seem like a good place to start: outscored by 37, outshot by 15% (a putrid 33% from the field, 0-14 on three-pointers), outrebounded by 21, out-assisted by 10. And it wasn't even that close.
The lone bright spots were the point guard play of Goran Dragic and Zabian Dowdell. As in the game against the D-League Select, Dragic was aggressive early, going to the rim. Even though he got off to a slow start in the first quarter, he kept attacking and finished the half with 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He was a little out of control in his attempts to push the ball up the court, but with only 1 turnover against 2 assists in just under 23 minutes of play, his command of the ball wasn't an issue. Dowdell was similarly effective in his 23 minutes tallying 14 points on 7 of 15 shooting with no assists and a turnover. While it's true Dowdell looks far more composed and collected than Goran, I think Dragic is the more physically gifted of the two, while perhaps Dowdell is shrewder (which may lead to the "better" comparison).
You may have notice that the point guards combined for 1 2 assists in 46 minutes of play. Part of that had to do with both of them looking for their own shot, but mostly it's because the rest of the team combined for a paltry 10 field goals on a whopping 43 attempts. Which I suppose brings us to the unbridled ugliness of the rest of the team.
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Summer League Open Thread: Sin City Grizzlies vs. Summer Suns
by Mike Lisboa on Jul 18, 2009 1:02 PM MDT
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Howdy from Vegas, Suns fans! Phoenix Stan has headed back to the Valley of the Sun leaving me with sole Summer League duties today.
The Suns play the Memphis Grizzlies' summer squad today. As Phoenix Stan pointed out in his most recent re-cap, each game seems to have been a showcase for a different young Sun: Robin Lopez, Earl Clark, and Goran Dragic. I'm curious to see how the Suns use their fourth game. I expect to see more of the Slovenian Slasher (Yes? No? It's more creative than "Dragon", right?) getting heavy minutes as his comfort running the second unit will be a big part of any success the Suns plan to have this season.
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Suns vs D-League Select: The Tale of Two Dragi
by Phoenix Stan on Jul 18, 2009 12:19 AM MDT
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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.
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GameDay Open Thread: Summer Suns vs. D-League Select
by Mike Lisboa on Jul 17, 2009 6:52 PM MDT
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Tonight the Summer Suns (1-1) square off against the undefeated D-League Select squad (2-0). Of particular note today will be the point play of both second year guard Goran Dragic and unsigned free agent Zabian Dowdell, for entirely different reasons.
Expectations are high for Dragic coming off a shaky if effective performance Wednesday against the Raptors. It's important to note that while his execution was solid on Wednesday, he looked terrible in the process. Zabian Dowdell on the other hand has looked confident but not terribly flashy in his minutes for the Summer Suns. With the team indicating they might fill the 13th roster spot with another point guard and David Thorpe calling Dowdell one of the best point guards in the Summer League, Phoenix Stan and I will be paying particular attention to his game.
Also, it will be my first look at the D-League Select Players, so I'll be sharing my thoughts on that as well.
Got anything you want us to check out for you? Let Phoenix Stan and I know in the comments and we'll do our best.
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Suns look to push the tempo in next game
by Phoenix Stan on Jul 16, 2009 6:22 PM MDT
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The most disappointing aspect of the Suns loss to the Raptors on Wednesday was the lack of pace. The team didn't feel that they saw "Suns ball" so in the next game Friday against the 2-0 D-League squad we should see a different approach.
To keep things rolling look for Taylor Griffin to play more power forward while Earl Clark shares time at center with Robin Lopez. Josh Carter and Micah Downs will likely get minutes at the small forward and the back court will feature Zabian Dowdell and Goran Dragic. The minutes will come at the expense of Kaspars Brezin and Jiri Hubalek who aren't close to making the Suns roster.
The team obviously isn't thrilled with Dragic's performance so far while there is still no question about his talent. The young point guard is still adjusting from playing since the age of 15 in the most disciplined system in Europe where his every move on the court was controlled. Mostly though, the Suns want to see more aggressiveness and confidence from him. Dragic was a top ten point guard in the NBA statistically over the last month of the season and none of the competition out here should be close to his level. The Suns want him to play that way in Friday's game.
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Interview: David Thorpe on the Summer Suns
by Mike Lisboa on Jul 16, 2009 6:16 PM MDT
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Phoenix Stan got a few minutes with David Thorpe, ESPN analyst and executive director of the Pro Training Center at IMG Academies in Florida. The Pro Training Center provides basketball training for pros and collegiate athletes in the off-season and leading up to the draft. Among his pupils there was the Suns' own Earl Clark. Here are some of Thorpe's thoughts on Clark, Goran Dragic, Robin Lopez and surprising assessment of Zabian Dowdell.
On Earl Clark:
"The guy's a top five talent... if he locks in on a daily effort in practice, there's no way that guy's not gonna play a decent amount and have an impact on that team."
He's very high on Clark. He addressed Clark's work ethic (great in camp, if perhaps his conditioning wasn't) and the emphasis in his training on being a "grinder" and not simply coasting on his natural ability. He envisions Clark as a power forward even though he's underweight. He emphasized Clark's versatility, noting he's got the skills shift to the 2 and 3 if necessary, noting in addition to his ball-handling skills, on defense he was able to lock up opposing guards on switches. He also noted that in training, the big surprise was Clark's "killer" instinct. High praise all around.
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Suns blow late lead to drop 2nd Summer League contest
by Phoenix Stan on Jul 15, 2009 9:45 PM MDT
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I've said all along that winning games isn't the point of Summer League, but when you have a lead late in a game, you want to see how your team responds. This Suns team didn't respond well. A combination of turnovers, poor shot selection and getting beat down the floor in transition resulted in a 1-point loss to the Raptors.
The game was sloppy, with 22 turnovers for Phoenix and 15 for Toronto, and featured Euro-style officiating that was permissive of a lot of contact on the perimeter. The clutching and grabbing hindered the Suns from getting into any kind of flow. Of course, the point guard play of Dragic didn't help, either. He was not very good controlling the team or running the offense. More on him later.
There was a scary incident in the final second of the game. The Suns were down by 1 with a couple of ticks left and Goran drove the ball hard and fast at the rim and tried to get off a floater at the buzzer.
Raptor Ekene Ibekwe flew in for the block but landed on Goran's back and ended up falling face first into the court, hitting hard on his chin and wrist. He was on the ground for about 10 minutes before being taken off on a stretcher for precautionary reasons. I heard from someone with the staff here that he was cleared for any serious injures and someone else said something about some stitches in his mouth. Hopefully that proves to be correct and there's nothing more serious.
[Note by Mike Lisboa, 07/15/09 8:54 PM PDT ]
Phoenix Stan and I had very similar observations regarding the game. However, as it's my first time reporting from the sidelines, I'm going to subject you to a little redundancy despite my better editorial instincts. Bear with, and we'll streamline this going forward. My notes will be in italics, like these.
First off, as a press row rookie, I have to tell you it’s a whole other ball game from this vantage point. I went from nervous to excited to comfortable to jaded in all of about 7 hours. The better part of this post has been composed with the Portland–Houston tilt taking place about 20 feet from me. And I’ve barely looked up at it. Here’s my game note: Joey Dorsey is a big, big dude. One last meta note: It’s a pain in the ass to watch the game from the baseline. It’s very difficult to get an idea of the flow and spacing. I understand why Phoenix Stan booked it to the stands.
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