2008 NBA Summer League: Day 3By: Danny Ourian

Hornets 77 Bobcats 75
Boxscore

A short jumper with 30.9 seconds left in the game by Cal-State Fullerton guard Bobby Brown gave the Hornets the final 2 point edge they needed to hold off the Bobcats, 77-75.
Brown, having played overseas for a year, made a name for himself today while
outplaying Bobcats draft pick DJ Augustin, who led the Cats with 15
points. Brown stuffed the stat sheet
with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal while playing solid defense
on Augustin throughout the game. Mike
James, Jannero Pargo – take note.

Augustin continued to show the ability to penetrate into the
lane and create for his teammates, but was unable to rack up more than 2
assists while committing 5 turnovers, not what you want from your future
starting point guard. Alexis Ajinca
showed us what the Bobcats were thinking when they drafted him (it wasn’t clear
yesterday), blocking 2 shots and changing several others on his way to 11
points and 4 rebounds. His high
release, similar to Rasheed Wallace, and soft touch out to 12 feet could help
him become a low post threat in the League over time, assuming he works harder
to establish position on the low block.

Hilton Armstrong
chipped in 14 points and 5 boards for the Cats, showing improved agility and
footwork from a year ago, which was certainly encouraging. Julian Wright, who had a strong rookie
season, added 11 to go along with 5 steals.
A drive through traffic and monstrous cram by Wright was the play of the
game until Bobby Brown stole the show.
Take that, Whitney! (My
apologies. I couldn’t resist.)

—

Warriors 95 Mavericks 86
Boxscore

How does one translate Summer League success into the
regular season? That is the question for
Marco Belinelli as he submitted another superstar Summer League game for the
Golden State Warriors in their 95-86 victory over the Mavericks today at Cox
Pavillion. After going off in last
year’s Vegas showcase, Belinelli was unable to get off the bench much for the 48 win Warriors, but picked up where he left off last summer
demonstrating the pure shooting stroke and instinctual passing ability that
made him a star in the Italian league.
Shooting 9 for 19 from the floor and coming on late with 11 points in
the 4^th quarter, Belinelli finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds, and
3 assists in the Warriors win.

He was not alone.
With Brandan Wright contributing 15 points on a tidy 7 for 10 shooting,
to go along with 7 boards, and young upstart Anthony
Randolph adding 11, the Warriors had great balance. Those 3 should help to combine a nice young nucleus
for the Warriors for years to come. CJ Watson looked solid as well dropping 14.

The Mavericks gave a ho-hum effort. James Singleton was their best player, controlling the glass (8 boards), and shooting 5 for 9 on his way to 17
points. He has a chiseled physique, and
he can stroke it out to 18 feet. Terrence Stansberry – excuse me – Gerald
Green, he of the Slam Dunk title and lack of regular season playing time,
chipped in 15 points but looked lost at times, shooting poorly, turning the
ball over, and putting his head down in frustration after several miscues. If we’re scoring on body language, this guy comes in last.

As for the Warriors, the pairing of Wright and Randolph is
very intriguing: two long, rangy big men who are agile, can block shots, and
run the floor. Wright is the stronger of
the two and perhaps more polished at this point, but Randolph is a natural
scorer with ball handling ability and a perimeter game that is rare for a
player his size. He brought the ball up at times and knowing Warriors coach Don Nelson, he could easily see time at every position on the floor for the Warriors next season.

—

Lakers 85 Grizzlies 76
Boxscore

OJ Mayo got hot. Unfortunately it was too little, too late. Mayo scored 7 points in just over 3 minutes of the 3^rd quarter with an array of moves, getting to the basket, freezing his man on the top of the key for a long 2pt field goal, and showing his 3pt spot-up ability in the corner just moments later. However, it wasn’t enough as the Lakers
rolled to an 85-76 win over the Grizzlies at Cox Pavillion today, behind 16
points from 2^nd year guard
Coby Karl (son of coach George Karl, for the uninformed) and Cedric Bozeman’s
12.

Grizzlies forward
Darrell Arthur continued to struggle from the field, going 1 for 7 and
committing a ghastly 9 personal fouls
in only 22 minutes. That is a lot of
fouls. Mike Conley did a better job of
quarterbacking his team with 11 points, 3 assists and a steal, while Javaris
Crittenton played well off the ball, picking and choosing his spots on his way
to 9 points on 4 for 8 shooting.

For the Lakers, Bozeman was perfect shooting from the floor
(5 for 5) and the line (1 for 1), showing poise and promise. He plays with maturity, never rushing the action but playing with an aggression that allows him to get to spots on the floor where he can be most effective.

The Lakers only draft pick this season, Joe Crawford (58th overall) from Kentucky looked solid as a combo guard that can put it on the deck and get to the rim while absorbing contact, or spot up with deep range. The Grizzlies 18 turnovers (Lakers finished with only 12) and porous defense (LA converted on 50% from the field for the game) was their downfall on this night.

Pistons 75 Clippers 66
Boxscore

The biggest news surrounding this game was the fact that Eric Gordon’s summer league
is finished after just two games. Gordon pulled a hamstring and while the injury
is not considered serious, it will keep him out of action for the rest of the
games. Bummer. Gordon was just beginning to showcase himself and a match up with Arron Afflalo would have been very entertaining.

Afflalo used this game to display his talents going for a game high 25
points. He was nearly perfect from the field and line going 8-10 fg
and 9-9 from the line. The Pistons hope this game will help give him some confidence
heading into next season.

DeAndre Jordan
had a very productive 15 and 10 for the Clippers giving Clipper fans some
excitement with the absence of Gordon. He’s looking very energetic running the floor
and making spectacular finishes around the basket.

Without a true point guard and now their star draftee, Gordon, the Clippers looked flat. While Al Thornton gives a lot of effort and hustle, his game remains
unrefined. He will be called on to step up this season with Elton Brand gone
and while it’s reasonable to expect him to raise his scoring, his efficiency
will need to remain at a high level. 5-for-18 shooting isn’t getting the job done.

Rodney Stuckey played just 14
minutes, going for 8 points giving Afflalo, Will Bynum and Darius Washington
more minutes to prove themselves.