Orlando Summer League Roundup, Day Two

Another day of Orlando Summer League has come and gone with some fanfare and lots of ugly basketball. Let’s take a look at some of the stand-out performances and some of the other less than stellar ones:

Orlando Summer League: Day Two

Game 1: Pistons 85, Grizzlies 81

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 30 points on 10-20 shooting, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

Caldwell-Pope continued to be the best player in Orlando, scoring in a variety of ways, including from catch-and-shoot three-pointers, pull-up jumpers in the midrange, and getting to the line and converting free throws. It looks like the game has slowed down for Caldwell-Pope, which is allowing him to have more confidence as he takes his jumpers, which have a rhythm and fluidity that we didn’t see from him last season.

Peyton Siva: 12 points on 6-12 shooting, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 turnovers

Siva is putting himself in an excellent position to go into the Pistons’ training camp as both the backup point guard and in a stronger place than rookie Spencer Dinwiddie. He showed off his excellent quickness and solid man defense skill against the bigger Memphis guards. Another solid performance as he works towards guaranteeing himself a contract next season.

Brian Cook: 1-9 shooting, 1-8 from three, 5 personal fouls

This was an impressive performance from Brian Cook. I’m pretty sure that once he passed the half court line, he thought that he was in range. The cold shooting start — he missed his first six attempts — didn’t do much to assuage his trigger-happiness, as I think he shot the ball every time he touched the ball on the perimeter. I hope he keeps doing this every game. It was totally absurd and absolutely hilarious to watch.

Jarnell Stokes: 16 points on 6-9 shooting, 12 rebounds

Stokes absolutely bullied the larger Pistons’ front court, especially Tim Ohlbrecht. He did what he’s known for, rebounding the ball and causing problems with his intelligence and brute force. Four of his points were off of put backs of his own offensive rebounds. The goal from here on out for Stokes is going to be developing a solid midrange game to complement his interior presence.

Jordan Adams: 20 points on 6-13 shooting, 7 rebounds

Ho hum, another efficient 20 point game from Adams. He got there with a few cheap free throws at the end, but he again played well on the offensive end, creating his own shots and knocking them down. The defensive end though is still going to be a work in progress for him, as he continues to gamble far too often for steals and stand straight up in his defensive stance too often.

Game 2: 76ers 84, Thunder 73

Casper Ware: 20 points on 8-16 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers

Ware was again rather successful, but he still just simply hasn’t shown off any true development as far as as his point guard skills. He still is good at creating shots both for himself and others despite being undersized, but he still does it in a way that isn’t conducive to team basketball and he turns the ball over a ton. I’d love more than anything for Ware to make this Sixers team and get a chance because the league is more fun with guys like him, but he just hasn’t shown the developments in the particular parts of his game to necessitate keeping him quite yet.

Ronald Roberts, Jr.: 12 points on 5-6 shooting, 6 rebounds

Roberts caused a lot of problems for the athletic Thunder front line through the use of his own athleticism, crashing the offensive glass hard and getting second opportunities for his team. He also flashed the makings of a solid jumper by canning a 20-footer in the first quarter. Given the athleticism and potential skill that he has, Roberts is an excellent candidate to develop in Delaware for the first part of the year in order for a late season call-up.

Aaron Craft: NO SERIOUSLY LOOK AT THIS DEFENSIVE DETERMINATION GUYS. SO MUCH MOTOR

Steven Adams: 12 points on 4-5 shooting, 4 rebounds, 7 fouls

This is pretty much the perfect Adams line. He actually did show off some decent touch from about six feet with a couple of hook shots with each hand that rolled beautifully into the basket. The hook is seemingly the only consistent shot in Adams’ book right now, but if he can start doing it in NBA games often it will be useful. Oh, plus the six fouls show the physicality and annoyance that the Thunder will be counting on for next season again.

Andre Roberson: 12 points on 5-12 shooting, 10 rebounds, 5 fouls

Roberson did a lot of the things he’s good at today, using his length to cause problems on defense for the wings of the Sixers and crashing in from the wings to rebound the basketball. However, the jump shot still hasn’t shown a ton of improvement mechanically. That’s going to continue to make the difference for him as far as him being a “legitimate NBA rotation player” or a “borderline roster/D-League player.”

Mario Little: 18 points on 3-7 shooting, 10-10 from the FT line

Little asserted himself offensively in the middle of the second half, knocking down a couple of threes and getting to the line three times, scoring 12 points in about a ten minute stretch. He’s a microwave-type player, so that’s not a surprise. He’ll continue to be a valuable player for the 66ers.

Game 3: Heat 110, Nets 91

Shabazz Napier: 17 points on 6-12 shooting, 7 assists, 5 turnovers

This was a MUCH better performance from Napier than in his first game. He made some shots around the rim, and was likely buoyed by knocking down his first shot to gain some confidence. The turnovers were still a problem, as the the Nets’ length still bothered him enough to force him to make bad unforced passes, but Sunday was a much better performance

James Ennis: 29 points on 10-12 shooting, including 7-8 from three, 4 rebounds

This is the type of performance that can get you noticed. Ennis showed off his improved three-point shoot, knocking down all five of his first half shots and five second half three pointers. When combining this with his athleticism, I think there is a strong chance that Ennis is on the Heat at the start of the year regardless of how free agency goes.

Justin Hamilton: 15 points on 6-12 shooting, 9 rebounds

Hamilton also had a strong game for the Heat, with three made baskets early off of offensive rebounds, one three pointer made, and two quick layups off of Napier passes. He probably shouldn’t be shooting the threes as often as he does, but the versatile offensive game that he shows off bodes well for his potential in the NBA.

Mason Plumlee: 18 points on 6-7 shooting, 1 rebound

Plumlee wasn’t particularly active on the defensive glass today, but he worked hard offensively and was incredibly efficient. He got to the line 12 times, made six of his seven attempts from the floor around the rim, and dominated when he tried. I’m not sure I see much of a reason for Plumlee to be here.

Adonis Thomas: 8 points on 2-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

Thomas had a solid all-around game despite shooting poorly. He’s the only guy on the Nets that crashed the boards at all and set up a couple of teammates with nice passes. Some guys would let the fact that they’re 0-8 get them down, but Thomas simply found other ways to affect the game today for the losing team. Notice that the team was only a -5 with him on the floor today even though they lost by nearly 20.

Marquis Teague: 6 points, 3 assists, 6 turnovers

Another out of control game from Teague, who now has nine turnovers in 37 minutes of play. Neither of the other Nets’ point guards played well, but Teague was specifically problematic given that he’s going into his 3rd season and now has played in 88 NBA games. This is the time where the game should be slowing down for Teague in summer league, but it isn’t and that’s starting to be a problem. He’s still young, but he really needs to start figuring it out soon.