76ers vs Suns SL Game Thread 7/12/18

[AzStevenCal]

Did you watch the game? I think a Kwame Brown comparison is pretty spot on. He was terrible. What was most concerning to me though was his apparent lack of effort. I wouldn't have a problem if he played his heart out and just had a bad game, but he looked like he didn't want to be there. It really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I thought the effort was there at the start of the game and gradually disappeared with each weak entry pass. His offseason conditioning (or lack thereof) looked to be an issue too. But this isn't the first time his play has left a bad taste in my mouth. For me though, it's more than offset by the way he's played in most of his games.

 

[Cheesebeef]

JC Ouchie, I was exaggerating to prove a point. How do you not see that??

why did you need to exaggerate someone else's point to make yours?

 

[AzStevenCal]

I did not draw a conclusion in my post. I asked how much of a project is this guy. Because if he is too much of a project, then he won't be helping us win. There's your conclusion.

He really is a project but even as a project he should help us win. I don't see him taking us from 20 wins to the playoffs in one year but we should take a big step forward this season. He's not a project to the degree that Len, Bender or Chriss were coming into the league but he's still very much a work in progress.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

He averaged 13 and 8 over 60 games -- Ayton has played 4.

The point of the post that I was responding to implied that because Anthony Davis averaged only 13 and 8 per game, he wasn't that great as a rookie, so it's ok if Ayton under-performs because he can still turn out to be great. That may be, but I pointed out AD's PER was excellent right from the jump, and he made his team better. You pointing out the games played by AD and Ayton is kind of irrelevant to the posts.

 

[taz02]

Ayton played awesome in the Philly game. His turnovers were perfectly timed. The extra possessions clearly wore out the Philly players and thank god he only scored 10 points allowing his teammates a chance to score...

Seriously, I don't think its time to panic but clearly the expectations were higher than what we saw in summer league. I'm no expert but watching his play, was for the most part uninspiring. I'm sure Booker and Ariza will help.

I'm wondering how other top centers have fared in the SL compared to their rookie season. Since I generally only follow the suns and this is the first real center the suns have had I have nothing to compare. I imagine that because the center does not handle the ball and most SL teammates are both under skilled and thinking of themselves while fighting for a roster spot, the center would be at a disadvantage.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

He really is a project but even as a project he should help us win. I don't see him taking us from 20 wins to the playoffs in one year but we should take a big step forward this season. He's not a project to the degree that Len, Bender or Chriss were coming into the league but he's still very much a work in progress.

Thank you. This is more along the lines of what I was looking for from my query.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Here's an article on Karl-Anthony Towns during his rookie Summer League experience to help put Ayton's struggles in context:

https://www.si.com/nba/2015/07/14/karl-anthony-towns-minnesota-timberwolves-las-vegas-summer-league

Bonus: It includes concerns over Towns' ability to handle a certain opponent down low...Jack Cooley!

 

[Cheesebeef]

Thank you. This is more along the lines of what I was looking for from my query.

yeah... I wouldn't expect a Tim Duncan type impact right when he gets in the league. Remember, even Duncan went to school for three years. Same as Ewing, Shaq, Robinson. All those guys made major impacts immediately because they're games were much further along. Aston has the tools to be great, but it still remains to be seen if he can reach his potential.

I'd expect a 10 win jump from this team this season. Anything after that will be gravy.

If the big jumps in record come, I think they'll come in the two years after this coming season, when Ayton has more experience and they get a real PG.

 

[leclerc]

Well that sucks. Going 3-0 and losing to the 30th seed. Typical Suns.

 

[devilalum]

186 posts of analysis is excessive for a glorified practice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I don't necessarily think people have unrealistic expectations about Ayton overall--I think they are unrealistic that he will be ANYWHERE NEAR those expectations a week and 4 games into his professional career.

But I'm used to Ouchie coming on here and attacking me on almost every single post I write, so no biggie there. He's an important guy, after all.

I am. And I have many leather bound books. And my office smells of rich mahogany.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

And you can make the conclusion that Ayton won’t help based on one SL game? Mind giving me the winning lottery numbers while you’re at it?

I have no issue with people pointing out things that players do poorly in a game, but trying to draw a major conclusion off of one game is just silly.

Now THIS I can agree with. All the anger out of pointing out legitimate observations is just ridiculous.

 

[JCSunsfan]

186 posts of analysis is excessive for a glorified practice.


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Thats what you get when you have the first overall pick.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Thats what you get when you have the first overall pick.

and people actually excited about the time for the first time in close to a decade.

 

[Finito]

I am. And I have many leather bound books. And my office smells of rich mahogany.

Lol that's awesome

 

[Phrazbit]

Ayton had a bad game yesterday, no doubt about it.

But holy smokes... with the vitriol here, thank god we didn't draft anyone else, because other than maybe Wendell Carter Jr, all the other prospects crapped the bed.

 

[Hoop Head]

Thats what you get when you have the first overall pick.

The Summer League game threads have more people and more posts than virtually any of the game threads from last year. I think there was a good turnout for the opening game last season but that's it. For the most part game threads had 6-7 people posting and 1 or 2 of them were coming in late. Talking about the game after it had ended. There wasn't a lot of activity, overall, last year. Adding Ayton was a huge part in the turn around for this team. Look at how many people started posting again here once the lottery was decided. Instantly doubled the amount of daily users here. I hope that carries over to the season as well and I think it will with how much people have been analyzing summer league play.

 

[TJ]

Ayton had a bad game yesterday, no doubt about it.

But holy smokes... with the vitriol here, thank god we didn't draft anyone else, because other than maybe Wendell Carter Jr, all the other prospects crapped the bed.

If we had Bagley, half the people here would be on suicide watch.

 

[Raze]

I rewatched the game last night just to get a fuller sense of it. We barely lost a game to a team that shot 44% from 3 in spite of very good defense played against them. It wasn't a bad loss. They just had a VERY good night. (I became a fan of that Miles guy. Super humble. Had a studly game from 3.)

First of all, Ayton didn't play THAT bad. I mean, he dropped a couple of passes and had one really bad low post possession, but it wasn't like he played like a UDFA. He also hit two big free throws in the clutch. He also proved that even on a bad night he can get a double double.

Frankly, I'm more disturbed by how utterly awful Gs are these days at making simple entry passes. One example: Shaq tried to make an entry pass to the lower left post... FROM THE TOP OF THE KEY!!!... with a hand in solid denial position on Ayton... with a team mate to his right. Holy cow was it bad. Ayton has to be beside himself with frustration over the limited opportunities he's getting down there.

Second, and I can't stress this enough, Davon looks outstanding this year. People will focus on his scoring ability, which is moderate, but the guy does everything else very well. He's an underrated ball handler and passer. He's smart and competitive. And he's excellent defensively. Numerous times he corralled the younger players and reset their focus. He's a VERY good team player. I'm convinced he's an ideal backup to Book. In a pinch he could play PG next to Book as well. Love this guy.

I don't mean to jinx him, but Dragan played very well in the last 2 games. In fact, if he could be the player I watched in the last 2 games ALL year long, we'll all be ecstatic at the player he's become. Of course, if he plays like he did in the first two, he shouldn't be on this team next year. Can't stress enough how well he plays D as a stretch 4. The announcers honed in on his D last night against a G on the perimeter. It was near perfect D and almost impossible to duplicate with 99% of the other 7 footers in the league.

I can't help but love a guy like Shaq. In spite of his limitations with shooting and running PG, he's a great guy to have on the floor. Where guys like Elfrid Payton rest on their "potential", guys like Shaq bleed for you on every play. I know he's not a starter yet. But man, if he keeps growing at this rate, next year he will be. Props.

Bridges is going to be a special player. His stats probably won't be eye popping, but he's soooo good. Watching him play D next to Shaq, Davon, and Bender has been so much fun this SL.

There was a lot more good to take away from this game than bad. At least that's how I saw it.

 

[taz02]

If we had Bagley, half the people here would be on suicide watch.

Good thing Doncic didn't play and average 30ppg

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The Summer League game threads have more people and more posts than virtually any of the game threads from last year. I think there was a good turnout for the opening game last season but that's it. For the most part game threads had 6-7 people posting and 1 or 2 of them were coming in late. Talking about the game after it had ended. There wasn't a lot of activity, overall, last year. Adding Ayton was a huge part in the turn around for this team. Look at how many people started posting again here once the lottery was decided. Instantly doubled the amount of daily users here. I hope that carries over to the season as well and I think it will with how much people have been analyzing summer league play.

Agreed. Nice to see some missing familiar names reappear!

 

[mojorizen7]

I would be mildly concerned if this was preseason and Ayton was playing in an offense with a gameplan, and against other NBA players.

Summer league is like open mic night at the local watering hole.

 

[sunsfan88]

I am greatly concerned with Ayton. The last time I was this concerned was when I posted my "Ayton sorta sucks" thread that I got hammered on. Because I was at that playoff game against Colorado and he just sucked against grossly inferior competition in a playoff game. I watched him the entire game because I thought he would be our pick. It blew my mind how little of an impact he made when he is as talented by himself as the entire team he is playing against.

Then he turned on the light and kicked ass for awhile until another playoff game against inferior competition and it was Buffalo. And Buffalo just publicly scorched him in the media days before the game saying him being on the court was an advantage to them. And how did he respond? By proving their coach right.

Now comes another playoff game against an inferior opponent and at the start of the 4th he had more fouls and turnovers than points.

That is about a 30% not showing up rate in the last 3 months. It's exactly what the biggest U of A homer on the local radio (Jared 98.7) said about why we shouldn't draft him because he stinks about a 3rd of the time and is awesome the other 2/3rds so it drives you nuts.

I think we have to hope that this will be as bad as he will look. Watching his performance again, I think he’s too talented to put up a stinker like this one again

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[TJ]

I would be mildly concerned if this was preseason and Ayton was playing in an offense with a gameplan, and against other NBA players.

Summer league is like open mic night at the local watering hole.

Thank you! Ugh, this overanalysis over Summer League is too much.

Had Ayton averaged 6/4, I wouldn’t care, just like i wouldn’t care had he averaged 25/13.

This is preseason of the preseason. Although Bagley struggled much more than Ayton, he’ll be fine, too

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think we have to hope that this will be as bad as he will look. Watching his performance again, I think he’s too talented to put up a stinker like this one again

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Really? He hasn’t even played nba guys yet much less top level nba talent. He’ll have more stinkers. That’s not knocking him, just reality of being a rookie.