Today's Summer League games:



http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/scoreboard.jsp



Pistons video recaps:

Pistons vs. Sixers (http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/summer_league/recap_summer07_phidet_6.asx) - Meija hits the game winning three in OT
Youtube mix (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVhVJu3NUGA) from pistonsforum.com

Pistons vs Grizzlies (http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/summer_league/recap_summer07_detmem_14.asx) - Stuckey scores 27 pts
Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYPX2sq2a0U)mix from pistonsforum.com

Pistons vs Wizards (http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/summer_league/recap_summer07_wasdet_26.asx) - Afflalo and Maxiell with 21 points each

NBA.com Summer League Video Recaps (all teams) (http://videosearch2.nba.com/search/?sp_a=sp10038c44&sp_t=video&sp_q=%22/nbacom/summer_league/recap_summer07%22&sp_n=10&sp_s=postdate&sp_k=wmvasf&sp_p=phrase)






http://www.nba.com/media/pistons/nbasl07_300x275.gif

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/summer_league_070606.html


2007 Pistons Summer League Game Schedule:

Saturday July 7th
Cox Pavilion
3 PM - Detroit vs. Philadelphia

Monday July 9th
Cox Pavilion
3 PM - Detroit vs. Memphis*

Wednesday July 11th
Cox Pavilion
3 PM - Washington vs. Detroit*

Thursday July 12th
Cox Pavilion
1 PM – Denver vs. Detroit

Saturday July 14th
Thomas and Mack
3:30 PM - Detroit vs. LA Lakers

* Denotes game broadcast on NBA TV
SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
All times are PST

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


How to watch the summer league games
if it say "blacked out"


1. Right click the "Watch" link (you might have to create a free NBA.com account and log in).
2. IE users click "Copy shortcut". Firefox users click "Copy link location"
3. Open notepad or Word and paste the link.
4. Delete all the stuff before the "http://boss.stream..." and after "***.asx"
5. Copy the remaining URL and paste it into your browser window. Or open Window Media Player, goto File -> Open URL and paste the link.

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/8125/vslvideole3.png

Anybody got a point spread for the Memphis game on 7/9/07?

schweet, i might be in Vegas in time to catch the July 14th game :D

You'll have to give us updates on how everyone looks.

Looks like we have our summer league correspondent.

Don't they usually announce the roster right after the draft?

I gots to see me some Cheikh Samb.

Well, at least we now know who the guards will be on that team. It's got to be Blalock, Stuckey and Afflalo. With Amir being a FA I doubt he plays. Probably no need for Max to play again. So.....#57 and Samb round out the starting five? Ugh.
However, if somehow Amir and Max DO play in it another year, suddenly that's a team to watch. I'm curious to see which of the guards throws a better oop.

With no big being drafted, Samb might actually make the reg. season roster.

If he does, he'll likely be in the NBDL, but we may need him close by now.

I don't think he's making the regular season roster unless he put on a ton of muscle in the last year. I heard he put on a lot, but I don't know if its enough. Lets see him in the summer league and hope for the best.

http://www.vegassummerleague.com/

Should be announcing the roster any day now.

I am curious as all hell to see who they take.

Well, you know Amir won't be there.

I'm hoping that Acker, Samb and the three picks are there and a few other young free agent CENTERS (how about some SGs?). Maybe Visser?

They may extend a token invite for Will Blalock, even though he's a FA now (you know how Joe loves to do those "favors") I think an invite for Zabian Dowdell would be a bit of a coup, too.

Please, no Mateen.





Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Final Recap
June 4, 2007

Zabian Dowdell had a very strong camp here, putting up 11 assists to only 3 turnovers, shooting a respectable .440 from the floor, hitting two NBA three-pointers, showing good range, and playing tremendous defense, using all of his 6’9.5 wingspan to lock down his man, even though he picked just one steal in the camp. The thing that really jumps out about Dowdell is how all of his strong points would seem to translate very well to the NBA level, especially with his NBA body and that wingspan. He may not have starter potential, as he hasn’t really ever shown he can dish out a lot of assists consistently, but he runs his team pretty well, can hit the spot-up shot from outside, has a very tight handle, plays excellent defense, and was probably the most deadly player pulling up from mid-range here, being nearly automatic coming off his crossover in the lane.

Dowdell possesses all the characteristics one looks for in a backup point guard and/or an NBA role player, and his strong build and wingspan will allow him to play well alongside undersized shooting guards, something many teams have coming off the bench playing major minutes. Dowdell’s long arms and excellent defensive fundamentals will allow him to defend most NBA shooting guards adequately, especially back-ups, who he shouldn’t have any problem with. The only thing there really is to dislike about Dowdell is that he isn’t the kind of player who is going to take over a game, and he’s probably never going to be a great scorer or a great distributor, just doing everything adequately well on the offensive end, while providing great defense on the other end of the floor.

Dowdell will likely go somewhere in the second round in the draft, very possibly in the 30’s if a team really likes him and is in need of a back-up point guard. He should be able to make an impact almost immediately, and most teams should be pretty comfortable with him running their second unit.

Undrafted.

Eh, nevermind on Dowdell.

Looks like Seattle got to him already: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-25-147/Just-Pick-Me-Already--Zabien-Dowdell--Take-4.html

ROSTER ANNOUNCED

I was wrong, Amir is going.

:mccosky:


Meanwhile, here is the Pistons summer league roster. First round draft picks Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo, will play, as will second-rounder Sammy Mejia and Cheikh Samb, the 7-1 Senegalese center the Pistons acquired from the Lakers in last years draft. Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson are also on the roster, but it is not clear how much they will play.

There are two non-roster veterans on the team -- LaRon Profit, former Wizards guard who has four years of NBA experience, and point guard Walker Russell, Jr., son of former Piston Walker D. Russell who played in the NBDL last year. Rounding out the roster are Olimpio Cipriano, a 6-4 guard from Angola; Eddy Fobbs, 6-11 center from Sam Houston State; Ibrahim Jaaber, 6-2 guard from Penn; Ali Traore, 6-9 forward from France; and Joah Tucker, 6-5 guard from Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Terry Porter, Igor Kokoskov and Michael Curry will coach the team, which will play five games starting Saturday in Vegas.

Am I the only one that doesn't see any reason to include Maxiell?

Wasn't Maxiell MVP or at least 1st team last year? No reason to go other than to stay in shape.

I do like that we grabbed Traore and Tucker. Both are guys I was looking at as 2nd rounders for us. I wanted us to take Traore and leave him overseas for a year or two, like we did with Memo and we're doing with Samb. That way he could develop and we'd keep his rights. Too late for that now.

Wow. What a horrible roster. If Max and Amir don't play, Stuckey will be the MVP simply because he'll have to take 45 shots per game. Samb might end up with double digit rebounds simply because offensive rebound opportunities will be abundant.

Am I the only one that doesn't see any reason to include Maxiell?

no, you're not.....I'm really looking forward to seeing how well Samb does

Samb and the draft picks will be the thing to watch this year. And we don't put the roster out there to try to win the summer league. We put it out there to evaluate talent, so I'm not sure why it would matter how horrible the roster is. We really don't have any open spots anyway.

I added a poll, but I only used what I thought were realistic options.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

(I'm sure b-diddy will)

What about our second rounder. Mejia. Granted, I already voted. I was just curious.

I'll add him, I just didn't think it was possible that anyone would want to see him more than the others.

WTF? Hermy voted?

How does it work that Amir is playing in these games?

Does he take out an insurance policy in case he gets hurt (since he's not on contract)?

I don't like this move at all.

The Pistons should already know what he can do, are we just showcasing him for other teams?

How does it work that Amir is playing in these games?

Does he take out an insurance policy in case he gets hurt (since he's not on contract)?

I don't like this move at all.

The Pistons should already know what he can do, are we just showcasing him for other teams?

The optimistic view point would be that they are close to a deal.

I'm more interested in him that Max. Max already dominated summer leagues before, he's going to do the same now. I still think it will be good for him. Work on his post play, shot block timing, etc.

I guess, who I want to see in order of how much I want to see them:

Samb
Stuckey
Johnson
Afflalo
Mejia
Traore
Max

I'm just intrigued by Traore because there was talk about him going late first at one point.

Stuckey, by far. I'm excited because I'll have a chance to be in Vegas to catch a game. Stuckey's looking to be an instant contributor, so I'll be watching him closely.

Samb's intriguing, but i don't really care about him either way.

The Pistons should already know what he can do, are we just showcasing him for other teams?
They know what he can do, but this gives him more time against other young guys to work on his development. Its just like having him in the NBDL, except now he'll be working directly with our own coaches.

It's just like the NBDL, only other teams can make him a huge offer if he dominates.

Well we wouldn't have him out there if he wasn't under contract, I hope.

I've been waiting to see Ali Traore play for a long-ass time.

Can't wait to see him play in summer league. A definite prospect for the future.

NBADraft.net's writeup:


Strengths: Traore is a solid athlete with good quickness and leaping ability. Mobility is excellent for a player his size. Has the body to continue to put on weight comfortably and not lose any athletic ability. Does a great job of getting himself wide in the post to enable guards a big target to pass into. Ball handling ability is solid as it's not uncommon for him to gather the ball from the top of the key and take his man off the dribble.

Fundamentally he understands how the value of keeping the ball high in the post. Possesses good hands enabling him to catch most passes with few problems. Rebounding potential is excellent as he is able to box out well as well as snare balls out of position. Shows good touch around the basket as he is able to finish with both hands. Post footwork isn't exceptional but is good for his age and experience level. Excellent finisher around the basket where he excels at catching passes off dishes from guards. Uses his quickness well for fast execution in the post. Physically Traore has many of the qualities of a quality shot blocker with a long wingspan and quick leaping ability. Body control is superb for a player his size. Overall potential is impressive.

Weaknesses: Despite all his physical gifts, Traore lacks great shot blocking instincts. Plays the game with a carefree demeanor, displaying a lack of intensity. Loses confidence and focus rather easily if his shots aren't failing. Offensively his back to the basket skills are unrefined and are quite limited. Some have questioned his maturity, work ethic and desire to improve. Post defense remains average at best as he allows most defenders to set up in the lane. This could be do to his upper body strength being underdeveloped. Can be a little foul prone as he can get caught biting on pump fakes. Free throw shooting is poor to say the least. Must continue to expand his range as he is limited as he is comfortable solely around the basket. Doesn't do a great job of recognizing double teams.

Post passing has improved but remains a detriment. Has been slowed a bit by a foot injury this past season, which raises some concerns about durability .Physical opponents can frustrate him some, but he's far from a soft player. Doesn't do a great job of creating contact to draw fouls from opposing players.

I've been waiting to see Ali Traore play for a long-ass time.

Can't wait to see him play in summer league. A definite prospect for the future.
I wanted the pistons to take him at 57...

Wow, I'm surprised people actually agree with me on that one.

I wanted the pistons to take him at 57...

Agreed. And I am excited to see Samb who gained 30 pounds of muscle dominate the paint.

Brent Petway is not on our roster:(

I wonder who took shakur?

McCosky's updated article from today clarifies that that Terry Porter is the head coach of the summer league team.

Nice comparison pic of Samb.

On the left is Samb in Vegas (pretty much one year ago). The pic on the right is somewhat recent.

Impressive bulk for only a year of work, granted, he has his arms relaxed on the left and he's going all flexo in the one on the right.

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/3443/cheiksambcomparisonkx4.jpg

Brent Petway is not on our roster:(




Globetrotters tryout. Seriously.

Two interesting tidbits from Langlois


Johnson, a restricted free agent, can’t officially re-sign with the Pistons until July 11 and is expected to miss the first two games.

Among the other intriguing names on the roster are Ali Traore, a 6-foot-9 power forward from France who some thought could sneak into the late first round, and Walker Russell Jr., son of ex-Piston Walker D. Russell and nephew of former NBA star Campy Russell. Russell played at Rochester High School and attended junior college before finishing his college career at Jacksonville State.

Traore, 22, is a native of the Ivory Coast. Though still pretty raw offensively, he’s got an NBA body at 240 pounds and is reported to have a wing span of 7-foot-5. He’s considered a good athlete with good footwork who can score with either hand around the rim but has very little in the way of a mid-range repertoire at this point.

Samb has been working out at the Pistons’ practice facility for a week since arriving from Spain, where he played professionally this past season. He’s added about 30 pounds since playing for the Pistons last summer after they traded Maurice Evans to the Los Angeles Lakers for his draft rights. The Pistons will use the summer league to evaluate Samb’s progress and determine if they have a roster spot available for him.

Maxiell was not expected to participate in this year’s summer league, but he asked the Pistons if he could and they gladly agreed. Also on the roster is second-round draft choice Sammy Mejia, a swingman from DePaul.

Maxiell is a keeper.

Guy wants to go and learn and improve. Nothing wrong with that at all.

What do you think the odds are that ESPN finds a way to get at least one Portland Summer League game on the air? (in between World Series of Poker re-runs, that is)


Blazers sign Oden, send No. 1 to summer league

Associated Press

Updated: July 3, 2007, 12:39 AM ET

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Trail Blazers announced Monday that they have signed Greg Oden, the No. 1 overall pick in last week's NBA draft.

In accordance with the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, Oden's deal will be for two years, with team options for the third and fourth seasons. Oden will make $3.885 million as a rookie and $4.176 in Year 2. If they pick up the option in the third year, his salary will be $4.476 million.

Oden, a 7-foot center from Ohio State, signed his contract Sunday and immediately started working out with the other players on Portland's summer league roster, impressing teammates with his powerful dunks and ability to block shots.

"One shot I couldn't block, and he came over my shoulder and blocked it; I was amazed," said power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 draft. "And he dunked everything around the rim."

Oden, Aldridge and second-year guard Sergio Rodriguez headline Portland's Las Vegas Summer League team, which opens its five-game schedule Friday against the Boston Celtics.

Monty Williams, the assistant coach who will run the team's summer league entry, told The Oregonian newspaper that Oden will likely play up to 35 minutes in each of the first three games.

The Trail Blazers also signed second-round picks Josh McRoberts, the forward from Duke, and Florida guard Taurean Green.

Petteri Koponen, the Finnish point guard who was the final pick of the first round, signed a waiver that allows him to play in the summer league.

That team should blow the others in Vegas away.

Kudos to Maxiell for approaching the Pistons and asking to play. Dude is primed to be our first big off the bench soon. Good attitude, high energy, and works his butt off. Hope he can fine tune his FT shooting, since he gets fouled so much. Also, a more consistent jumper and a few more post moves would be perfect.

Can you imagine a certain Serbian ganster "lowering himself" and asking to play in the summer league for more practice? Jeez, with Darko's height, if he had Maxiell's attitude, he'd be an All-Star.

a more consistent jumper and a few more post moves would be perfect
What better place to practice than in the summer league?

hell yeah.....Maxiell's hungry. I love it. I hope he steps his game up enough to give serious consideration to be the first big off the bench. All due respect to Dice, but it'd be nice that Max improves enough that we have that debate.

http://wtfdetroit.com/pics/madmax_tyson.jpg

Mad Max is ready to feed on some unsuspecting rookies....

I wish the Pistons were playing the Blazers in Vegas, because with that front line of the Blazers, it would be especially nice to see, for example, Amir and Samb lined up against Oden and Aldridge. They would get beaten up, but I would want to see just how close they were to holding their own against that type of talent.

I wish the Pistons were playing the Blazers in Vegas, because with that front line of the Blazers, it would be especially nice to see, for example, Amir and Samb lined up against Oden and Aldridge. They would get beaten up, but I would want to see just how close they were to holding their own against that type of talent.
It would be a great learning experience for them.

Here's a little taste of how Mad Max will feast in summer league (first 30 seconds):

T0Y5ZMthHUs

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7403/tazmaniandevilssavbxo8.jpg

If anyone cares, Andreas Glyniadakis is playing for the Celtics in Vegas.

Maybe we can sign him? lol

cheick samb euro stats?

details on traore here.
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=1052

I voted for Stuckey. We need him the most out of any of those players. We have good depth at PF, but we really need to see if we have our bench scoring guard we've been lacking for years.

Seems like it would have made sense to have 2 or 3 potential SF candidates on the summer league roster.

Then we could get sold a bill of goods about one of them being the answer for backup SF just so they can sign him to a cheap contract and avoid using the MLE?

No, I'm not cynical at all.

details on traore here.
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=1052

He intrigues me. I had him going to the Spurs in the 2nd round (I thought Splitter would go to the Suns before that).

This is pretty cool.

You can watch all of the summer league games (all teams) LIVE online here: http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/scoreboard.jsp

First game today is at 4 pm (Sixers/Spurs)

^^Awesomesauce. Will someone be capturing these games for later download? I already know I'll miss tomorrow's, and I'm not sure about the games thereafter...

This is pretty cool.

You can watch all of the summer league games (all teams) LIVE online here: http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/scoreboard.jsp

First game today is at 4 pm (Sixers/Spurs)

I might want to rethink that Jackie Butler suggestion.

I'm watching him right now and he's got 4 fouls in 5 minutes of playing time, lol.

freakin' sweet, thanks Glenn. i saw that they were webcasting, but i assumed it would be a pay service.

free = goooood.

i'll tune back in at 6PM ET for some Kevin Durant....and 10PM ET for some Greg Oden, if i'm not out tonight.

good find, Glenn.

aw shit. i wanted to watch the Sonics (Durant) play, but i got this crap:


Hi iamme1
This live webcast is not available in your area. Please check your local tv listings for broadcast info on this game.

ah, found it:

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia-live/nba/9912/500_nba-league_pass_dallas_051201.asx

we actually get a scoreboard too....

Grizzlies vs Chinese National Team

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia-live/nba/9920/500_nba-league_pass_memphis_051201.asx

just caught a glimpse of Yi and he looked pretty good.

he swatted the hell out of a shot, ran the floor, caught a pass in traffic, took a pivot step and dunked it (and 1). he looked pretty damn agile for a big man.

wow, Yi pulled a nice little move into a fade away jumper that looked much like another German 7 footer from the Mavs. when you're that tall and you have a SG-like fade away jumper, look out.

also, Rudy Gay is a beast out there.

OMFG.....Rudy Gay just welcomed Yi to the NBA, ESPN-Sportscenter-Dunk-style.

that was NASTY. he took him baseline and just went up 180 and threw it down on him with two hands. (and got a tech).

Andreas Glyniadakis sighting(celtics)

Yi's game really impressed me today. His post game is very mature and his fundamentals in the post are Tim Duncan-like. He'll wait in the post, eye the spacing and double team situation and then make some jab-steps and his footwork is perfect. He's strong too, so people aren't bumping him off the block. He had a spin move to the baseline for a dunk that was lightning quick. His baby hook looked good, his fade away jumper looked good, and he can finish strong to the hole.

Yi was matched up against a very athletic Rudy Gay for much of the game, so it's not like he was playing against a slow-footed stiff.

He went to the line for 12 FT's because he spent lots of time in the paint. But his game is almost like KG, in that he uses his quickness to get by people.

Color me impressed. I'm just glad a team like the Bulls didn't land him. He could have been the low post scoring difference in Chicago..

Boston vs Blazers:

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia-live/nba/9908/500_nba-league_pass_boston_051201.asx

Oden finishes with 6 pts, 2 reb, and 10 fouls (fouled out).

Lamarcus Aldridge was active with 26 pts 11 reb

Although its only SL, looks like Aldridge hasn't lost a beat. He got injured towards the end but he was racking them points and boards up before.

Portland sent all their blue chip rookies and got bitch slapped....

Pistons play their first summer league game tonight at 6PM ET:

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/scoreboard.jsp

Get a glimpse of Thaddeus Young of the 76ers, as well.

GSW vs NO Hornets

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia-live/nba/11562/500_nba-liveevent_060611.asx

is anyone going to be around for the Pistons/76ers game? we could do a summer league chat...

Macro Belinelli with 24 pts in the first half....

I'll be in and out for it, but we could probably just chat it up in here if not many people are around. I'm just packing up boxes to move all evening.

Macro Belinelli with 24 pts in the first half....
31 points for Melinelli after three quarters.

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/players/index.jsp?player=marco_belinelli


I'll be in and out for it, but we could probably just chat it up in here if not many people are around. I'm just packing up boxes to move all evening.

sounds good, Zekyl. i'm excited to see Stuckey and Maxiell (and yes, Samb)

same link as before:

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia-live/nba/11562/500_nba-liveevent_060611.asx

Pistons in black unis.

Maxiell with a vicious block already. Unforunately, he airballed a 15 footer.

i'm pretty sure Samb is starting, but the boxscore says DNP:

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/games/boxscore.jsp?gameId=1520700006

yeah, Samb's in. he just had a put back layup.

Thad Young has a breakaway dunk and he almost served up a facial on Samb.

ROFLMAO, Maxiell just tried to dunk on three 76ers!

nearly tore the rim off...

That's what I like to see. Max going fierce. I'm trying to get that link to work. My internet's running a bit slow though.

Maxiell's shot his 6th FT already (1st quarter)

Samb has 6 rebounds and looks eeriely like Ben Wallace on the floor: doesn't look to shoot, grabs rebounds, instinctive shot blocker....

I think fox sports detroit should be playing this game, i mean they don't have anything else special going on right now. How have the rooks looked?

I get about 4 seconds of video then it just freezes the picture and gives me only audio.

I get about 4 seconds of video then it just freezes the picture and gives me only audio.

are you on broadband? you need at least high speed internet for it to run smoothly.

I have comcast cable internet, but i think i have one of their slower connections.

I have comcast cable internet, but i think i have one of their slower connections.

you can try putting the link directly into Windows Media Player. From WMP, goto File -> Open URL and paste the link in.

I gave up on the video, I'll just have to check box scores on the game.

I gave up on the video, I'll just have to check box scores on the game.

also, Zekyl, make sure you're not running any other programs that could be using up bandwidth (downloads, P2P programs, etc).

All I had open was this window and windows media player, i even closed my chat programs. Next time I'll watch it with my buddy that has ultrahighspeed shit.

Samb going 2-3 with 6 boards in 10 minutes? Sounds like potential for an NBDL roster spot with us.....

Why has Amir not played yet?

Why does Max have no boards?

Is Stuckey playing PG?

How has Traore looked in his 8.5?

Amir's a free agent. He isnt going to agree to play much until he gets a deal.

Max with no boards should surprise nobody, but he did get cheated a little in the box score.

Samb got cheated a LOT, though. He had at least three blocks.

Stuckey played PG in the first, and looked good. He played SG in the 2nd, and flat-out kicked ass.

Ali T looked really nice. He's got a really soft touch and nice handle.

and BTW, Samb is the most athletic player on the court, bar none.

he's got a legit NBA game.

I'd like to see Traore make the team as a Dupree type. Sit on the bench a lot, but still on the team developing. I forgot about Amir's free agent situation.

Ali T looks a lot more to me like a shorter Diaw, with better rebounding.

Very soft touch, a nice baby hook and a nice floater in the lane.

Maxiell's killin' em out there with his outside game...

Stuckey with 7 pfs?

Stuckey with 7 pfs?

Most of them fouling in transition. He hasn't been hacking regularly or anything.

thx K.

I guess it's safe to say the coach didn't agree with that call. lol

Aflalo back in.

Aflalo looks quicker than he did on the highlights they showed on draft night. Stuckey does look like that natural scorer.

Zekyl, you finally get that video going? Or still following the boxscore?

Overtime!!

Stuckey with some very Wade-like qualities, getting to the line repeatedly late in the game and hitting every clutch FT.

Aflalo with a nice 3.

Marco Bellini finshes with 37 points for GS. WOW!!

Stuckey willing to give it up too.

Stuckey willing to give it up too.

Unfortunately to the wrong team there.

Nice penetration, caused the collapse and then the dish to the open shooter for a 3.

Stuckey gets ripped by Williams, Philly takes the lead...and he comes right back, finding Meija for the game-winning three at the buzzer!

We win! We win!

Mejia with a 3 for the win. Highlight of his career possibly?

Afflalo kicked ass in the 2nd half after a very poor 1st half.

The D he played on Williams on the last play of the 4th was Bowen-like. Williams had 9 seconds and wound up forcing up an airball.

Meija isn't much of a player outside of scoring, but he does have excellent scoring ability. He hit open shots all night long.

Definitely a guy to leave overseas for 2 years. He's got potential.

I'll have to go read up on Stuckey some more about his ball handling but looks to me like he could tighten it up a lil.

I didn't see the first half but thought Aflalo played a real good 2nd half.

Nice game to watch with a lil drama at the end for real game feel for the boys.

re: stuckey ball handling. I wasn't talking about going to the hole, but out top he looks a lil to relaxed with the ball.

Afflalo had a funny game. He was the worst player on the floor in the first half, and the best player on the floor in the 2nd half.

As for Stuckey, he's a phenomenal ball handler for a SG, but yeah he has to learn what he ca and can't get away with in the pros.

His explosiveness is really something else though. Nobody can stay in front of him.

Summer League Game 1 Observations
Pistons vs 76ers


First half impressions:


Cheikh Samb: The dude keeps reminding me of Ben Wallace, it's weird. He doesn't look for his spot on offense, he just floats around and looks to hit the glass. It was evident in his 6 rebounds in only 10 minutes of play. He's got great shot-block timing and even prevented a Thaddeus Young throw down. The play ended up and offensive interference, because Young hung on the rim a bit causing the ball to rattle out.

Arron Afflalo/Sammy Meija: Nothing really worth noting. I honestly couldn't tell them apart on the floor, probably due to the video quality. They combined for 3 points, 1-8 FG.

Jason Maxiell: More nastiness. Finished the first half with 9 points (leading all scorers), 8 FT's (also leading the game). He still relentlessly attacks the basket and people bounce off of him. Unfortunately, I didn't see too much in terms to new moves or better ball handling. He blew a great chance to spin right for an open dunk, and spun the wrong way. It still looks like he's making up his mind to go one direction.

Rodney Stuckey: He started off the game rather timid. Didn't really look for his own shot or to monopolize the ball. He did heat up towards the end, when they played him at SG and had Ibrahim Jaaber play PG. Stuckey finished with 8 points and showed a nice shooting touch on a pull up jumper. He shot well at 4-8 FG.

Laron Profit: Played well and scored 6 points on smooth outside jumpers.

Ali Traore: 4 pts 3 reb. Had some nice inside game, with a sweeping left hook.



Second half and final impressions:


Stuckey: Offense didn't run through him much in the 3rd and early 4th, and didn't look for his shot at all. He did get the ball a few times with the shot clock winding down, where he had a nice pick and roll dish to Traore.

He played more PG towards the end of the 4th, bringing the ball up court and running the team. He did look very quick when he came off screens, he drove three times to the rim and got fouled all three times. He did have too many careless turnovers, unfortunately. Threw the ball away a few times and got stripped once, in OT. I'm still not 100% sold on Stuckey yet. I keep imagining Flip Murray having an identical game. Finished with 14 pts, 3 asts, 4 reb, 6 TO.

Maxiell: Same game we're used to, but effective. Jumps over the top of guys to get his shot off. Great pick and roll defense, on one play he hustled and ended up blocking the shot. Looked confident with his catch and shoot where he hit 3 straight jumpers. Would really like to see Maxiell gain some more confidence in his ball handling. Maxiell finished with 22 pts, 3 reb, 2 blks, 7-10 FG, 8-11 FT

Samb: Great timing on his shot-blocking. He did get called for goaltending once. Would like to see more boxing out, rather than chasing down rebounds. He could be a great rebounder if he learns to box out. He did hit a jumper, to everyone's surprise. Finished with 6 pts, 7 reb, 1 blk.

Afflalo: Nice spin move for a layup. Nice outside jumper, he hit quite a few. Looks smooth out there. Ran the floor well, for easy layups. Finished with 14 pts, 5-13 FG.

Meija: Finished with 12 pts, 4-11 FG, and the three pointer to ice the game in OT.

Ibi Jaaber: Looks quick out there, quicker than Alex Acker. Good energy and speed, handled PG duties when Stuckey wasn't. Still can't see him making the team.

Profit/Traore: Didn't play much in the second half.

Matt, Flip Murray in his dreams couldn't handle the ball as well or explode to the rim as fast as Stuckey did tonight. Terrible comparison.

Matt, Flip Murray in his dreams couldn't handle the ball as well or explode to the rim as fast as Stuckey did tonight. Terrible comparison.
Flip Murray can't explode to the rim?

Ask Kirk Hinrich what Flip's nuts smell like..

EsxBWdrWgNo

uGQlvYNFTwg

driving hard to the basket is nice, but hell, Lindsey Hunter can come off the screen and drive hard to the hole.

IIRC, i didn't see Stuckey break his man off the dribble and drive past him once. His best drives to the hole were off screens.

not saying that Stuckey isn't quick or he won't become the penetrator we need. i'm just saying we didn't see it tonight, and what he DID do tonight, i've seen Flip Murray do. nothing jaw dropping or spectacular (yet).

btw, i was hoping to see something special from Thaddeus Young, but he really didn't do too much outside of a nice dunk at the beginning of the game. i think he finished like 5-13 FG.

Flip Murray can't explode to the rim?

Ask Kirk Hinrich what Flip's nuts smell like..



Being quick and being athletic are two different things. Ask Tony Parker.

Stuckey doesn't get above the rim enough to be a great dunker, but he IS much faster than Murray, creates contact better than Murray, and also handles the ball much better than Murray.

Comparing Flip Murray to Stuckey because they're undersized SGs is like comparing Delfino to Ginobili just because they're slashing SGs.


driving hard to the basket is nice, but hell, Lindsey Hunter can come off the screen and drive hard to the hole.

You gotta be kidding me...


IIRC, i didn't see Stuckey break his man off the dribble and drive past him once.

Did you watch the game? Any of it?

he repeatedly broke his man down off the dribble and blew right by him.

btw, i was hoping to see something special from Thaddeus Young, but he really didn't do too much outside of a nice dunk at the beginning of the game. i think he finished like 5-13 FG.


He had some confidence going after the dunk by Samb stuffed him at the rim on his 2nd attempt.

Stuckey played a nice game. he was quick with the ball and didn't force things. he also played the passing lanes well a few times with his 2 steals. unforunately, he didn't take care of the ball exceptionally well (he also averaged nearly 5 TO's a game in college), so no one's going to convince me he's a great ball handler. he did show enough game that i'm excited to see how he progresses through the rest of summer league.

however, i didn't see enough from him to think we got some steal in the draft, NOR am i happy with our back up guard situation yet. if he was on the other team and i wasn't focusing in on him, i would have hardly noticed his game. everytime he was on the floor, i was watching him intently because he's our draft pick. hell, Samb was drawing my attention more with his early rebounding and his propensity to swat shots (and he keeps reminding me of ben, dammit).

i bring up Flip Murray because he's on our team and i want Stuckey to convince me that he's a substantial upgrade on FlipM. as of one summer league game, i'm not 100% convinced. if you're convinced, you're a more optimistic guy than me.....and i'm pretty optimistic.

sure, after four games, i might look like a fool for doubting him. but for now, a couple drives to the hole (none of which he finished, yes i know there was contact) don't have me convinced joe D made the right pick. Y-E-T

however, i didn't see enough from him to think we got some steal in the draft, NOR am i happy with our back up guard situation yet. if he was on the other team and i wasn't focusing in on him, i would have hardly noticed his game.

...so you wouldn't have noticed the guy that was getting to the rim at will and bringing his team back in the last 3 minutes?


In case you didn't notice, Stuckey was running the point in the first and 3rd quarters, so of course he wasn't looking to shoot. But he did have several great assists during that stretch.

Stuckey when asked to score in the 2nd and 4th quarters, did so, and nobody was stopping him from getting to the basket.

Not sure what else the guy needed to do to. He played both guard positions, and did pretty well at both.

Most of his turnovers were near midcourt. He isn't tremendous brining the ball up, but when he has a purpose, he takes very good care of the ball.

And he easily has the best handles on the roster. He makes very tough dribble moves and crossovers look effortless.

Wow, one summer league game. At this point, after his very first pro outing of any kind, if he's already on par with Flip Murray, I'm good with that.

If Rodney gets this reaction, I wonder what the thoughts are on Oden's future, given his dreadful first game.

...so you wouldn't have noticed the guy that was getting to the rim at will and bringing his team back in the last 3 minutes?
like i wrote, three times he got the rack....every single one was when someone set a screen for him and he took advantage and turned the corner.


In case you didn't notice, Stuckey was running the point in the first and 3rd quarters, so of course he wasn't looking to shoot. But he did have several great assists during that stetch.
in my write up, i mentioned pretty much exactly what you just said. when he was running the point, he wasn't looking for his own shot and wasn't forcing things. both good. BUT he did make several careless passes for 6 TO's total, so he needs to improve that. he also picked up his dribble too early several times, which i didn't like.

he had three total assists. one was to Traore and one was to Meija at the end....i can't remember the last one. one of afflalo's jumpers off a screen, maybe?


Most of his turnovers were near midcourt. He isn't tremendous brining the ball up, but when he has a purpose, he takes very good care of the ball.
i saw two turnovers that were sloppy entry passes. like i said, he averaged nearly 5 a game in college and that's a little high. yeah, his team sucked so he probably handled the ball a ton, but his 6 TO's in today's game wasn't confidence inspiring.


Stuckey when asked to score in the 2nd and 4th quarters, did so, and nobody was stopping him from getting to the basket.
i didn't see this unstoppable penetrator (ala tony parker or daniel gibson, lol sorry) that you saw. he drove ok, but he's got scrubs guarding him. like i've been saying, i'm not completely convinced yet.

Well...disaster IMO

Sorry I disappeared. My friend's band stopped by to ues my shower on their way through town after a show up in Detroit. Next time I should be at work for the game so I should get a much better feed.

Sweet I can watch the whole game at 5 pm in Korea...gotta love nba tv.

Jason Smith has a few good blocks on us, one being a help side block.

God even if Max did lose alot of pounds, he still plays bigger. He just loves to dunk over people.

The last play of 4th quarter, Stuckey was very Wade like, isolation play, driving, drawing the contact then making his 2 free throws.

I skipped through most of it except the first few minutes of the game, the last 3 mins of regulation, and overtime.

Stuckey can play the 1, but needs to be better at doing he things the point guard is suppose to do. At the beginning of overtime, he made a horrible pass intended for Max, and got a TO right away as overtime started. He also lost the ball with 30 seconds remaining by doing some unnecessary dribbling.

Notes from the Pistons' Summer League opener

Posted by Justin Rogers July 07, 2007 19:20PM

The Pistons opened up Summer League play this evening against the 76ers. Here are some observations through the first three quarters of the game.

- The reports are true, Cheick Samb has put on a considerable amount of weight. He actually looks more like an NBA player now. Probably could benefit from another 20 lbs though.

Despite a decent statistical performance, especially in the rebounding department, Samb seemed to be out of position several times on both the offensive and defensive end. This may simply be an unfamiliarity or language issue. Since the Pistons hardly went to him in the post during his playing time, it's difficult to know how his offensive skills have progressed since last year.

- Rodney Stuckey looked better than I anticipated bringing the ball up the court, making a couple nice passes in traffic. Of course he also made a few rookie mistakes, misjudging the athleticism of his competition a couple times early. That's just part of the natural adjustment to the next level.

- They might want to reinforce the rims in Vegas. Maxiell looks like he might bring down the whole basket with each dunk. It's important to mention not every Maxiell basket was a dunk. He really showed a few nice post moves, hit at least two excellent turn-around jumpers from the baseline and even displayed a little range, swishing a jumper from the top of the key.

- Journeyman Laron Profit's jumper looks better than his outlook of actually making the roster.

- There was one possession in the second quarter where Maxiell jumped out to double-team the point guard, raced back around a screen to cover the roll only to come right back to help with a double-team. As the shot clock was winding down, the point guard dished the ball to the wing where Maxiell slid over and blocked that player's pull-up jumper. You have to appreciate that kind of hustle and defensive effort.

- Stuckey is quick. It was encouraging to see him blow by his defender on a fast break, and just two possessions later, pull up for a smooth looking jumper. A very encouraging first effort from the first-round selection. He'll need to work on not picking up so many fouls on the defensive end though after picking up six through three quarters of play.

- After really struggling in the first half to get going offensively, Arron Afflalo had a really nice drive to the lane culminating and with a twisting layup.

- Maxiell's NBA experience is clear. He's easily the best player on the court for either team. You can see it in the little things, his defensive positioning, the spots he gets to on the court once the ball is shot and even in his post moves.

:mccosky:


The skinny from Vegas

Some summer league notes.

You might have noticed that Amir Johnson hasn't made his way to Vegas just yet. That's because he is unsigned. He could sign as early as Wednesday and would most likely join the team and play in three games, plus a couple of controlled scrimmages. The Pistons are getting close to finalizing a three-year deal with Johnson that would pay him close to $10 million. Joe Dumars has made it clear across the league that he was matching any offer for Johnson, so teams have pretty much stayed away.

A lot of people have the misperception that Sammy Mejia, the Pistons 57th pick, is a point guard. No. He played a point-forward type role at DePaul, but he's a small forward. The Pistons are trying to decide if he's worthy of a spot on the 15-man roster in the fall. If so, he will spend most of the year in the D-League. He is a tough competitor, that's obvious. And he knocked down the game-winning three-pointer in the Pistons' win on Saturday. But, even though he's listed at 6-6, they have to be concerned about his size. I can't see how he can guard some of the high-scoring small forwards that Tayshaun Prince has to deal with almost nightly. There is no way this kid is anywhere near as good as Ronald Dupree. So, my guess is, young Sammy might best be served with a year overseas.

I really like what I've seen thus far of Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo. Stuckey is as advertised -- tough, stronger than he looks. He drove the ball hard to the basket against 76ers rookie Jason Smith (a bulky 7-footer) on Saturday. Both had momentum going up and when they collided, it was Smith who bounced off Stuckey and tumbled to the court. Then, down two with nine seconds left, Stuckey beat his man and took the ball hard to the basket and drew a foul -- eventually sending the game into OT. He took it fearlessly at the Celtics' Glen Big Baby Davis a couple of times on Sunday, as well. A sign of his toughness -- he rolled his left ankle in the first practice out here and continues to play and play well. He is going to have to keep working on his ballhandling and getting the Pistons into their offense quicker. He also has to adjust to the NBA's hands-off defensive policy. But overall, his play has been encouraging.

As for Afflalo -- all of you people who were ripping him on draft day are going to eat your words. There's no way you aren't going to love the way this kid plays. When Dumars called him a warrior, he wasn't exaggerating. Philly's Louis Williams, a speedy second-year point guard, was killing the Pistons on Saturday. Afflalo begged coach Terry Porter to let him guard Williams. He did and he shut him down, stopping him cold on the Sixers last possession of regulation. Afflalo then put the team on his back in the overtime, hitting a three-pointer and setting up Mejia for the game-winner. Loved what he said afterward, too: "I want to win every game. I dont care what I am doing. This felt like the Final Four for me.

Afflalo truly hates to lose. Stuckey was telling us about how a few years ago his AAU team went to Vegas and beat Afflalo's highly rated team from Compton. When we relayed that Afflalo, he got a pained expression on his face and flat-out denied any memory of that loss. The scar from that relatively meaningless game still burns him. I didn't have the heart to ask about the Florida loss in the NCAA semis last year.

Afflalo hasn't shot the ball well yet out here, but his defensive instincts, his athleticism and his heart are NBA-ready. I am telling you, barring injury, by mid-season Afflalo is going to be a very popular player in Detroit.

Guard Gabe Pruitt, drafted by the Celtics, has a grudge against the Pistons. He torched them in the scrimmage on Sunday and has the look of a pretty solid prospect. But he was convinced the Pistons were going to take him at No. 27. He and Afflalo were high school teammates in Los Angeles and they have the same agent. They were watching the draft together. Afflalo didn't even work out for the Pistons. So, Pruitt almost fell over when he heard the Pistons call Afflalo's name and not his. He said he will use that as motivation the rest of his days, but he shouldn't take it so personal. The Pistons had Pruitt and Afflalo rated even. If the Pistons had taken SF Al Thornton at No. 15 instead of Stuckey (Thornton went at No. 14), then the Pistons would be praying that Pruitt was still on the board at 27. But, they got Stuckey and felt Pruitt's game was too similar -- thus, they went for Afflalo.

I still haven't seen Greg Oden or Kevin Durant play. The Pistons don't play either of them in a regular game and every time they are playing, I am writing or at the Pistons' practice. I will probably see Durant on Monday. My only hope of seeing Oden is if the Pistons scrimmage the Blazers Tuesday. The Blazers don't play a real game Monday or Tuesday and I am leaving Wednesday.

Former Pistons point guard Will Blalock, by the way, is on Denvers summer league team.

A lot of people have the misperception that Sammy Mejia, the Pistons 57th pick, is a point guard. No. He played a point-forward type role at DePaul, but he's a small forward. The Pistons are trying to decide if he's worthy of a spot on the 15-man roster in the fall. If so, he will spend most of the year in the D-League. He is a tough competitor, that's obvious. And he knocked down the game-winning three-pointer in the Pistons' win on Saturday. But, even though he's listed at 6-6, they have to be concerned about his size. I can't see how he can guard some of the high-scoring small forwards that Tayshaun Prince has to deal with almost nightly. There is no way this kid is anywhere near as good as Ronald Dupree. So, my guess is, young Sammy might best be served with a year overseas.

So why did we draft him then? Obviously we didn't need another guard when we drafted 2 in the first. What was the point of drafting a SF too small to guard SF's?

I figured Mejia was a Rip Hamilton-sized SG. Dumars seems to think Afflalo can defend at SF too. Ugh.

Meija's a bigger player than Rip. He's a legit 6'7" in an NBA-sized body.

Meija's not making the roster. He was more or less a favor pick for Billup's agent, who also is Meija's agent.

he has a chance in 2009 or 2010, but not this year.

Samb and Afflalo split the Pistons' 8 points so far.

Also, the announcers on NBAtv say that Amir Johnson will play?

They probably just don't know shit.

Samb with a beautiful pass to Max for the slamjam.

Samb is impressing more every game...

Afflalo's looked better than I thought as well.

Stuckey with some impressive plays.

Joe, please bring Samb over. This kid can't possibly show any more in summer league games.

I agree--we have a hole at C anyway, we may as well get him used to NBA speed.

F-ing whistles are boring.

Is this one online at all?

I thought they all were...

Anyone got a link so i can watch? I'm at work so I actually have a damn good connection right now.

IT's live on NBA TV. No online streaming.

Fuck.....

LOL, one of the announcers said "buttload"

How's everyone been looking so far? Who's doing good/bad?

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/scoreboard.jsp

click watch

actually, i'm hearing people are getting it to work, so keep trying.

anyone have a member name/password so i don't have to sign up?

Yeah im watchign it right now online

just sign up its at halftime

the NBA TV guys are raving about Afflalo...

Stuckey doesn't have the points to show for it, but his strength around the basket is impressive. He's not as quick as I was hoping, however.

Afflalo is very smooth. Not extremely athletic or anything, but very smooth, and his shot is pretty.

Cheikh Samb is not ready yet, but he is only going to get better. I say we bring him over, as he's still playing really well even as raw as he is.

Maxiell is Maxiell--eating babies before getting their names.

Mejia doesn't look very good...

Can't wait til we sign Amir so we can see him in action.

Actually, i just went to the old link from page 8 (i think) and it came up with some guys in white shooting at one basket and an empty gym, maybe that's the right thing since its halftime

Maxiell with the gorgeous turnaround, block, then assist to stuckey.

Nevermind, that wasn't right, signed up and got it.

Stuckeybuns taking it hard to the hole.

yesimeanttosaythat

Samb had no idea what was going on there.

Mejia nearly airballed that layup. That was sad.

STUFFED BY MAX!!!! Get out Conley.

Afflalo-me-home not playing quite as well this half so far.

Afflalo playing like Michael Curry, which is good or bad either way you look at it.

Samb might have the talent, but he's lost out there from play-to-play. If we do give him a spot he goes to the Ants.

His shot looks better than Curry's though -- it's flat right now.

Samb might have the talent, but he's lost out there from play-to-play. If we do give him a spot he goes to the Ants.
Without a doubt. I wouldn't mind letting him stay overseas one more year. We can use that roster spot on another young guy to stick in the NBDL, like Traore.....

:emo kid:

Boo, that call was garbage.

Wow, no one boxed out there....

open wmp add url: http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia-live/nba/9920/500_nba-league_pass_memphis_051201.asx

Stuckey has been awesome all game. He's a machine slashing to the basket.

Most importantly, he's a damn good passer in the lane. That find to Samb at the buzzer was sweet.

me likes stuckey.

Its funny watching these games, the offense seems ok, but you can tell the coaches don't really have time to do a lot with defensive schemes.

Baby eating time.

Oops, I'm watching this Tivo'd so I'm way behind.

Beauty of a hook by Samb

Afflalo adjusts and puts some more arch on it for 3...

Samb with a nice baby hook too.

me really likes stuckey.

Stuckey and Afflalo are putting a huge smile on my face tonight.

The kids can flat-out play.

nice game, Stuckey, Afflalo and Samb all showing something

I love the way stuckey is playing the point. He is doing what Chauncey does, let everyone get involved then take over.

Did they just say Stuckey was a rookie from Eastern Michigan? That's what it sounded like.

Damn, Stuckey.

Stuckey and Afflalo are putting a huge smile on my face tonight.

The kids can flat-out play.

Which is why I was NOT in favor of packaging the 15 in a trade. I wanted to see if JoeD could come up with another Prince. Only time will tell...

Stuckey looking damn good. We finally have that backup guard we've needed.

Who is Franky Johnson?

Who is Franky Johnson?
I was thinking the same damn thing

I'm just now finishing up the game but Stuck looks to be about an inch or 2 shorter than Max. This kid could make it interesting.

MAX, 10 seconds left don't leave your feet to try to block a 3!!!

Max had 3 bad fouls

Pistons win again. Stuckey is dominant.

27 points on %56 shooting, and 9/9 from the line.

"He knew the pistons liked his workouts. if he was still there they were going to take him"



Ummmmmm, they didn't even bring him in for a workout and it was a surprise to everyone..........

The kid comes across as really mature too. Not in awe of anything and not acting like he's too coo for schoo either.

damn, i missed this game because i had to run some errands. looks like i missed Stuckey impressive game, 27 pts. i did catch glimpses of Maxiell's jumper, and i like what i'm seeing. forcing guys to respect that jumper will just make his i'm-gonna-rip-off-the-basket game more effective.

There is a replay on NBA TV later.

so, how was Stuckey scoring? mostly penetration? outside jumpers?

Lots of penetration with a few mid range J's and a one or two from deeper back.

He was a mix of everything.

he slashed inside, pulled up for step-back jumpers, went after two of his misses and drew fouls on his second shot, etc.

he even had a nasty floater in the lane.

His last bucket was just silly. He went through the defense like nothing for an and-1.

He drove by his guy tonight Matt. He can curl down the lane going to his right really really well.

I don't want to get a boner just yet over this kid, but I think he could make the rotation for sure.

There was one drive on kind of a fast break where he ended up in traffic underneath, but still got a hoop and some harm.

Aflalo is good too.

Lets trade CBill and Tay, we don't need them. LOL

Was Afflalo guarding Gay?

Gay went off vs team china, but if Aaron was guarding him, that'd be a reason why we won the game

From what the announcers were saying, Mejia guarded him, but it was probably a combination of both.

No, Mejia was guarding Gay the whole game. Afflalo was on Kinsey and Conley.

FYI, Mejia was a pretty good defender in college too.

Kinsey is a beast too. Memphis has a ton of good young talent.

Kyle Lowry(sp), Mike Conley, Gay, Terrance Kinsey, Alexander Johnson...oh no Hakim Warrick though.

Aaron played 48:59 minutes. How long are summer league games? btw, thats the next Tayshaun Prince in terms of minutes....

Samb with 12 pts, 10 boards, but only 1 blocked shot...was he getting robbed or did he really only get one block. Samb should get getting alot more blocks by coming for help D or someething.

He got robbed for the second straight game.

He had 4 blocks, possibly 5.

I sure thought I saw more than 1 block and I came in at the half. Looking forward to the replay.

KStat, quit posting shit right before I do.

:)

How did Stuckey look on defense against Conley Jr (who's pretty damn quick)?

Too bad I don't get NBA TV, i really wanted to watch this game.

Conley was too quick for him, but Conley as you said is quick as hell even for a PG. Stuckey's D was all around solid.

Stuckey needs a cool nickname, stat.

http://wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9713

Samb got robbed, I know for sure he had more blocks than that.

If Stuckey was a scrub stuck at the end of the bench, I'd love Stuckeybuns, but if he's actually going to be a contributor we do need a better nickname for him.

I know.

EMOticon :emo kid:

definitly couldget excited for stucky, but ifhe is going to learn to positions his first year, he's going to have some struggles. even just pg would be tough.

Stuckey isn't going to be a conventional PG for us. He's going to play PG the way Dumars did in the past. Bring the ball up, get it back, and create for others slashing to the basket.

as opposed to? why dont you give him more than 2 summer league games before you start pigeonholing his role on the team.

as opposed to him being a conventional NBA PG, which isn't what he is. He's a scoring guard with passing ability. You don't take away his aggressiveness.

as opposed to him being a conventional NBA PG, which isn't what he is. He's a scoring guard with passing ability. You don't take away his aggressiveness.


i hate to keep bringing up the comparison, but i'm sure that's why he's been called a poor-man's DWade. DWade's a scoring guard who plays the PG and passes well.

He can slash but once he gets there I think he's going to be dunking over peeps at times. Rip needs to pull up a lot or underhand a shot.

While Stuckey left his biggest impression on the offensive end, he showed he is no slouch defensively. He was effective in containing Memphis guard Mike Conley Jr.

“He is real quick,” said Stuckey about Conley. “I gapped him a little and tried to contest his shot.”

Porter said that Stuckey's defense was one of the key’s to Detroit’s victory.

“Stuckey played Conley well,” Porter said. “Conley is very fast. Stuckey did a good job on him and we didn’t get killed on penetration.”

My few thoughts:

Samb clearly isn't ready yet but Damn he's a big boy. Maybe he just looks big against the summer league competition but I didn't picture him as quite that size. If he can put on another 25-30 pounds as many have suggested, he's a legit NBA center. Dunno, just thought he'd be smaller/skinnier.

I agree with everything said about Stuckey, just like to add that he has pretty good hangtime on his jumper. On at least two occasions that I saw, he was able to double clutch/delay his release in the air in order to get a cleaner shot off.

I thought Mejia looked pretty good guarding Gay as well but I'm also a DePaul homer. He did have 6-7 fouls though so keep that in mind.

Samb is ready for the D-league. Bring him over and get him some experience playing ball in the US..

Notes from Pistons vs. Grizzlies Summer League game

Posted by Justin Rogers (http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/about.html) July 09, 2007 19:47PM


Here are some observations of the Pistons' second Summer League game against the Memphis Grizzlies. You can view the final box score here (http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/games/boxscore.jsp?gameId=1520700014).
- Stuckey's quickness with the ball is really fun to watch, but he needs to work on staying in front of his man on defense. Conley Jr. blew by him several times throughout the course of the game, but the three personal fouls were a big improvement from the first game.
- Samb has such tantalizing potential, but I think he'd really benefit from another year in Europe. His size and length really lead you to believe he could be a dominant rebounder and shot blocker at the NBA level. His offensive game will need more work to translate to the big, physical NBA defenders, but to watch him smoothly stroke a 14-foot shot on the baseline gives you a good feeling.
- Impressive bounce pass in the lane by Samb out of a double-team along the baseline. At that age you expect a big man to panic a little when surrounded by defenders in the lane, but instead of kicking it back out to the perimeter or forcing up a bad shot, Samb spotted a trailing Maxiell in the lane and used his length to bounce the ball around one of the defenders for the Maxiell jam.
- I don't know what he could do to make the 15-man roster, but Ibrahim Jaaber has to be turning some heads. After picking up five quick assists in fifteen minutes in the opening Summer League game, Jaaber had a really nice drive where he split to defenders and went under the outstretched arms of a would-be shot blocker to lay it in.
He's also tenacious on the defensive end. I believe he set some Ivy League records for steals, and it's no surprise with the way he hounds the ball.
- Laron Profit seems so comfortable on the basketball court and it's hard to imagine how he's not on an NBA roster. No one is advocating that he should be a starter, or even in a rotation, but from what I've seen from his time on the court in these first two games makes me believe he should be at the end of some team's bench.
- Stuckey is putting together a pretty impressive show on the offensive end making mid-range jumpers, blowing by defenders off the dribble and making sharp cuts to the basket without the ball for a couple easy layups. (Finished with 27 points)
- Arron Afflalo's shot seems flat, much like it did for the first three quarters on Saturday.
- Is it ridiculous to think that after dropping so much weight this offseason Jason Maxiell is even more explosive?
- After a solid Summer League opener, Sammy Mejia really struggled offensively tonight. He didn't score until the final minute of the game, racked up seven fouls and, at times, tried to do much individually with the ball in his hands.
On the other hand, he really controlled Rudy Gay, helping limit the talented forward to a 3-15 night from the floor.
- Cheikh Samb closed out the game strong and finished with a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).

I'd like for us to just make Lindsey a full-out coach or something like it if we could (buyout?) and bring in Jaabeer to put in the D-League.

From what I watched yesterday, he's very quick and made some sweet dishes -- a capable (true? omg) PG.

In other summer league news...Marcus Banks just dropped 42 in a summer league game.


Durant is 9-for-36 (25 percent) from the field over two games, including 3-for-10 from 3-point range.

:mccosky:


* Former Piston Will Blalock was Denver's starting point guard in their first summer-league game. He responded with eight points and seven assists. Nice first impression.

* Former Piston Rodney White started for the Lakers on Sunday and scored 12 points.

I'd like for us to just make Lindsey a full-out coach or something like it if we could (buyout?) and bring in Jaabeer to put in the D-League.

From what I watched yesterday, he's very quick and made some sweet dishes -- a capable (true? omg) PG.
I agree 100%. Hunter isn't going to be playing much anyway. I'd rather we started developing someone. :emo kid:

How sad is it that the summer league is meant to be for 1st and 2nd year guys, yet Rodney White has played in it for the last 13 years?

How sad is it that the summer league is meant to be for 1st and 2nd year guys, yet Rodney White has played in it for the last 13 years?
And for guys trying to catch on somewhere, and rehabing vets..........

Yeah, whatever. I'm saying there should be a limit. You can only play X number of years in the summer league.

No, there shouldn't.

It's good for teams to have one seasoned NBA veteran on hand, and it's also good for a veteran to get a chance to show he can still play.

I agree with Kstat. OH SHIT! I can't believe I just said that.....oh look, is that a flying pig out the window?

i agree. this way jordan can play in the summer league during his third comeback, at the age of 87.

I saw the stats for Houston rookie Aaaron Brooks and was wondering why Detroit never targeted him. He is listed on the summer league roster as 6'1" and put up 21 pts. and 8 assists (whichis awesome for summer league). Then I looked at his actual draft info and he's only 5'10" at the Orlando work out. Somebody is lying big time or he had one hell of a growth spurt.

He is 5'10" which is why he was a late second round prospect. if he was really 6'1" he would have been a late first prospect.

Yeah Brooks is a solid player... I think height is a tad overrated at the guard positions, but we'll see how he turns out.

Yeah Brooks is a solid player... I think height is a tad overrated at the guard positions, but we'll see how he turns out.

The reason why I think it plays in big these days is the amount of combo guards. You have a lot of situations with guys like Wade, Gordon and a host of young players that are 6'3" to 6'4" guards running the point (if not full time for long stretches). So teams have that in their mind when drafting a PG.

This is nice.

:stein:


My favorite vet: Jason Maxiell

From the moment I got my first up-close access to him at the 2005 Vegas Summer League, I've been a big Maxiell guy. That was before anyone knew he could succeed in the NBA as an undersized power forward, back when the Pistons were equally unsure.

Now?

He's shed 25 pounds since last season, after getting his first meaningful playoff minutes for the Pistons. That means he's lean and mean in '07, attacking the rim and banging bodies with his usual ferocity . . . even though Detroit didn't demand that he slim down or that he play on its summer team for a third straight year.


My favorite project: Cheikh Samb

I can still remember standing near a boisterous group of Knicks summer-leaguers around this time last year. They were snickering at the sight of Samb, the No. 51 pick in the '06 draft, who wasn't yet carrying 200 pounds on a 7-1 frame.

"The Somalian Ben Wallace," chortled one Knick.

One year later? It's not exactly widespread knowledge that Samb is actually from Senegal, but we can tell you that the snickering has stopped. Samb took care of that by adding the 25 pounds Maxiell dropped to start filling out a bit and by returning from a year in Spain with a surprising scoring touch to complement his considerable shot-blocking potential.

Strength and stamina remain sizable concerns, but I'm told it's increasingly conceivable that Samb will wind up on the Pistons' roster next season, working closely with famed Detroit strength coach Arnie Kander. With a D-League affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., Samb wouldn't have to travel far if he can't get minutes with the Pistons.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2932441

Nice. I'd like to see him in the D getting some experience with American ball more.

Samb + Kander = Love & Basketball?

:mateen: sighting

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/games/boxscore.jsp?gameId=1520700025

Pistons summer league Game 2

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video courtesy of our friends over at pistonsforum.com

There's another game tonight at 6pm, so why don't you all watch it and post about it so I can read about in in the morning.

okaythanksbye

like i voted in the poll, i'm really excited to see Stuckey progress as he gets comfortable on the floor. 27 points in game 2 was real nice (especially the fourth quarter chauncey imitation with 11 pts), and i'd like to see him build on that. more dribble penetration and more assists. he looks to be a SG that we're trying to mold into a PG. i'm guessing at Eastern Washington, Stuckey handled the ball a good portion of the time, so he probably saw lots of time at PG which should definitely help us out.

then we must vote lindsey hunter off the island.