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Authored by Derek Flack - 28th July, 2008 - 7:17 pm
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Game 1- Spurs vs. Hawks
The first game of the day tipped off with the San Antonio Spurs challenging the Atlanta Hawks . This game featured two young point guards that are both trying to prove to their respective squads that they deserve some playing time as the primary backup come November. These guards are second-year player Acie Law, who had a disappointing rookie season but could become Mike Bibby’s backup for the Hawks and George Hill, the Spurs' rookie guard who hopes to earn some time behind Tony Parker.
For the first time this week, Law actually looked like a competent NBA player. He was very aggressive from the tip, putting the pressure on Hill to play solid defense. Law finally finished on some of his drives today but still came up short on a few lay-ups. His quick first step allowed him to beat Hill off the dribble on numerous occasions, which also resulted in Law getting to the free throw line 11 times, making all of them. He also hit 2-of-4 from deep and looked in rhythm on his jumpshot. Law also made precision passes to his teammates, finding forward Mario West for a ferocious dunk on a fast break in the 2nd quarter and hitting a spotting up Thomas Gardner for free open jumpers. Law finished the game with 27 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers.
Hill was just the opposite. He couldn’t hit anything during the game and struggled to contain Law in the first half. In the final minute of the game there was some miscommunication between him and teammates on numerous occasions, resulting in turnovers off inbounds plays. He redeemed himself in the last 15 seconds, though; with his team trailing by one, he drove into the paint and got fouled on a missed shot. With the pressure on, he calmly sank both free throws to give his team the lead. Then, with 6 seconds left and leading by 1, Law drove into the lane, but Hill got his hands cleanly on top of the ball and tied Law up for a jump ball. With 2 seconds left and the ball on the Hawks' side of the court, Hill could end the game by winning the jump, which he did easily, beating Law into the air and soaring to the tap the ball to a teammate to seal the victory. Hill lost the one-on-one battle with Law, but his clutch play helped the Spurs win the war. Hill finished the game with 6 points on 1-of-6 shooting (0-for-3 from three), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 0 turnovers.
Gardner, the Hawks' gunner who was on the receiving end of some of Law’s passes, was solid coming off screens and fought to get open for jumpers. He had 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting; this included going 3-for-6 from long range in the contest.
Spurs' forward Anthony Tolliver has had a solid Revue to this point. He has shown that he is an excellent shooter and was on fire from deep today, sinking 5-of-6 threes and 6-of-8 overall. He is a great shooter from long range and has textbook form on his shot. He is a little like Robert Horry and Donyell Marshall (at the end of his career with the Raptors and Cavaliers): a player with good size and a great jump shot. Tolliver is a 6’8” forward out of Creighton and could be a shooting three or four for the Spurs if he can make the roster, much like Horry has been for the last couple of seasons. Tolliver finished the game with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Hill’s clutch play helped the Spurs edge the Hawks, 83-82.
Game 2- Warriors vs. Mavericks
Warriors' rookie Anthony Randolph is relentless at going to the basket, rarely settling for outside jump shots. But like his first game at the Revue on day 3, he can’t finish at the basket when there is body contact. He did go to the free throw line an astounding 17 times, netting 14 of them, but he was only 3-of-11 from the field. He forced some bad shots, but his elastic length made his shots very difficult to defend. Randolph has great upside, but he needs to get much stronger before he can become a dominant NBA player. He might be a few years away from being great, but he definitely has All Star potential. He had a solid around game with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, but he was a little sloppy passing the ball on drives which led to 7 turnovers.
Golden State guard Anthony Morrow is flat out one of the top scorers in the Revue. After a surprisingly great first game, he came out blazing again today. The former Georgia Tech guard shot 9-of-16 from the field, 4-of-5 from deep, and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line for a game high total of 27 points. He can shoot, drive, finish, and sprint out on fast breaks. He has the perfect game for Don Nelson’s system; he would be great to watch in the NBA in that fast-paced offense. He can also do more than score; he pulled down 10 rebounds in this contest and was the only player to have a double-double in this game. To make things even better he also had 5 assists and only turned the ball over once. He played solid defense and was clearly the star of the game. This was the best all around performance at the Revue so far this year; he should easily be on the All-Revue Team unless he really falls apart later this week, but the way he has played that’s not likely to happen. Through two games he is averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game while shooting 55.9% from the field.
The Warriors also got a big game from ex-Mississippi State guard Jamont Gordon, who had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists; unfortunately, he also turned the ball over 5 times. Gordon looks to get the basket almost every time he has the ball, but he is a 6’4” point guard who mainly looks to get his own shot. Many times he will beat his man off the dribble and force defenders to rotate and help, leaving his teammates wide open but rarely making the pass. Towards the end of the game, he stepped outside and knocked down shots from the perimeter and showed he can score in a variety of ways.
Gerald Green had another good game for the Mavericks. He had 17 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He also showed good effort on the defensive end of the floor, staying in front of Randolph when it was his turn to guard him and forcing him into tough shots in the lane. If he was a little more assertive on offense he would be nearly unstoppable against summer league guys, but too often he settled for outside jump shots.
Reyshawn Terry was also big for the Mavs. He had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in this game. The best part about his game today was his defense. He altered shots by Randolph when he came from the weak side and used his length to slow down Randolph when matched up with him.
Mavs' center Darryl Watkins was also played great on the defensive end of the floor for Dallas. He had 8 boards, 4 blocks, and 2 steals and made things difficult for Warriors' players attacking the basket.
Morrow’s hot shooting and Randolph’s free throws helped the Warriors handily defeat Dallas, 90-73.
Game 3- Nets versus Jazz
Nets' center Brooke Lopez was matched up against NBA sized centers today playing on the floor against Kyrylo Fesenko and Kosta Koufos of the Jazz, and he looked awful. He was 2-for-11 from the field and had 4 points, but he was very soft in the post and didn’t get to the free throw line once despite taking most of his shots inside. There was no explosiveness in his game he was slow on the block and had trouble getting his shot off against guys his size. So far he is having hard time adjusting to the speed of the game at this level, but it will only get faster in November, so his work is cut out for him as far as the rest of the summer goes. He did have 11 rebounds and 2 blocks, but he also had 5 turnovers and struggled when Utah’s quick guards swooped in for quick double teams.
Jaycee Carroll of the Nets had a huge game playing in front of Utah State fans. He had 22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block but had 4 turnovers and struggled playing the point guard running the offense.
Ryan Anderson was struggling with his outside shot for New Jersey, but he did go to the basket strong and got to the free throw line 12 times, making 11. He was tagged as a shooter in the draft, but his shot is looking terrible and flat right now. He did well on defense against Koufos and also hauled in 9 rebounds.
Chris Douglas-Roberts had another tough game for the Nets. He has a different way of scoring, and it’s not working for him like it did in college. He is more of a slasher than a shooter and hasn’t hit any perimeter jumpers. He had 12 points and 2 boards but only made 4-of-11 shots form the field. His length makes him a decent defender and helped him get a steal and a block, but overall, he is not looking good right now.
Julius Hodge outplayed CDR again with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. He made things happen on the court on both ends of the floor. He is more athletic and a better defender than CDR and has performed at a higher level so far, but that may just be his veteran experience giving him an advantage over CDR right now.
Koufos and Fesenko both played poorly again. Koufos ran the floor well and played hard, so improvement seems likely to happen soon with him. Fesenko, however, is playing worse now than he did a year ago in the Revue. Right now it seems like he has no confidence in his game, which was evident on a botched dunk he had when he was wide open off a Tyrone Brazelton pass in the second half.
Brazelton had a great game. He destroyed Carroll with his quickness and took over the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. Teamed with Ricky Paulding in the final quarter, they became a deadly scoring duo and helped the Jazz claw back into the game. Paulding is instant offense and had 9 points off perfect shooting, 4-for-4 from the field with 1 three and also 3 rebounds.
Morris Almond was very aggressive this game. He frequently fought his way to the basket and shot 18 free throws, making 14. He had 24 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal. He was really looking to score but forced some shots instead of passing to open teammates. His defense is much better than it was in his rookie campaign although he still has a way to go before becoming a complete player.
Brazelton and Paulding helped the Jazz take the lead late as Utah held on to an 87-79 victory over the Nets. |
