It was the quietest day at the Las Vegas Summer League so far, and I left a little early but we still have enough for our daily notebook.
• The Atlanta Hawks didn’t make big off-season moves (unless you consider Thabo Sefolosha big, and if you do you should see a doctor about that hit you took to the head), they are counting in part on the guys they have getting better. And Al Horford staying healthy, but mostly the guys they have getting better.
Guys like Dennis Schroder.
He’s going to get a lot of run next season behind Jeff Teague and the Hawks were hoping to see growth out in Las Vegas. They did in the Hawks win Tuesday, when he had 17 points and played some good defense.
“I challenged him to be more efficient, to take care of the ball, mix up his pick-up points (on defense), sometimes it’s full court sometimes it’s half court, but first and foremost it’s to keep his team organized on both sides of the ball,” Hawks Summer League coach Darvin Ham said.
What the Hawks want from him in the regular season is simple.
“We’re looking for him to defend, rebound and keep us organized on offense,” Ham said. “And first and foremost before those three we need him to compete and compete with a level head. He did that today.”
Basically don’t play like a 20-year-old.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk time. Turn the Greek Freak loose.
• Delonte West was moving pretty slowly on a taped up ankle that he sprained Tuesday. He didn’t dress for the Clippers on Wednesday and looked done for Summer League.
• I’ll be honest, and I didn’t see his first game, but Jabari Parker has looked pretty good but not great when I’ve seen him. A little underwhelming. (It’s Summer League, it doesn’t mean anything about what he can be, but when I’ve been watching he hasn’t blown me away.)
• Zach LaVine likes to see Zach LaVine shoot.
• On the other end of the court, Timberwolves coaches are constantly calling out on defense, talking to LeVine, trying to get him to understand his positioning.
• But the Timberwolves were the Kyrylo Fesenko Show on Wednesday as the Ukrainian big man was just too much for the Suns to handle (including Miles Plumlee). He finished with 17 points on 9 shots.
• Walter Tavares, the 7’3” center out of Cape Verde, would be a good D-League project for a team this year. There’s some potential there, and he is so big and long, but he is so, so raw.
• James Michael McAdoo, trying to latch on somewhere, had a chance to potentially win the game for the Warriors when he was fouled with 12 seconds left and his team was down one. He missed them both. Hawks hit their free throws and won by three.
