Day two of Vegas Summer League was Blowout City, not that that matters (have I mentioned that I don't think they should keep score?). There were some pretty solid NBA talents on display, including Toronto's DeMar Derozan and Sonny Weems and the Mavericks' Rodrigue Beaubois, none of who probably need to be here. And of course, as you'll read below, there was some good play from free agents trying to get invited to training camps. I actually missed two of the games, as I was out seeing this band, but I was still able to catch some of the better performances.
Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs. These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with. Hit the jump to see who they were.
Monstars
- Bobby Brown, PG, Toronto Raptors - Brown is an NBA veteran, having split the last two seasons among four teams, and he's certainly no stranger to blowing up Summer League, but given the rather transitory nature of his NBA career these are the kind of performances he needs to turn in. Brown had 11 points on 5-6 shooting, and a very-good-for-Summer-League six assists and two turnovers. It helps that Toronto's team is fairly stacked with talent (see also: the alley-oop above), but he still seems to be taking care of the ball pretty well, and his three rebounds are a nice bonus.
- Shaun Pruitt, PF, Phoenix Suns - Pruitt committed six fouls in 13 minutes, which definitely isn't great, but beyond that he played well. 10 points, seven rebounds and a block in fact. Pruitt played with energy and showed off some nice post moves. Pruitt's surely the best free agent big man the Suns brought to Summer League, and he demonstrated that on day two.
- Antonio Anderson, SG, Denver Nuggets - I had called for Anderson to shoot fewer three-pointers, and that didn't happen. Luckily he made them against the Lakers' squad, going 2-3 from outside and 4-6 overall for 12 points. He also had two assists, a block and a steal, which isn't bad for 13 and a half minutes of Summer League, but he's a pretty good rebounder too, he just doesn't seem to be doing it in Vegas.
Nonstars
- Gavin Edwards, PF, Phoenix Suns - When I said Edwards would be a "player to watch," it was with the stipulation that he might not be very good. That certainly was the case here, as he committed five fouls in a little over 14 minutes, shot 2-6 for four points and turned the ball over three times. It appears his lack of physicality is catching up with him.
- Courtney Sims, C, Los Angeles Lakers - Two points, three rebounds and four fouls in 16 minutes? Yeah, that's not really going to cut it, especially when there's a perception that he's made some odd career decisions; he certainly can and wants to play in the NBA, but he's going to have to do a better job of showing it.
- J.R. Giddens, SG, Dallas Mavericks - Perhaps I'm being a bit hard on the J.R. Giddens Rebounding Machine, as he did have four boards and three steals (FYI, Giddens might be the best rebounding guard in the league), but his six points on 3-9 shooting isn't going to answer questions about, well, his shooting. Most of Giddens' offense comes from driving to the basket and crashing the boards for putbacks, but now that he no longer has a guaranteed contract and is effectively looking for work he'll have to show a broader spectrum of talents.
Loading comments...