Today some some very good performances from players who haven't been doing so well this week, which is part of the magic of Summer League - anyone can have a good day at any time. Players don't have much more time this week to make a good impression, so as much as I try to avoid clichés like "every game counts," well, every games counts from here on out.
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
- Micah Downs, F, Milwaukee Bucks - I almost never get this right, but the day I call Downs a player to watch he goes off for 21 points on 7-10 shooting and four rebounds. Please, hold your applause, or at least direct it his way. Downs is perfectly capable of these performances, but somewhat surprising is his making five out of seven three-point attempts. I'm not sure that will hold, as his outside shooting percentage has slowly decreased over the last four years, but perhaps he can build on this game and fulfill more of his potential going forward.
- Kyle Hines, F, New Orleans Hornets - As with Downs, this was Hines' best game of Summer League, pouring in 15 points on 6-7 shooting, and taking advantage of JaVale McGee's poor boxing-out skills to grab a game-high 14 rebounds and block two shots. Hines definitely works hard when he's out on the floor, and he might want to give the D-League a shot and get a little more NBA attention.
- Samardo Samuels, PF, and Trent Plaisted, C, Chicago Bulls - Both of these players have skills, they're just not often seen. In Samuels' case it's because his a bit undersized and overweight; in Plaisted's, it's because he doesn't always do the requisite dirty work in the post. Both were on point tonight, though, as Samuels had 19 points and nine rebounds while Plaisted had 12 points and 10 rebounds (six fouls, five turnovers. Plaisted actually has been playing pretty well in Vegas, but Samuels in particular needed a game like this to show that he can produce against NBA talent; Samuels was mostly matched up against J.J. Hickson, who ended the game with seven fouls, six turnovers and just four rebounds.
Nonstars
- Cartier Martin, SF, Washington Wizards - The next day after a stellar performance, Martin was the opposite of good. He had just three points on 1-10 shooting, including going 0-5 from outside. He did have six rebounds, but mostly shot the ball whenever it was passed to him, with disastrous results. It didn't quite undo all of the good he did in his previous game, but it does demonstrate that Martin hasn't been a lock for an NBA roster since he turned pro.
- Tyrese Rice, G, Sacramento Kings - Rice had three rebounds and three steals, nice to see from a point guard, but he also had six points on 3-10 shooting and just two assists in 24 minutes, which won't do anything to show that he's not just focused on scoring. And who knows, he may be comfortable with that, but it hasn't gotten him into the NBA yet, you know?
- Chris McCray, SG, Memphis Grizzlies - McCray played 19 minutes in this game, finishing with more turnovers (four) than he did points (two). That's especially bad considering he's not really a point guard, and shouldn't really be in a position to turn it over that much. McCray's offense has pretty much disappeared over the last year, and I have no idea why; he probably doesn't either, which could be a problem.