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Shengelia and Taylor Have Explosive NBA D-League Debuts for Armor

Starting your D-League assignment with a triple-double is a way to ensure you get back to The Association sooner than later. Tornike Shengalia did just that with his first start with the Springfield Armor. His fellow Brooklyn Nets' teammate, Tyshawn Taylor, had a strong start as well, with a 32 point effort of his own.

By Ryan Ripley
Tornike Shengelia
Tornike Shengelia
Christof Koepsel

Going in to the weekend, the Brooklyn Nets assigned Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor to the Springfield Armor.

Shengelia played in the 2011 European Basketball Championship as a member of the Georgian Nation Team. He was the 54th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the 76ers and, was then traded to the Brooklyn Nets.

In his first game with the Armor, Shengelia put up a triple-double: 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. He was also active on the defensive end of the floor, coming up with 3 steals and 3 blocked shots.

Taylor was selected by the Trailblazers in the 2012 NBA Draft (41st), and was later traded to Brooklyn as well.

In his first game in an Armor jersey, Taylor scored a team high 32 points, but also turned over the ball 4 times.

Read on to find out even more about these two promising players.

Tornike Shengelia - (6-9, 207, Colorado)

First and foremost, Shengelia is a worker. He runs the floor well, plays aggressively, and attacks the rim strong on both ends of the floor. His athleticism and work ethic earned him a starting role in the Euroleague with the Belgian club Spirou Basket Charleroi.

Offensively, he plays an above the rim game. He can score in the post, and does a good job of creating shots on the perimeter. His shooting, however can be streaky. With that said, building consistency is certainly something that he will get an opportunity to work in while in the D-League.

Shengelia is a solid defender who uses his athleticism well. However, his ability to defend in the paint is a potential weak spot. The 6-foot-9 combo forward is often foul prone in these types of situation.

While playing on Brooklyn's Summer League team, he averaged 10 points and 3.6 rebounds.

Tyshawn Taylor (6-3, 185, Kansas)

Taylor's key offensive weapon is a first step that gets him into the paint. The 22-year-old finishes strong at the rim and also has an effective floater that teams in the NBA like to see. The former Jayhawk is a speed demon who can punish defenses in transition with easy baskets.

Turnovers plagued Taylor in college, largely in part due to poor decision making and consistency problems. This defect in his play carried over to the Summer League, where he averaged 4 turnovers per game.

On the defensive end of the floor, Taylor kept opponents to 18.6% shooting in isolation situations and 21.7% in pick and roll sets while in the NCAA. The Net has quick hands and excellent lateral movement. With these skills, he has the potential to become a shutdown defender in The Association at the one and two spots.