Suns: Summer League

[Mori Chu]

I like Kuric too but he's a real head case.

Eyooo!

[Superbone]

I don't think that this Suns team is going to make it very far in the the Summer League playoffs without Booker.

[Superbone]

We're seeded 5th in the tournament. We have a bye on Wednesday and will play the winner of #21 New Orleans vs. #12 Miami on Thursday. The bad news is Miami is the team that just beat us. If we lose Thursday, we'll play a consolation game on Friday. If we win, we'll continue in the playoffs on Saturday. The playoffs continue on Sunday with the championship game being played on Monday.

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/07/13/las- ... index.html

LAS VEGAS — The Toronto Raptors earned the top seed in the championship tournament of Samsung NBA Summer League 2016 following the first five days of action in Las Vegas. The single-elimination tournament tips off on Wednesday, July 13, at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

The Chicago Bulls (2), Los Angeles Lakers (3), Denver Nuggets (4) and Phoenix Suns (5) round out the top five seeds. The San Antonio Spurs, the reigning NBA Summer League champions, are seeded 9th and will face the 24th seeded Minnesota Timberwolves at 3 p.m. PT on July 13 in defense of their title. The tournament will culminate in a championship game on Monday, July 18.

[carey]

I don't think that this Suns team is going to make it very far in the the Summer League playoffs without Booker.

He's still there. I thought he was leaving for U.S. Select but Coro told me practice doesn't start till the 18th. I wouldn't bet against him playing Thursday.

[carey]

I don't think that this Suns team is going to make it very far in the the Summer League playoffs without Booker.

He's still there. I thought he was leaving for U.S. Select but Coro told me practice doesn't start till the 18th. I wouldn't bet against him playing Thursday.

Then again, Coro wrote he's not expected to play again: http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/n ... /87017724/

The Suns fouled 39 times in the 40-minute game, which was the Suns’ first loss in the league and, not coincidentally, their first game without Booker. With Booker’s USA Basketball Select Team duty next week, it is expected that he will not play again in Summer League after scoring 52 points in two appearances.

[Superbone]

Thanks for that info, carey.

[Cap]

Cool stats: Devin Booker is leading the league in assists per game, and Ulis is second.

[AmareIsGod]

Cool stats: Devin Booker is leading the league in assists per game, and Ulis is second.

I doubt Booker leads the league in assists per game. As some people have been pointing out in here, he's been making a spectacle of the Summer Leagues and just trying to get his and shouldn't be participating.

[INFORMER]

Kyle Anderson has been a beast in the summer league. A nice pick-me-up.

[Charlie Smithy!]

INF, if you could get back to me when you can, that'd be great - thanks.

[ShelC]

Nice write-up on our guys and some other Summer League standouts

https://theringer.com/five-observations ... .fzokke78s

The Suns Are on Their Way to Something
The Suns were the most watchable team, thanks largely to the ex-Kentucky backcourt of Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker. They join Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, and Archie Goodwin as part of Ryan McDonough’s plan for world domination through collecting every John Calipari guard in the NBA. Ulis and Booker revived their connection from their Lexington days and outclassed most of the guys they went up against. Booker was completely overqualified for this summer run, lighting up whoever was guarding him, knocking down 3s from all over, and effortlessly creating separation off the dribble. Ulis had no problem adjusting to the size of the pro game, and dominated fellow mini-guards such as Russ Smith at their own game. Having a legitimate point guard on the roster was a differentiating factor in Vegas, and Ulis allowed everyone around him to shine.

The biggest story for the Suns was the play of Dragan Bender, who stood out by how well he moved and how well he carried his weight. He’s 7-foot-1, 220 pounds, and the Suns often had him playing out on the perimeter with Marquese Chriss and Alan Williams occupying the power positions. A player as tall as Bender shouldn’t be able to move as fluidly as he does, and his age (he doesn’t turn 19 until November) belies his on-court savvy. The game was never too fast for him. He knew where the ball was supposed to go and he knows how to get to his spots. The scouts and executives in attendance came away raving about him. No one in Vegas seems to believe in cross-racial comparisons, though, as I had one executive compare him to Toni Kukoc and another to a 7-foot-1 Mike Dunleavy Jr.
Bender, who has wing talent with the size to play center, gives an offense almost unlimited flexibility. His ceiling might not be as high as Ben Simmons’s or Brandon Ingram’s, but he’s a much better shooter than Simmons, and he’s much bigger than Ingram. He can pair as easily with Alex Len as he can with Chriss, and he gives the Suns a ton of options in their frontcourt going forward. You never want to overreact to a limited sample size against substandard competition, but Bender was the most impressive rookie I saw in Vegas.

[Sunsfan4life]

Nice write-up on our guys and some other Summer League standouts

https://theringer.com/five-observations ... .fzokke78s

The Suns Are on Their Way to Something
The Suns were the most watchable team, thanks largely to the ex-Kentucky backcourt of Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker. They join Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, and Archie Goodwin as part of Ryan McDonough’s plan for world domination through collecting every John Calipari guard in the NBA. Ulis and Booker revived their connection from their Lexington days and outclassed most of the guys they went up against. Booker was completely overqualified for this summer run, lighting up whoever was guarding him, knocking down 3s from all over, and effortlessly creating separation off the dribble. Ulis had no problem adjusting to the size of the pro game, and dominated fellow mini-guards such as Russ Smith at their own game. Having a legitimate point guard on the roster was a differentiating factor in Vegas, and Ulis allowed everyone around him to shine.

The biggest story for the Suns was the play of Dragan Bender, who stood out by how well he moved and how well he carried his weight. He’s 7-foot-1, 220 pounds, and the Suns often had him playing out on the perimeter with Marquese Chriss and Alan Williams occupying the power positions. A player as tall as Bender shouldn’t be able to move as fluidly as he does, and his age (he doesn’t turn 19 until November) belies his on-court savvy. The game was never too fast for him. He knew where the ball was supposed to go and he knows how to get to his spots. The scouts and executives in attendance came away raving about him. No one in Vegas seems to believe in cross-racial comparisons, though, as I had one executive compare him to Toni Kukoc and another to a 7-foot-1 Mike Dunleavy Jr.
Bender, who has wing talent with the size to play center, gives an offense almost unlimited flexibility. His ceiling might not be as high as Ben Simmons’s or Brandon Ingram’s, but he’s a much better shooter than Simmons, and he’s much bigger than Ingram. He can pair as easily with Alex Len as he can with Chriss, and he gives the Suns a ton of options in their frontcourt going forward. You never want to overreact to a limited sample size against substandard competition, but Bender was the most impressive rookie I saw in Vegas.

Wow. Nice writeup, but I disagree with a few things in it. I don't think Bender was the most impressive rookie on our own team, let alone the entire Vegas summer league.

[ShelC]

Yea I thought he went a little overboard on Bender. I mostly agree with him about Bender in general, but based on play, he wasn't close to being the most impressive rookie.

I liked the cross-racial comparison comment. Guys like Kukoc and Dunleavy are some easy comparisons. But what about Rashard Lewis, Cliff Robinson? a 7-1 guy who can play 3/4/5? I don't think he's as fluid a ball handler as Dunleavy, Lamar Odom, Hedo...he plays bigger and can handle, but I wouldn't let him run offense.

[azsportsfan]

Suns are up today at 6:00 PM Eastern against the Heat. It is on NBA-TV.

[Indy]

Yea I thought he went a little overboard on Bender. I mostly agree with him about Bender in general, but based on play, he wasn't close to being the most impressive rookie.

I liked the cross-racial comparison comment. Guys like Kukoc and Dunleavy are some easy comparisons. But what about Rashard Lewis, Cliff Robinson? a 7-1 guy who can play 3/4/5? I don't think he's as fluid a ball handler as Dunleavy, Lamar Odom, Hedo...he plays bigger and can handle, but I wouldn't let him run offense.

Ha! I basically said the exact same thing to him on twitter.

[Indy]

Cool stats: Devin Booker is leading the league in assists per game, and Ulis is second.

I doubt Booker leads the league in assists per game. As some people have been pointing out in here, he's been making a spectacle of the Summer Leagues and just trying to get his and shouldn't be participating.

Didn't even Ryan say that he wasn't going to play back-to-back games until he found out it was on ESPN?

[Sunsfan4life]

Cool stats: Devin Booker is leading the league in assists per game, and Ulis is second.

I doubt Booker leads the league in assists per game. As some people have been pointing out in here, he's been making a spectacle of the Summer Leagues and just trying to get his and shouldn't be participating.

Didn't even Ryan say that he wasn't going to play back-to-back games until he found out it was on ESPN?

From what I understand he's best friends with Ulis and close with Alan Williams. I would say that's a big reason why he wants to play. He enjoys playing with his buddies and their is a good chance he won't get alot of reg season PT with them, atleast at the start of the yr. I have no problem with him playing in competitive summer league team with guys that he will be expected to grow with to help become the suns future. I'm not a fan of him playing 25-30+ mins in a game where we are blowing the other team out. We were up by like 18 vs the Celtics the other day and he was still in.

[O_Gardino]

Cool stats: Devin Booker is leading the league in assists per game, and Ulis is second.

I doubt Booker leads the league in assists per game. As some people have been pointing out in here, he's been making a spectacle of the Summer Leagues and just trying to get his and shouldn't be participating.

Didn't even Ryan say that he wasn't going to play back-to-back games until he found out it was on ESPN?

Ryan said they planned on him playing 2 games. The first one, and today's game. When Book found out about the second game being on ESPN, he wanted to play. They let him, but Ryan reinforced that that was probably his last summer league game. He has said multiple times that it is very important not to burn out Booker this summer, and practicing with team USA is going to be a better learning experience than summer league.

[O_Gardino]

Nice write-up on our guys and some other Summer League standouts

https://theringer.com/five-observations ... .fzokke78s

The Suns Are on Their Way to Something
The Suns were the most watchable team, thanks largely to the ex-Kentucky backcourt of Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker. They join Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, and Archie Goodwin as part of Ryan McDonough’s plan for world domination through collecting every John Calipari guard in the NBA. Ulis and Booker revived their connection from their Lexington days and outclassed most of the guys they went up against. Booker was completely overqualified for this summer run, lighting up whoever was guarding him, knocking down 3s from all over, and effortlessly creating separation off the dribble. Ulis had no problem adjusting to the size of the pro game, and dominated fellow mini-guards such as Russ Smith at their own game. Having a legitimate point guard on the roster was a differentiating factor in Vegas, and Ulis allowed everyone around him to shine.

The biggest story for the Suns was the play of Dragan Bender, who stood out by how well he moved and how well he carried his weight. He’s 7-foot-1, 220 pounds, and the Suns often had him playing out on the perimeter with Marquese Chriss and Alan Williams occupying the power positions. A player as tall as Bender shouldn’t be able to move as fluidly as he does, and his age (he doesn’t turn 19 until November) belies his on-court savvy. The game was never too fast for him. He knew where the ball was supposed to go and he knows how to get to his spots. The scouts and executives in attendance came away raving about him. No one in Vegas seems to believe in cross-racial comparisons, though, as I had one executive compare him to Toni Kukoc and another to a 7-foot-1 Mike Dunleavy Jr.
Bender, who has wing talent with the size to play center, gives an offense almost unlimited flexibility. His ceiling might not be as high as Ben Simmons’s or Brandon Ingram’s, but he’s a much better shooter than Simmons, and he’s much bigger than Ingram. He can pair as easily with Alex Len as he can with Chriss, and he gives the Suns a ton of options in their frontcourt going forward. You never want to overreact to a limited sample size against substandard competition, but Bender was the most impressive rookie I saw in Vegas.

This guy is super excited to just see a 7footer move like a 6'7 dude with some concept of where the basketball play will develop. Meanwhile, I'm criticizing Benders for being too slow deciding when to dribble, pass, or shoot. It's good to get some outside perspective. I can't wait for the game tonight.

[Indy]

Cool stats: Devin Booker is leading the league in assists per game, and Ulis is second.

I doubt Booker leads the league in assists per game. As some people have been pointing out in here, he's been making a spectacle of the Summer Leagues and just trying to get his and shouldn't be participating.

Didn't even Ryan say that he wasn't going to play back-to-back games until he found out it was on ESPN?

From what I understand he's best friends with Ulis and close with Alan Williams. I would say that's a big reason why he wants to play. He enjoys playing with his buddies and their is a good chance he won't get alot of reg season PT with them, atleast at the start of the yr. I have no problem with him playing in competitive summer league team with guys that he will be expected to grow with to help become the suns future. I'm not a fan of him playing 25-30+ mins in a game where we are blowing the other team out. We were up by like 18 vs the Celtics the other day and he was still in.

Agree completely