SL Game 1: UTA vs. DAL| NBA TV @ 9:30pm CST

[surfpuckmd]

I like that he's the GOOD kind of 7'5", where he can MOVE. Though he's not as explosive athletically as he needs to be, probably.

I think he's a better prospect than Bronny James.  

It would be fine if they gave him a 2-way contract.  He does move much better than other recent giants like Tacko Fall and Bol Bol.  He's a good moonshot.

[dirkfansince1998]

Lawson daring the Mavs to waive him. Zero development. Just puts his head down and attacks the rim.

[KillerLeft]

Gotta say...I'm liking Sharp more the longer he plays. Really good job staying on his feet there.

[dirkfansince1998]

Imagine if Sharp would just stay on his feet and put his arms up instead of jumping.

[KillerLeft]

Oooof...left his feet there, but great outlet on the previous possession.

O-Max is such a difference maker on defense. His arms are everywhere.

[KillerLeft]

Imagine if Sharp would just stay on his feet and put his arms up instead of jumping.

He HAS a few times tonight! He's had some nice defensive plays!

[KillerLeft]

ANOTHER deflection by O-Max.

[dirkfansince1998]

OMax defense is legit. Offense still raw. Would be nice to see him in a more "Mavs like" setting where he gets some open catch and shoot attempts and opportunities to cut.

[Jym]

wish the Mavs got this whistle in the Finals

[KillerLeft]

OMax defense is legit. Offense still raw. Would be nice to see him in a more "Mavs like" setting where he gets some open catch and shoot attempts and opportunities to cut.

Yeah, I wonder if he was playing a more limited game on offense, like he would in a real game, if his shooting is good enough yet.

[KillerLeft]

wish the Mavs got this whistle in the Finals

Free throw shooting is about the same though, lololol

[KillerLeft]

weak call on that foul, but I don't blame the refs for wanting to end the game

[dirkfansince1998]

Hate summer league rotations. Miller was the best player on the floor but in the end the guys with roster spots/two way contracts/draft rights are going to get more minutes.

Single game +/- triger warning.

Miller +13
Clark +3
Rest of the team 0 or negative

Closed the game with two of the worst players today (Lawson, Ajinca).

[BigDirk41]

Yeah, I wonder if he was playing a more limited game on offense, like he would in a real game, if his shooting is good enough yet.

I sure hope so because he runs like Mays and hits like Hays

[ThisIStheYear]

Ajinca has a ways to go in terms of skill but looks big and athletic. He’s imposing. He might have a chance. Omax should perform better against this level of competition. It would be great if one of those two develops into a back of the rotation player.

[juanc]

Where can I find the replay?

[Knutsen]

Hate summer league rotations. Miller was the best player on the floor but in the end the guys with roster spots/two way contracts/draft rights are going to get more minutes.

Single game +/- triger warning.

Miller +13
Clark +3
Rest of the team 0 or negative

Closed the game with two of the worst players today (Lawson, Ajinca).

You‘re throwing Sharp and his +5 under the bus! Which is hard to do because of his size…

[SleepingHero]

Fun game.

Some thoughts:

Brandon Williams: Honestly hated every single minute he was out there. Played some of the most "get my points' brand of basketball I've seen. I liked his attacks at the rim but he failed to get anyone in any sort of rhythm. Mavs run a very basic offensive set so I'm sure it's hard to play facilitator, but it became a game for me to see if he'd ever pass out of a PnR or if he'd take a shot. My count was 2 passes. But what really ticked me off the most was in the 3rd quarter the Mavs ran an out of bounds play where Williams inbounded. He threw the ball out to Ajinca and instead of running and curling off a screen he literally walked into the corner. Why? Because the play wasn't for him. So why should he hustle and be a decoy? That one play alone has soured me on him. I know he just got a 2-way but he should be replaced ASAP.

AJ Lawson: If there was a player I disliked more than Williams it had to be Lawson. He topped Williams in terms of selfishness. He played like a man who was desperate to retain his spot on the roster and his contract. The results were horrible. 4-16 from the field and some of the most reckless drives to the rim. If he got the ball he was not giving it up. Had some fantastic highlight plays though and solid defensive stops. The talent is there with Lawson but it seems like he hung around THJ last season instead of a player who actually could've taught him valuable skills. There had to have been like 5 moments this game where Lawson actively ignored his open teammate to take the shot himself. Over and over. This game showed nothing that we haven't already seen and instead highlighted some of the worst basketball IQ/attitude possible.

Melvin Ajinca: Very raw dude. Was shocked at how big he looked on the court. He is definitely not lying about that 6'8 height. He is not afraid to shoot. Not sure why he's trying to take pull up 3s in transition but it surprised me that he was never deterred after clanking the first 4 threes. The one three off the kickout where he was set and hit it made optimistic that he can become a serious 3pt threat. The mechanics of his shot look solid. But what really made me excited was his apparent touch around the rim. Those 2 drives where he contorted and somehow managed to bank them in were a beauty. Also that solid dribble pullup in the 4th was nice. Other than that, some very questionable shot choice. His defense isn't bad at all. He got burned a couple of times (one leading to a highlight dunk), but there were multiple possessions where him and OMax locked UTA down. Need to see more of him and was glad he played within what little flow the offense had.

OMax Prosper: Pretty rough game for OMax offensively. Mavs for some reason want to get OMax down hill in the lane for drives. He's solid at that don't get me wrong, but is that what he'll be asked to do on the A-team? Loved his aggressiveness and got to the line where he hit his FTs. He always made the extra pass and got things moving. He had SO many beautiful defensive plays this game as usual. Of course he also got taken advantage of on a couple of kickout threes. Overall solid game from OMax. Despite his rough shooting I still think he outplayed Taylor Hendricks.

Sharpe: It was hilarious watching him run around out there. In the first 2 minutes he missed 2 dunks and I was laughing. He obviously is too uncoordinated to play in the NBA, but his rim defense is pretty solid. He will try and block everything even when there isn't a chance for it. He also got posterized the one time he didn't rotate over early for a block. Felt like he barely boxed out and he never made himself really available for the lob/down low. Insane that a 7'5 guy could feel tiny on the court but he made that happen.


Jaz Gortman: Honestly solid game from the young fella. I was primed for him to play this AAU style basketball where he would chase highlights instead of the right play, but surprisingly it was Lawson/Williams instead doing that while Gortman had a solid 10 minutes of play. His wingspan is really huge. He looks like a pterodactyl out there. Would rather see him start than Williams.

Emanual Miller: Really liked what I saw this game. Unironically probably our best player that played tonight. I liked what I saw so much so that I'd rather he have a 2-way contract than Williams/Lawson (I know Lawson can't have another 2-way, just really have to hammer home how much I didn't like their games). Played solid defense and he was one of the few guys who, when they caught the ball, I expected their shot to go in.

Everyone else was just meh.

Fun game! Can't wait for the next one.

[Chicagojk]

Brandon Williams- Looked ok. two way caliber. Very quick and aggressive. He did have two back to back turnovers in the 4th when Utah went on their run. My ask for him is show us you can run a team and get teammates shots. If Luka has a rest day and Exum is hurt, show us we can have faith in you to play 20 minutes and run our offense. I didn't really see it last night.

Omax- Not great on offense. I agree with Nico that when the game slows down for him, he will be a player. I wish we could have gotten him looks from three that Cody Williams got. Omax really didn't get any of these looks. His role in the NBA is pretty simple, but he is not quite ready for it. He needs to defense point of attack like DJJ. I think this is what he is best served at as opposed to guarding bigger stronger players. Although He still needs to learn the tricks of the trade. On offfense, it is hit open threes and make quick decisions on drive closeouts. I don't expect they are going to ask him to create for himself very often. I would still like to see him make more than two shots and fill up the stat sheet a little more.

Melvin- Not sure what he is yet. I don't buy for a second that he is a factor for the last spot on the roster. That just doesn't make sense. Maybe a two way. Handle looks off. Not sure how good of a shooter he is but don't want to make snap judgements. Big, strong build, but I thought he looked a little small out there in height. We need to remember that he just turned 20 and this is his first game playing for an NBA team (first game in US?). With that, he didn't look like a chicken with their head cut off running around that a lot of youngsters look like.

Sharp- He is a factor protecting the rim. No surprise that he doesn't bring much else. He averaged like 3 points a game as a 5th year senior. Still, his height and skill of blocking shots is probably something you want him on the G league team (non two way) to see how he responds with hard coaching over the next year.

Gortman- Nice showing. Only had 10 minutes of play. Tough to know if this was 3-4 really nice plays that would have been mixed with some bad hero ball because he really didn't get a lot of minutes. I would have liked to see him get a few more minutes.

Miller- Boy, does he have a strong build. Did I hear his brother is Leonard Miller? He may not be quite two way level yet, but he is interesting. Looks the part more than Alex Fudge

Speaking of Fudge---Nothing really stood out. Had a three, but not much stood out. You would think you would have higher expectations on a returning two way player. Only had 14 minutes off the bench. I think his spot is in jeopardy.

AJ Lawson- Shooting, shooting, shooting. It has been 3 years right? He just hasn't shown he can make open shots. Does a lot of other NBA things. If he can't be a good open three point shooter though, there is no place for him on this roster.


Thought Dudley did well with this rag top team of ill fitting parts...or your normal summer league team. They played better than I thought.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/NationMffl/status/18...9039220178

Highlight of Omax's little spin move and bucket.