This summer league game was pretty tough to watch. There were chemistry issues, talent issues and possibly nerves involved with missed FT's and open shots. So I'm not gonna get heavy into the whole roster, just players that got my attention for good reasons or bad. Putting 'em in a tier system of sorts, so that guys can move up and down the list based on performance in the ensuing games. Hopefully I can point out some ish for yall to look for in these games because their just barely watchable.
Training Camp invite watch: These were the standout players who could be competing to make it to the Knicks camp for a shot at a last spot on a roster that should have some openings bc of our cap being used up and the need to grab minimum contract guys.
Marvelle Harris: By the end of the first half, he'd locked this spot up. He played solid defense even though shooters shot over him. He knocked down jumpers, moved well off the ball and was a willing passer (rare in the SL). He played smart all game, driving when defenders over shot their run outs and shooting when they didn't get to him fast enough. If I have a complaint, it's that he could have been more aggressive to get extra touches. He should start today.
Generic Plumlee III: Our best big by a large margin. He took a couple 18-20 footers and made one, flashed some of the Plumlee passing pedigree (seriously, the Plumlee bros can pass the rock well for big guys) and he showed good rebounding fundamentals.
Ron Baker: Baker didn't really have a good game, but still stood out above most of our guys. He was playing PG but looked a lot better when he was off ball, where he runs hard through screens and is in perpetual motion. His jumper failed him, but I've seen him enough to think that was nerves. Baker didn't attack enough but almost never forced things either, it was a safe game that you'd expect in a first run. His standout moment was on a switch to Stanley Johnson who torched everybody; Baker's active hands and feet forced Johnson to lose his dribble and pick it up in a flash of his old college defense.
D-League looks: These cats showed some tools that could be worth monitoring and trying to develop.
Diabate: It might have just been that we didn't have any other PG's, but we had more playcall options with him out there (namely PnR plays). The good was that he made a number of a nice drives that sucked in the defense and he has a great knack for finding the open kickout option. He got guys open looks period. That said, he couldn't break the press off the dribble, jump passes A LOT and picked up his dribble early under pressure at times. He also didn't show much ability to finish his drives on his own, he NEEDED the kick out options to be effective.
Tokoto: Remember Tokoto in college...same here. He has a lot of great tools to work with, but does a lot of bone headed stuff too. He had some ugly turnovers and forces, but also showed the athleticism to keep up with Johnson on defense when he actually focused on it. Put him in the D-league and hope he figures things out.
Avila: Looked undersized at PF but also had one hell of a motor. His head is always up, so he finds his way to openings on the floor and gets rebounds from damn near outta nowhere. The head up thing meant he made a lot of good, smart passes. He flashed a jumper but with no consistency it's uncertain. I'm not sure at his size, he can compete with NBA level athletes but he warrants a D-League look and development.
Summers: He can flat out score, but can he do anything else? Not really sure he showed much outside of being our most consistent scoring threat, but that's enough for a spot on this list.
Concessions Stands Ready: Banish these cats to the Chinese Basketball Association or give them a job selling popcorn.
Labyrie: How does this dude combine Andrew Bynum's basketball IQ with Jared Jeffries' offensive skill set? He manages to play lazy while forcing bad shots and looking fired up like his act will fool somebody.
Mitchell: In the first half he flashed a motor that could get him off of this tier but it was gone by the second half. He got to the line and missed FT's, looked timid about shooting and outside of one meaningful touch in the paint his contribution was confined to rebounds.
Marei: I actually had to google the roster and look for a picture of this cat because while he was out there, he was so invisible they never said his name. His standout moment was letting Henry Ellenson try to and-one his way to the rack poorly and putting dude on the free throw line. First impression...he sucked so bad, I had to look up his name so I could properly roast him. Oh yeah, identifier for this fool, number 50 on his jersey.
Random Game Talk: Stanley Johnson made this difficult to watch because he was so comfortably the best guy out there. He set the tone for the game and made it difficult to evaluate anyone else's defense but the guy guarding him at any given moment. I would have liked to see more Baker on him since their only couple of sequences were the best offense v defense match-ups of the game. The Knicks only have one true PG and that dude is raw, which makes everyone else have to work extra hard. The wings and forwards passed well overall though; especially Baker, Harris and Avila. A lot of open looks got bricked, you hope that'll change. It's unfortunate that our best guys are mostly overlapping in role but I'd like to see an attempt at making a small ball line-up work.
Starters I'd like for game two:
Diabate/Harris/Baker/Summers/Plumlee with Avila first off the bench and swing Baker or Harris to PG when Tokoto comes in. Labyrie needs to just not play.
