Summer League Review - The Players

Yesterday I took a look at the Rookie team as whole without focusing too hard on any one players performance. Today I am going to look at the individuals.

PLAYERS:
O J Mayo - 18.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg 1.4 spg, 4.8 topg

OJ was the star of the summer league team and made the highlight plays that got the Grizzlies on Sportscenter but he also shot 40.7% from the field (48% from three point range). Outside of a thunderous dunk in the first game and a 69 ft heave in the 4th game he really wasn't that spectacular. He got people fired up with some nice plays like an up and under reverse layup but overall he didn't really stand out as much as hoped for the #3 player taken in the draft. WHen fresh OJ showed that he was far better than most people in the league but you expect that. OJ also played two positions and that obviously had an effect on his efficiency.

Darrell Arthur - 13.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 50.0 FG%, 0.8 bpg, 1.6 topg

Darrell came to the Grizzlies as the player who fell the most on draft night. He was supposed to have a chip on his shoulder about the snub. Instead his reputation as being a player who has a questionable heart seemed to be true. 3.8 rebounds a game was one fewer than Javaris Crittenton and nearly three fewer than PJ Tucker. Arthur did shoot a high percentage from both the field and the three point line (50%) but often seemed to be more in the background than imposing himself on the action. When playing hard he was impressive. It just didn't appear that he had the motor running every night and that was before the fatigue factor was supposed to set in. In many ways Arthur was more impressive when the rest of the team looked tired.

Mike Conley - 11.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.3 spg, 2.67 topg

Conley was out of sorts at times playing with O J Mayo who also fancies himself a PG. It seemed Conley was more interested in allowing OJ to be the star then he was in establishing himself as an up and coming player in the league. He did shoot 45.8% from the field and 44.4% from the arc but he didn't seem to take advantage of his speed to force defenses to react to him. Missing the last two games seems like a smart idea. He had a tough year last season and there is no reason to expose Conley to a potential injury do to a ridiculous schedule.

P J Tucker - 10.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.8 topg

If one player played himself into an invitation to training camp it had to be P J Tucker. PJ led the team in rebounding despite his diminutive size (supposedly 6-5). Basically a power player Tucker gets by on hustle and intelligence. He has high skills for an interior player but at his size less skilled players should have no problem defending him anyway. Tucker still manages to score by simply outworking his opponents. His 65.2% FG shooting also shows that he doesn't force too many shots, a trait that would serve him well to remember if he is invited to the camp.

Ebi Ere - 8.2 ppg, 48.3 FG%, 42.9 3pt%, 1.0 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.6 spg

Ere reminded me of the Richard Gere role in 'An Office and a Gentleman' when asked why he wouldn't quit screamed "I got no place to go!" Ere's Australian team disbanded this year and he has no place to go. An excellent shooter from the perimeter, Ere showed little else in the summer league. He worked on defense but failed to come up with turnovers. If the team decides to go with a pure outside shooter (along the lines of Eddie House but cheaper) then Ere may have a chance to come to training camp.

Javaris Crittenton - 8.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, 4.8 rpg, 38.5 FG%, 4.0 topg

If there was a player who needed to prove he had a future on this team it was Javaris Crittenton. The jury is still out on whether or not he achieved that. Crittenton led the Grizzlies in assists, was second on the team in rebounding, 2nd on the team in minutes played and 6th in scoring to go with some pretty good defense at the SF position. JCritt played 3 different roles on the team and if his shooting was better would have been the feel good story of the summer. Unfortunately he didn't shoot the ball well. He didn't even shoot adequately. Rumors have swirled that JCritt is still on the block and they seem justified right now.

Steve Burtt, Jr. - 6.3 ppg, 64.7 FG%, 33.3 3pt%, 2.3 apg, 0.8 spg

The son of a former NBA player with the same name, Burtt showed that he can shoot the ball. He is the looks like the typical shoot first PG but his 2.3 apg looks pretty good when you consider he only played 13 minutes a game. Burtt's play may have earned him a second look from other NBA teams but with the depth in the backcourt the Grizzlies have it is unlikely he will be invited back to training camp.

Alan Anderson - 4.4 ppg, 23.8 FG%, 20.0 3pt%, 1.6 rpg, 0.8 spg

Anderson is a good defender who can't shoot a lick. That type of one sided approach to the game isn't good enough in the NBA anymore (if it ever was). Anderson has a nice way about his game but it just isn't productive enough at this level and this level isn't the NBA.

Malick Badiane - 4.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 33.3 FG%, 0.2 bpg

The book on Badiane was that he needs more time to develop. That was made perfectly clear in the summer league. One of only 6 players to play in every game Badiane's performance started adequate and deteriorated from there. His offensive game is terrible and he doesn't play good enough defense especially blocking shots as his wingspan would imply he should. Badiane also had more fouls than rebounds. That is never a good sign.

Brian Butch - 2.7 ppg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 rpg 33.3 FG%

A last second fill in for injured Brett Petway, Butch showed exactly why he was available as a last second fill in. Not much to say about Butch besides good luck in Europe or the NBDL.

Aaron Pettway - 2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0,5 bpg

The reigning NBDL Slam Dunk Champion has amazing hops, plays great defense and can't score at all. A peculiar combination of talents. Pettway looks like he will be back to defend his slam dunk title next year. The Grizzlies love his defense but loathe his offense and like I said about Anderson, you need to play on both sides of the court in the NBA.

David Simon - 1.0 pgg, 1.3 rpg, 0.2 bpg

That isn't bad production considering he only played 9.5 mpg. If you move that to a per 40 minutes average you get 4 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 1 block. On second thought maybe that is pretty lousy and that is why he didn't play much.

Marcus Dove - 0.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg

What can I say. He didn't play much and that was probably a good thing.