Are you really saying you now see something - in summer league - that every professional paid executive/coach/owner missed! If that is what you are saying, then more power to you! Who in the sam hell am I to try to stop you?
I only saw half of the 1st game. I liked what I saw from Amari (a lot) but Miller was far far more brilliant, capable, bigger and stronger. Miller went to his bread and butter (outside shooting) to right the ship in the second half. By far Miller doesnāt get enough credit for his workmanlike like focus and mental toughness. Most reviews Iāve seen on him overlooked such things.
Second, Iām obviously talking about those playersā game as a whole up until this point-and not two summer league games. And from the summer league action, Iāve seen that Amari and Nick have game. The final score looks bad, but there is a little good in there. Even for Mr. Miller.
ā¦who isnāt a good defender because heās not particularly athletic, strong, or super quick. Melo racks up the fouls because he canāt move his feet and has to reach and use his hands.
I said ad nauseam that Miller cannot play the NBA SG because he lacked the quickness and defense to hand with NBA SGās.
Iāve seen nothing that would indicate otherwise.
I can see the parallel, but Miller is a much more fundamentally sound defender. He was always going to need this season to play off the bench and acclimatize. Then next off season to add some muscle and power. But heās a bit worse than I was anticipating physically, and that was my main criticism of him anyway.
That said, the strengths of his game are as advertised. Iām sure heāll be a good player, but the physical dimension simply has to be improved upon for him to become a three level, go to guy.
Yea. Heāll struggle at either end of the spectrum when guarding. The quicker guys will give him trouble as will the stronger ones.
It sucks having to seemingly make excuses already for your top pick.
The good things, heās the best passer on this team by far, maybe the only willing passer too. He doesnāt force bad shots if he sees someone open.
He tries on defense too, although I noticed he keeps leaving his feet on the perimeter instead of staying balanced and ready. Good recovery, stronger guys can still go through him at the basket, it just sucks that when he tries to get strong and push back, the refs think itās some egregious sin that must be called every time.
One other thing I noticed last game, was he really getting doubled just about every possession? Every post or drive attempt, someone came over to force the ball out of his hand. Really weird to see in summer league, donāt think Iāve ever seen that.
I know part of his not shooting much was the myopic combo guards not looking for open shooters. Like at all. But the fact he was getting doubled so much, and that his (good) instinct is to find the easiest bucket, not just his own. That will work much better on the varsity team.
But I still wish heād exhibit just a teeny bit more selfishness. The other guys are gonna get their shots, go demand the ball, and take your shots too.
Oh, and Iām not saying āoh look at these two summer league games, Miller is a bad defender who canāt guard faster guys! Thatās it, I told you! Case closed, what a bust!ā
Because I try not to take too much from SL games. But, itās really hard not to look at millerās 58 minutes of floor time so far, and not point out the glaring visibility of the detractors that many (including myself) were worried about.
And selfishly, itās really validating that I trusted my own read and research on miller. Not so much on HP, but I got roasted elsewhere for being assertive that Miller has no business playing the SG position in the NBA: due to his lack of speed and athleticism on the defensive end, and his difficulty in creating his own shot due to that lack of explosiveness, his difficulty in finishing at the rim, and tendency to turn the ball over.
I really, truly and sincerely hope Iām wrong, and this is just meaningless summer league fodder. And what Iām seeing through 58 minutes thus far is just my confirmation bias.
Honestly, I donāt know if this is a hot take or not, but I wish summer league didnāt exist. I feel the same way about summer league as I did when the NFL had FOUR PRE SEASON GAMES. And I still think the NFL should have two preseason games-at most.
With the way we play, itās hard to find value in it for me as well. If our guys actually had some form of a game plan and looked like a team, like all the other teams seem to, Iād think differently.
Miller
I donāt remember seeing low hands/reaching as much in college or high school.
Rose colored glasses homerā¦pushed around nothing, touch and gets whistled.
Good vision, but bad techniqueā¦throw passes high or bounce, not TO
Mentioned above, needs gym work. Mello wasnāt NBA strong until last year and started playing 35-40 minutes regularly.
Can really shoot, going to play many years. But need to be better than #2 Marvin Williams.
PG Kobi Simmons hurt?
Even at 4.5 million guaranteed felt G Bouknight really needed to shine. Not his worst effort and games, but with McGowan and both rookies G NSJ & G Bailey showing upā¦not an if but when.
Not good but only 8th year playing basketball battle. Well, guess Kai is winning this and better than Nnajiā¦but after 2 yrs in NBA FO think by enough?
QC, to your point the double teams they were putting on Miller were crazy. But I think itās good heās going through this now, it will only drive him through the off-season and training camp.
Iām interested to see Wemby and Scoot handle the pressure now.
As we say every summer league: I wish we could see what these guys would look like with a real PG and a real coach/system? Some semblance of organization. Itās summer league, I donāt have big expectations or anything, but cmon.
Which is why I will point out the negatives I see with miller, but Iām going to withhold any sort of definitive judgment.
I just watched the entire game and paid close attention to Miller. He is basically playing PJās role but at least during the season people actually pass PJ the ball. Until that McGowenās assist for that 3 in the 4th quarter, no one passed him the ball while he was open. That was the only time the entire game where they made the correct decision to pass to him. GS had a good game plan to double Miller every time he dribbled because they didnāt respect anyone else to make shots.
Miller just appears to play the right way at almost all times which is amazing for someone his age and experience. Maybe 2 or 3 times where I felt he should have been selfish and took a shot but heās just trying to play the right way. He is out there participating in the hunger games with a moral compass which doesnāt help him in this situation lol. The coaching staff needs to stress to the others to get him the ball when he is open or has a favorable switch opportunity.
I think it is even more reason why adding someone like tyler herro would be good. forces miller to the sf position and keeps him from being option 1 or 2 for the defense until he can develop.
