Vegas Summer League – The Diary: Day 3

Unbelievable…I open up the webcast and NBA TV has given me a logo…an actual scoreboard..and commentators. Finally. I was waiting for them to show the internet people the taping of what is going to be on NBA TV later. I am personnally blown away right now. This rocks my world, I don’t think you understand. If they give me the commentary for every game the diary could be 28312 pages.

I was just typing that I liked Taurean Green’s defense and effort…and then Jose Juan Barea nailed a tough jumper in his faced. Unbelievably they give him three points, despite the fact that he passed both three point lines and was almost at the free throw line.

Thankfully they fixed it. Seriously, it is starting to freak me out that stuff I say is either happening or the opposite is happening. Federer immediately went on a tear when it was 2-2 and I publicly questioned whether he wanted it this time.

Halftime and Dallas is up 40-38. I am still trying to figure out why DeSagana Diop is there. This is his seventh year in the NBA. Completely unnecessary, he is a part of the playing rotation and is it just me or is he firmly entrenched in the ‘rebounding and shot blocker’ category. He said he is there to ‘work on his scoring’…but he has yet to score. This is his second game and at halftime he has 5 boards, 1 block and zero points. Unreal. Leading scorers for the Mavs are Caleb Green with 12 and Pops Mensah-Bonsu with 7. Oden has had an active first half…in 13 minutes he was 6 points, 3 boards, 3 blocks and 3 fouls. I will take it. VSL is LaMarcus’ playground right about now. 12 and 7 with ease. Let us get him some confidence. Martell has three turnovers…that’s not a good.

Speaking of NBA TV, they are showing a WNBA game (of course) with Sacramento who has the hottest coach in the history of their league. I think I have said this before. But she’s only hot on TV, like not really in pictures at all. Weird? Or am I just crazy?

Annoying part about having the commentators…I get a black screen until they randomly want to tape a teaser going into the commercial break that they will have on TV. So I have this tranquility and then this crappy music comes out of nowhere with an annoying voice telling me its halftime. I am not a fan.

Back to game action….the commentators bug me talking about Oden. The analyst compares him to Bill Russell…but then he says that Oden migh not average 20 until Year 4. If ever. And then they discuss his post moves and say he isn’t too comfortable making moves with his left hands. Forgetting the fact that he played with only his left hand for half the year. I already miss crappy PA Announcer.

By the way…two airballs in the first two minutes. Both by the PG’s. Sergio had a good move, two dribbles and at the free throw line is pulled up and airballed. Unreal. Can we get a point guard?

Maurice Ager sighting. Sergio gets called for an offensive foul. The announcers try and make a storyline between Barea and Rodriguez because they both speak Spanish. Unreal. Sergio cannot play defense. Maurice Ager just jacked up a three and airballed. WHERE IS BELINELLI?

Rayshawn Terry is looking pretty impressive. He is athletic, works hard and plays defense. He just is giving Martell fits. He tipped the ball away from him at the top of the key an then forced him into a tough shot that Martell absolutely did not want to take when he first got the ball. And kids that is pretty much the key to defense; make the guy with the ball do something he doesn’t want to do. Martell has got to handle pressure better.

Sergio is looking to shoot off of the pick and roll. That is not good. Oden almost got dunked on by Mensah-Bonsu. Keyword = almost. Cherry is still intact. Barea sticks another jumper…he has 9 points. Where is Taurean Green?

Funny part as the Blazers get a bucket off a lob play for LaMarcus…they try to compliment Mancinelli for misdirecting and looking for Oden in the post. Except he was looking lob the whole time.

Maurice Ager is only shooting threes. Sergio meanwhile with ANOTHER charge. That is four turnovers and four assists. I feel bad for Fazekas, trying to stick with the Mavs and then they throw him in there to guard Oden. He couldn’t guard Lauren Jackson in the post. And yes that is WNBA reference #15…I’m aiming for 100 by the end of the week.

Taurean Green comes in and turns it over too. Unreal. Nice little high-low between Aldridge and Oden….another foul on Fazekas. Terrible call on Oden.

56-46 with 2:28 in the 3rd…this game hasn’t been too much fun.

Taurean Green ripped Jamon Gordon at half court (yay for him) but then got locked on the breakaway layup (boo).

You know…I’m definitely not putting stock into fouls in these non counting games. Remember these refs are trying to get jobs just like the players.

Josh McRoberts sighting..they are playing Oden, McRoberts and Aldridge at the same time. Another bogus offensive foul call on Oden. Even the announcers during the replay stopped their mid-sentence praise of Fazekas to say ‘yeah there wasn’t much of a push’. So I definitely don’t want to hear about Oden’s foul problems in this game, these were pretty bogus.

Is this how Laker fans use to feel about Shaq?

The announcers have the gall to say this has been the best game of the summer league. Dallas is up 60-50 at the end of three. First of all the best game was the Belinelli game I don’t care what they say. Secondly, they said it has been the best executed…except the Blazers have 15 turnovers and Dallas has 12. Don’t blindly say things around me people. Oden has 7 points, 4 blocks, 5 boards. I think McRoberts isn’t really getting a chance to show his skills, he is being stuck in the corner and he really isn’t involved at all.

Oden with a bucket.

Blazers come back and cut it to 62-60…threw it into Oden who tried a spin move and ran into that big brick wall known as Diop. Oden ended up going backwards and trying to throw up a fadeaway and getting it blocked. Oden got called for an illegal screen…another questionable one. You can see he is really getting frustrated. Pops tries to dunk on Oden but draws the foul.

Pops clanked both free throws. The announcer says that Oden isn’t going up against Dallas #1…except Diop is a significant player. God. Dumb. Barea busts a three in Sergio’s face. Sergio comes back with a floater. 66-62 Dallas with 2:20 and counting.

Oh man another terrible call by refs, travelling on LaMarcus. I’m not being a homer but he had a good jab right that froze his defender and he went left. KG does it all the time. This time it was travelling.

STAR WATCH: George Karl, Lionel Hollins on his cell phone, Mike D’Antoni sitting next to Bryan Colangelo. And that’s Star Watch presented by nobody.

Martell clanks another open three…68-62 Dallas with 1:29 left in the game. Oden comes back. This game is pretty much as good as done. Diop shot a mid-ranger jumper…you know how that ended up. Airball.

Sergio with a quick layup…68-64 Dallas. Barea hits a jumper in Sergio’s face. Unreal. Sergio’s “D” not Barea’s shot. Announcers talk about Oden for a while so of course he gets a bucket and gets fouled. He missed the free throw but this is just proof that announcers are dumb.

70-66 Dallas….another timeout. Dear lord please just end this. 17.4 seconds left. Another ‘this is the most competitive game we’ve seen’. Forget the overtime game or BELINELLI.

Oden ends the game with a two handed jam. Dallas wins it. Oden again played the rookie peaks and valley game.

Next up Lakers and Bucks…

Missed a pretty exciting one apparently. Javaris Crittenton outplayed Jordan Farmar. In 27 minutes, Farmar had 7 fouls, 6 turnovers, 5 points on 1/8 shooting and one assist. Crittenton meanwhile had 18 in 25 minutes. He definitely has potential to play on this level and is going to be
good down the line. It’s just too bad it took the Lakers two draft picks to get a guy who won’t be ready for a couple years.

Cleveland/China (ugh) is up and I actually get to watch this one live on TV. Yippie-ki-yay. Why Daniel Gibson is here is beyond me. He should have pulled a B-Roy and gone on the trip and practiced. For pete’s sake you had a breakout playoffs, don’t give people a reason to tear you down already. I would have milked that until the beginning of the season.

YIIIIII. The announcer just said ‘if you were trying to build the prototype of a basketball player…you might build this guy’. No sir I would build a replica of Michael Jordan. Everytime. Without a doubt.

Yi’s shot definitely has not been falling at all but he found a way to get to the free throw line and has 17.

Unbelievable end to this game…Wang ZhiZhi hit a three to put China up, Cleveland hit a three back. Yi hit one free throw..then Shannon Brown got double teamed, Matt Walsh is wide open in between the NBA three point line and the half court line…he takes the shot and makes it. Crazy. Charles Barkley would call that a turrrrrrrrruble shot.

18.3 left, 84-83 Cleveland but it is CHINA BALL don’t get it to YI get it to WANG. Of course, Sun Yue dribbles for like 10 seconds, they barely get it to the corner, get it to Yi in the post who dribbles once, spins through three guys and hits a bankshot to win the game. YIIIII sticks it to the public.