UM Summer League 7/8
Here's the daily update on M cagers currently grinding it out in the NBA Summer League.
D Robinson - 31m 3/7 3/4 1/2 1r 10pts
D Walton Jr - 32m 5/15 0/6 1/2 5r 6a 4s 11pts
Both started and played heavy minutes in a Miami loss to Charlotte. Both played up and down games, Walton's shooting woes were slightly made up for by his ability to do everything else (not a shocker there). Robinson was beat off the dribble a handful of times and will need to improve lateral quickness. They still seem to say that while he may not make this Miami squad he is doing well to get himself on some kind of roster this fall. On the final play with Miami down three, they drew up the play for Robinson who was immediately fouled then forced to miss the back half of his FTs with just 4 seconds remaining.
DJ Wilson - 26m 3/9 1/3 0/0 7r 4a 2s 7pts
Starter and regular rotation minutes for DJ. Not an all that impressive game. With the Bucks picking up Brook Lopez that makes it another big man to beat in the mix for trickle down playing time. Wilson handles the ball a bit more than I would expect, it may be the Bucks style that I'm not used to. His three is still a little slow coming off the hand. He's more likely to get a steal than a block, which at his height and length is probably not a plus. I'm really pulling for him to have a breakthrough year. But that's what fans do. Milwaukee fans seem to be on the back side of optimistic about Wilson, but that's what fans do.
M Wagner - 26m 4/15 0/4 0/0 14r 2a 3s 2b 8pts
Poor shooting performance last night for Wagner. Although interestingly he was quoted the day before as saying he wanted to have an impact on the glass and show that he could do the "other" things. Laker fans appear to be pretty optimistic about Wagner's ability to break through this year and make the main roster. He still has a way to go, but that's what summer league is here for.
Others
C Lavert
He's on the Nets Summer League roster. It's unsure about how much time he'll actually play as he was a veritable starter when healthy this past season. That said, they have a lot of guard/wing options in Brooklyn competing. Glad he's open to working on improving his game.
A few recent additional reading articles for those interested:
Moritz Wagner ‘Trying To Establish’ Himself Defensively At Summer League
D.J. Wilson, Sterling Brown embrace new role in summer league
Is Duncan Robinson making himself a Heat keeper?
As opposed to Duncan making himself a Heat Miser?
I was wondering if Zak Irvin found his way on to anyone's roster. I'm a little surprised that Levert is on a summer league team given how much he played last year.
(sad) Nets fan here. LeVert has been out with a minor injury. He is expected to play tonight. The hope is for him to show that he's too good for the summer league.
Walton has had a horrible shooting summer so far, but he is not known to be a bad shooter, so hopefully that will end asap. Robinson--I think he has scored in double figures in every game, and many of those 3's are with guys in his grill. He looks to be playing his way into some 2-way money at least. Wagner has hit some tough 3's as well. I think he will be the happy recipient of a lot of Lebron open looks. The guy I wonder about is Stauskas. Not sure why his shooting percentages are so low. I think he would be better with a better supporting cast. He has a very surprising dunk reel against NBA defenses. I'm hoping he will be a late bloomer of sorts. I think LeVert will be fine as long as he stays healthy.
Short interview with Wagner. At 3 minutes he has a fun comment regarding Staples Center (site of NCAA West Regional games last season, as you may recall).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Aj8VBRxPxg
"Robinson was beat off the dribble a handful of times and will need to improve lateral quickness."
That seems unrealistic. Duncan has to play well enough to make up for his physical limitations, which he is doing so far.