In their second game of five at the Orlando Summer League, the Nets were able to get themselves a win. Besides the fact that we don’t have to hear any losing streak jokes now, the win isn’t the most important part of the action. Just like yesterday, we are going to take a look at how each of the “big five” at the summer league did.
Terrence Williams
Terrence Williams had another big game, this time he showed a little bit more in terms of looking for his own shot. Williams scored 24 points on 8-18 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. What really impressed me about Terrence Williams game was his jump shot:
Remember last year it seemed like Terrence Williams’ jumpers were just floaters from really far away? Well, that isn’t what they look like now. On just about every shot Williams took last night, Williams was on balance taking off and landing in the same place.
However, there was one problem with Williams game last night, his turnovers. Williams turned the ball over 9 times, and hopefully this puts the rest of the “play T-Will at PG full time” push. Terrence Williams has the makings of someone who can be successful playing the point forward position. Playing PG full time, Williams is prone to some pretty bad turnovers over the course of a game:
Williams gets caught in the air here, and tries to make a pass across his body, leading to the steal, and the wide open transition dunk.
Derrick Favors
Derrick Favors again had his ups and downs in my opinion (Favors finished with 12 points and 3 rebounds), and I expect this to be the case for the rest of the summer league. At just 18, he is still learning how to play. With that being said, I was pretty impressed with his work in the high and mid post:
Favors does a nice job of working off the downscreen and finding an open spot in the middle of the lane. Then after the catch, Favors turns and sets himself up for a nice little jumper.
Favors makes the catch, and then patiently waits for the passing lane to clear up and he hits the man posting up. He then uses his speed to clear out, giving the defense no chance to double. Imagine this was Brook Lopez working the court with Favors, and it would be a pretty nice offensive system.
However, when Favors gets the ball in the post, he still is struggling.
Favors does a really good job of getting post position here, but once he makes the catch, that is where the trouble starts. It is obvious that Favors wants to face up and use his speed to his advantage, but he seems hesitant and doesn’t face up the whole way. This throws his whole move out of whack and it is what results in the airball.
Damion James
In my opinion, Damion James was the Nets’ standout performer last night. Also, it should be known that the more I watch James, the more I love his game. He had a rough start to the game, going 4-14 through the first three quarters, but the coaching staff stuck with him and ran sets for him almost exclusively in the fourth. The result was James going 4-6 in the quarter, finishing the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He wasn’t even his post work either. James used it in the fourth to draw some fouls and get himself to the line, but a bulk of his scoring was from drives and jumpers:
These two drives are really what got James going in the fourth (he knocked down a three and a really sweet jumper after this). It also should put to rest any doubt about whether or not he can play the 3 at the pro level. A lot of James’ detractors are worried about his ball handling, but as he shows in the above plays, he only needs one dribble to get from the three point line to the rim. I think he can handle one dribble.
Ben Uzoh
Uzoh again didn’t finish the ballgame for the Nets, but I thought he did pretty well yesterday. Uzoh finished with 4 points and 2 assists, but he played pretty good defense, and looked comfortable with the basketball in his hands.
Brian Zoubek
Zoubek too had a quiet game on the stats sheet, but if you watched the game, you can see that he played pretty well. Zoubek had 3 points (he scored on a real pretty baby hook in the first quarter – you can see it in one of Favors video clips) and 8 rebounds. He was really active and a disruptive force on defense. I still like him as Brook’s backup…
