Rocky Mountain Revue, Day 1

Day 1 - July 15 - Game #1 Charlotte vs. Seattle

Charlotte 82- Seattle 65

The first game of the Rocky Mountain Review started of with a slaughter of the potential laden Seattle Supersonics by a stacked team from Charlotte. Charlotte was led by returning players Matt Carroll, Bernard Robinson and highly acclaimed draft picks Sean May and Raymond Felton. Seattle didn't stand a chance when you consider that their star player here was Alex Scales.

Bobcats

Alan Anderson – Anderson didn't really get a chance to show what he could do in this game. In limited minutes he tried to do too much and forced showing what he had to offer instead of staying within the framework of the team. Anderson has an athletic body and was given time at both SG and SF. He was overly aggressive on D and with the game being called so tightly he got into foul trouble shortly after entering the game.

Matt Carroll- The star of the game with 24 points on 9-13 shooting. He looked like a seasoned vet that knew what he was doing. Shot the ball with a great touch, and was a vocal leader on the court. Beat everybody up and down the court because of his great conditioning. Solid on defense and didn't make a single big mistake on either end. With his team leading playing time and great stats, he was without a question the MVP of this game.

Raymond Felton- Looked a little nervous to say the least. During warm-ups he was bouncing the ball off his foot and missing lay-ups. He was trying to laugh it off, but you could tell he was anxious for his first game out of college. Very fast and athletic as everyone knows, but didn't use it as well as he should. Didn't push the ball, but instead walked it up the court. Kept looking behind his back on defense and because of that let his man get by him. Felton gave the ball up to his former UNC teammate Sean May every chance he got. Ray and May ran the pick and roll over and over again, yet it did not produce for them. He didn't seem to trust anyone on his team other than May and therefore the Sonics knew where the ball was going every time and doubled up on May to counter. Felton’s shot was horrible today, most of them being ill-advised and with a hand in his face. He only made one outside shot and it was a lucky bank shot from beyond the arc. When he finally seemed to feel more comfortable, he had to be taken out of the game with a right groin injury and did not return. A disappointing showing from Felton to say the least.

Sean May – The center of the offense for the Bobcats. Started at the 4 and played 90% of the game there. He was the #1 option every time down the court but it didn’t seem to be a good fit for him. May had a good night statically, but that wasn't the case in reality. He looked out of shape and was being pushed around on D, showing slow foot work and even looking a bit lazy at times. The only time he did show us the Sean May that we all came to know is when he pulled down an offensive board and powered it back up for 2. May didn’t do a good job leading his team, not talking much on the court and was huffing and puffing after 4 sold minutes of playing. He was constantly being taken in and out by the coaching staff to keep fresh. Overall it was an OK night for May, largely due to his timely outside shooting, but a huge disappointment on the May/Ray duo front that should have been dominating the RMR.

Antonio Meeking- Had a very nice game. Power mixed with style is what this guy is. Meeking plays bigger then he is and is even tougher than he looks. He was the hustle player on the court who was always willing to get in there and fight, playing with great attitude and passion throughout. Most of his game is inside, but showed that he could step out a little. Wasn't afraid to go right after the 7 footers from Seattle on either end. Heart, determination, and team play is what sums Meeking up.

Bernard Robinson- Robinson didn't look too good here, definitely not like a player with NBA experience. He was letting the refs frustrate him out of his game. Robinson tried to go one on one and did a good job of shaking his man, but was stopped at the goal by Seattle’s big men. Robinson has a great body and looks to be in very good shape, but he doesn't use it at all. He’s a bit lazy and seemed to act like he was too good for summer league even though he had a lackluster game.


Sonics

Aaron Miles - Miles played hard, but that’s about the best thing he had going for him here. He had some real trouble running the team in their very first outing together. Both him and his team looked very sloppy in everything they did. Miles was careless with the ball today and had a hard time getting his teammates the ball in a good spot to score. He was also at times slow getting the ball up the court. Miles made up for it somewhat by playing some tenacious defense and doing a great job pressuring the ball. Overall it was a very unimpressive day, though, and it showed in his stats.

Johan Petro- Petro surely has a great body, looking a little bit like a young KG with his frame but without any of the phenomenal skills of course. He is extremely athletic for his size and has great jumping ability. Petro didn’t seem like he had any idea of what should be going on, while his team understood what he is doing even less. He shied away from contact on both ends and wasn't physical enough to say the least. He has great speed, though, and even when he steps out on guards on a switch he even can stay with them. Seems to have tons of potential, but definitely a ways off. Needs to work on his overall game, bulk up a little, and learn how to play the NBA game.

Robert Swift – Swift did a great job rebounding tonight. He was super physical inside and wanted the ball when it came off the rim. When he had position under the hoop nobody else had a chance to get the rebound, but he couldn’t move very well to get the ball otherwise. Swift has great size and has really got bigger and stronger over the off-season. The problem is that he is as slow as could be and was in bad condition on top of that. He was the last man up and down the court every time, and when he did get to the paint he was usually out of breath, with a face as red as his hair. Swift seemed to be a step behind everybody on each play and that really frustrated his team. He can block a shot, board, and dunk but other then that nothing. He certainly can't shoot to save his life, refuses to set a good pick, and forget about him running the floor on the break. He looked a lot better than last year, but still needs to get some legs and heart before he will be able to contribute to the Sonics in the regular season.

Mateen Cleaves – Big, slow and can't shoot…so what else is new? Had lots of offensive fouls and was way too slow to guard even the slowest PG’s here. Cleaves need to drop 10-15 pounds before he could be ready to play in the league.

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Game #2 Atlanta vs. Utah

Atlanta 72-Jazz 80

This looked to be maybe the best matchup of the RMR. Plenty of top picks, good returning players, and some exciting walk-ons to boot. Despite the caliber of talent collected here, though, most of the players (with a few exceptions) were monumental disappointments.

Deron Williams, Josh Childress, Robert Whaley and Kris Humphries all looked much better then anyone else. These four seemed to be a few levels above everybody else. This game seemed to be Utah’s from the tip when Whaley stepped out for a 15 foot jumper thanks to an assist from Deron Williams. Salim Stoudamire made the score respectable with three miracle shots in the last couple of minutes.

Jazz

Deron Williams- Williams was barking orders and really leading the team. He played good defense and was really banging with Boris Diaw, even though Diaw is much larger. He had some very good passes and should have finished with twice as many assists as he actually did. Williams gives the ball to people in the perfect place and at the perfect time. He would get on his teammates’ case when they were bad, and be the most excited when they did well. Williams made some great moves to get right past his man like he was nailed to the floor for a nice lay-up. He looked pretty NBA ready in this game. Williams needs to work on his outside shot, as all of his points came from inside. The problem was he was thinking and acting faster than everybody on the Jazz other then Kris Humphries, so that made things look sloppy at times. Williams only played 22 minutes because of foul trouble.

Robert Whaley – Whaley looked very fast for his size, playing smart and very unselfishly. On one occasion he had the ball in position to go up for a hard lay-up, but instead made a sweet little flip pass to a teammate for the dunk instead. He was talking back and forth with Jerry Sloan the whole game (even if Sloan was just watching not coaching). Whaley hit the boards on both ends, and if he couldn't get his hands on it all the way he would tip it to keep it alive. Most impressive was the range he showed here, hitting 3 or 4 shots from the college 3. He’s big, tough, and takes up a lot of space on defense. Whaley looked like he wanted his team to do well, out there, not just playing for himself. He outplayed Atlanta’s big men to say the least.

Kris Humphries- Looked fantastic, doing a little bit of everything. He looks to be in better shape than last year if that is even possible. He is just a bus, and has some endurance which he lacked last year. He was running laps around everybody who was on him, even Marvin Williams. There really aren’t many things he could have done better to be honest. He wasn't huffing and puffing like he did last year by the end of his playing time. Far and away the Jazz MVP of this game, and the 2nd best player of the night behind Childress.

CJ Miles- This kid could be good, but don't expect him to do anything for at least a year. He has a very good smooth shot and seems to love being out there, playing better than Snyder in every way. A team player that has fun playing the game. He needs to add a lot of weight and muscle, being way too skinny for the NBA.

Olu Famutimi- Famutimi was the fan favorite of the night. He may have played the best defense of the RMR. He had 2 put-back jams, which is pretty impressive from a guy that is 6-4. Had a great block, was diving for loose balls and hitting the jumper. Famutimi had a great game and other than Kris Humphries, Deron Williams and Robert Whaley had the most impressive game of any of the Jazz players. Seems to have great foot speed on defense, definitely outplaying the other Utah Shooting Guards who are under contract, CJ Miles and Kirk Snyder. Showed a lot of court savvy and hustle.

Kirk Snyder-Wow, he was bad. He shot it or turned it over every time he got the ball, with his only points coming off a very lucky bank shot from the top of the key. He was just bad. Couldn't get a call, didn't seem to be listening to the coaches and because of that he got to sit out most of the second half on the end of the bench.

Hawks

Josh Childress If it wasn't for him the Hawks would have lost by 40. He did everything for them and I mean it. Childress took control for the Hawks in every way, leading by example throughout the game. Got to the rim at will and played solid defense. Had the single best game of any player at the RMR so far at both SG and SF.

Boris Diaw- Played most of the game at PG other than the few minuets he shared with Royal Ivey in which he played SG. A very nice help defender. He played very solid but had a hard time keeping up with Deron Williams. Deron used his body a lot better than Diaw did. He didn't go inside and didn't back down or even push back vs. Williams. Does everything OK, and nothing bad. A very promising player whose game should carry over into the NBA if he’s put into the right situation.

Royal Ivey – Had a bad game, getting absolutely killed when he was trying to guard Deron Williams. Looked pretty fast but didn't use it one bit to his advantage. Only an average passer who was very tentative with everything he did. Needs to work on his shooting among other things. Showed small flashes of potential, but nothing that could really help his team out all that much here.

Donta Smith- Didn't show much at all. Played some solid minutes, but didn’t do anything that stood that much.

Josh Smith- Athletic out of the ears. He can block and Dunk. He also can block and dunk. But really he can block and dunk. That’s really about it unfortunately. Smith had 10 points, 8 of which were dunks in large minutes. With his incredible athletic ability Smith should be destroying everybody he comes across, but it wasn’t the case here. He seemed to be too busy fighting with his teammates or yelling at his refs. He sat alone before the game and played alone on the court, not doing a single thing to help his teammates out. He seemed more preoccupied with what his next highlight dunk should be instead of what he should be doing in the game, acting like he is too good to be here. Played terrible defense as Humphries was scoring on him at will. Was bullied around on both ends by the bigger Jazz players. Needs to work on everything other than his dunking, but the problem is it seem like his dunks were the only thing he cared about tonight.

Marvin Williams - Started at SF, but him and Josh Smith seemed to trade back and forth on defense on Kris Humphries. Humphries would score on one play, they would switch, and then Humphries would score on the other. It was surprising to see how lazy he looked. He was so lazy that it started to work in his favor actually. Two times he was so slow to get down the court on defense that by the time he got to half court his team had stolen the ball and passed it down to him for a flashy dunk. Offensively, he didn't make a single jump shot. The only points he had were two open dunks and a couple FTs. Really a pathetic first showing for Williams in a Hawks uniform. He tried to go one on one when got the ball, but couldn't get anywhere so he would pass it out with only a few seconds left on the shot clock. It’s hard to believe but he really was one of the worst players in this game. You could see the potential because of his athletic ability, but his lethargy outshined everything else in this game.

Salim Stoudamire – A shooter, plain and simple, that couldn’t do anything else today. Had a hard time playing defense, passing, running the team, basically everything except for shooting. He didn't do a single thing all game until he hit an impossible buzzer beating three to end the 3rd quarter. Had two more super deep threes with a hand in his face, but that's it unfortunately. He was usually the smallest guy on the court and in no way looked like he can play pg.