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Rocky Mountain Revue: Day One

Rocky Mountain Revue: Day One
Jul 15, 2006, 12:57 pm
All the box-scores and recaps can be found at the official website of the Rocky Mountain Revue

Philadelphia 88, Seattle 74

Seattle

Saer Sene- In the 1st half Sene showed why he was the 10th pick in the draft. He showed excellent mobility for a 7 footer as he moved his feet and blocked several shots that lead to easy buckets for his teammates and the lead in the first half. In the second half the 76ers adjusted to his length and began to take advantage of his overaggressive play to drawing 5 fouls quickly. In the 2nd Half Sene was repeatedly beat by Shavlik Randolph’s smarts and great footwork. Sene also displayed his rawness as a player by committing several turnovers being in the wrong place on offense or being unable to catch a pass. He showed his lack of strength on rebounds as he was pushed under the hoops or had to bring the ball low after he got two hands on it were it was often ripped out of his hands.

Noel Felix- Played very well in a supporting role. He played good defense, rebounded well and displayed good range on his jumpshot. He made 3 three point shots and 2 twenty footers. He was active and mobile for a big man. We’ll see if he can continue his excellent play.

Keith Langford- Was the most effective guard for Seattle for the night. He handled the full-court pressure defense well. He drove both right and left effectively all night long scoring, drawing fouls and passing. He played good defense and looked like a solid backup point.

Yotam Halperin -Struggled with the speed of Louis Williams, Marshall Strickland and Ben Green. He was in foul trouble all night long and committed several turnovers when pressured. The few times when he was unpressured he made some nice passes displaying a good understanding of the game.

Philadelphia

Louis Williams- Looks stronger then last year and remains very quick with and without the ball. He remains an instinctive scorer, but his point guard skills have improved to the point that he can make the most passes that are needed. He could be solid change-up with his speed and scoring ability off the bench.

Bobby Jones- Hardly played, as strained his right hamstring in the open moments of the game. No word if he will play tomorrow.

Rodney Carney- For most of the game Rodney Carney was the focal point of the 76er offense and he scored by curling around screens, pulling up for jumpers and of course delighting the crowd in the open court the acrobatic layups and powerful dunks. Carney displayed his great athleticism with aggressive defense all night long, getting several steals and at least one emphatic block. A few times during the camp he began to fall back into his old habit of fading from play but on each occasion he was sent to the bench and the coaching staff was able to refocus him.

Shavlik Randolph- A surprise addition at the last moment, played one of his best games as a pro. He was a force on the offensive and defensive boards. Using great footwork and just enough quickness in his face up game he was able to beat Sene or any of the other Sonics on several occasions and draw fouls or score. In the 4th quarter he was the focal point of the 76er offense and lead his team on a run to seal the victory.

Steve Smith- Played a good game hustling on the boards playing good defense and scoring as a finisher effectively. He got himself into some trouble when he tried to break the defense down on his own, stagnating the offense and jacking up difficult shots. He was overpowered at times on the boards and defensively.




San Antonio 79, Dallas 71

San Antonio

Ian Mahinmi- Mahinmi is a very athletic and mobile big man. He had a good game overall, hustling on defense and fighting for rebounds. He struggled with the superior strength of Pavel Podkolzin and DJ Mbenga all night long and was in foul trouble most the night. He showed a couple of nice quick spinning post moves across the paint and drew fouls. While a raw player, his footwork and understanding of positioning on the floor are good. Ian desperately needs 20 pounds of muscle to compete down low.

Taquan Dean- Had a solid game as a point guard. He made a few nice passes and seemed very comfortable leading the break. He had a couple of nice drives to the basket where he used the glass to finish over the big Dallas front line. He defense on the opposing PG was good as well.

Rich Melzer- Had a good game displaying he offensive game, making 3 pointers, driving to the hoop and drawing fouls. He also was effective in battling for rebounds in the paint all night long.

Melvin Saunders- Was solid and finished several plays created by CJ Watson, Taquan Dean and Melzer. His 23 points were of the quiet variety.


Dallas

Maurice Ager- DNP- he was on the bench in street clothes without any reported injury.

Rawle Marshall – Played a very effective game driving to the hoop almost whenever he wanted. When the Spurs changed up the defense he made several outside jumpers. His ball-handling is decent for a small forward, but poor for a shooting guard and he got himself in trouble a few times in traffic and coughed it up.

Pavel Podkolzin- Only played a little but was more of the same, he scored by virtue of size and getting to the proper spot a few times. He still has no lift for rebounds and slow hands.

D.J. Mbenga- D.J. still wants to block everything and goes after every ball. He is making small incremental improvement in his understanding of the game and positioning but he remains a defensive role player even in summer league play.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu- If you saw Pops play in college then know exactly how he played tonight. He’s athletic with an NBA ready body, but at 6’9” he needs to develop a jumper and some kind of post game. He did rebound well and over extended himself on defense a couple of times and had couple emphatic put back jams.

[Darius Washington/ Taliek Brown- in a surprise to me Darius Washington started at the point for Dallas tonight. Both PGs were effective on defense and at distributing the ball. Washington displayed much better range by hitting a couple of 3s. But Brown seems to be in the paint whenever he wanted finishing off the glass or setting up a big man.




Utah 98, Atlanta 76

Atlanta

Marvin Williams- Was the best player on the floor for the Hawks tonight and was involved in a pair of incidents with Rafael Araujo. In the first quarter Marvin anticipated a pass and stole it and appeared to be going up for the dunk at the other end. But Araujo had hustled back and just as Marvin was jumping Araujo catches his arms and the ball at about waist height. This caused Marvin flip over and land hard on his side. Because it was a dangerous play Araujo was assessed a flagrant foul. In the second incident in the 3rd quarter Araujo cut the hoop and is rewards with an excellent pass. And he goes up to finish and his fouled and loses the ball on the way up. However on the way down he swipes his hands down in a way to knock Marvin Williams to the floor. Marvin Williams bounced back up and tried to go after Araujo but was restrained by his teammates. Araujo was assessed his 2nd flagrant foul and ejected and Marvin was assessed a technical foul. The crowd blamed Marvin for the fact that their local favorite had been ejected and became hostile. They booed when ever he touched the ball and jeered at him whenever play stopped.

In the author’s opinion the first play was clean play, but a hard one. But the second has no explanation other then it was a dirty play that has no place in basketball.

In the 1st half Marvin Williams took advantage of his quickness and athleticism to drive the ball into the paint on every occasion drawing fouls and scoring. He was also aggressive defensively.

In the 2nd half he began the same way but after the second flagrant foul he seemed to get passive, until he was called to the bench and spoken to by the Hawks staff. When reinserted to the game he returned to his aggressive mindset.

Marvin had trouble all night when asked to play power forward as he was overpowered, but he played very well as a small forward.

Shelden Williams- Shelden had a quiet night. He got into position and was fouled on a few occasions and managed to make some free throws. His rebounding and defensive presence was poor at best.

Salim Stoudimare- He hasn’t lost his excellent stroke from long range and was effective driving the ball. He struggled to contain Deron Williams but did good job on Dee Brown.

Solomon Jones- He displayed his hustle and athleticism coming up with several rebounds and running the floor.

Utah

Deron Williams- Only played limited minutes but was dominant. He set the tempo, played good defense, made a few great passes and scored with floaters in the lane or deep jumpers. Deron has announced he will only play in one more game.

Rafael Araujo-has lost a significant amount of weight and moves better. He rebounded well and scored a few times with good drives towards the basket. And of course he was ejected.

CJ Miles- Has put on a significant amount of weight and has added some confidence. Rather than hesitating and putting a hitch into his shot, he shoots smoothly and confidently. His added strength helped him to rebound much more effectively. He still needs to work on his defensive fundamentals, and was caught reaching from time to time.

Ronnie Brewer- Brewer displayed the same all around game in he did college. He played good defense, rebounded hard and scored when the opportunity came. He could also see some time at point with his excellent ball-handling and passing skills.

Dee Brown- Displayed great speed and ball-handling skills. He shot the ball well and seemed to understand Sloan’s slow it down style. Once Deron Williams leaves Dee should get more time for a closer look.

Paul Millsap- Though only listed at 6’8”, played much bigger then that. He found the boards as advertised and came up with on emphatic block. He also showed good quickness and agility defensively and to the loose balls. Often he would scoop up a loose ball and begin to dribble down court. He also managed to make a couple of hook shots over Shelden Williams. If he continues to play like this, he should make Utah’s roster.

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