NBA Summer League Jul 12-22: Hawks Druisic Breaks Foot

[SleepingHero]

After his last game, Alex Sarr is now averaged 1.0ppg on 4.8% from the field over his last 2 games. He is 1/21 in total.

[Chicagojk]

Clippers move to 4-0 in summer league built mostly on a few second rounders and undrafted guys. Time will tell if any of it is real and if any will help with the team this year, but they have gotten some good play. LAC is a smart organization and have done well uncovering talent. They just had bad luck with the guys they invested in the last several years. Nice job putting together that summer league team though. Several intriguing lower rated prospects.

[Chicagojk]

snippet from Hollinger's latest article on struggling rookies. Looks like Melvin wasn't the only french draft pick to struggle with shooting in summer league.


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That said, the so-called French invasion of the 2024 draft is off to a decidedly slow start. Top pick Risacher tapped out after two games with a quad contusion, shooting 11 of 28 from the floor in 59 minutes. Second overall pick Alex Sarr shot 0 of 15 from the field in his third game and only scored two points in his fourth for the Washington Wizards. The sixth pick, Tidjane Saluan, had some moments pushing the ball in transition but shot 1 of 10 from 3 in his three games for the Charlotte Hornets; hyped as an energy guy, he failed to record a single block or steal. Finally, 24th pick Pacôme Dadiet also struggled mightily in his minutes for the New York Knicks, shooting 12 of 39 from the field with a 4.09 PER in five games. His biggest highlight was slapping the board in midair after a dunk.

[SleepingHero]

snippet from Hollinger's latest article on struggling rookies.  Looks like Melvin wasn't the only french draft pick to struggle with shooting in summer league.


******************
That said, the so-called French invasion of the 2024 draft is off to a decidedly slow start. Top pick Risacher tapped out after two games with a quad contusion, shooting 11 of 28 from the floor in 59 minutes. Second overall pick Alex Sarr shot 0 of 15 from the field in his third game and only scored two points in his fourth for the Washington Wizards. The sixth pick, Tidjane Saluan, had some moments pushing the ball in transition but shot 1 of 10 from 3 in his three games for the Charlotte Hornets; hyped as an energy guy, he failed to record a single block or steal. Finally, 24th pick Pacôme Dadiet also struggled mightily in his minutes for the New York Knicks, shooting 12 of 39 from the field with a 4.09 PER in five games. His biggest highlight was slapping the board in midair after a dunk.

As a jumping off point, I'm not going to lie, the Summer League this year was hard to watch as a whole. Alex Sarr was a bricklayer. Risacher showed some flashes but overall disappeared on the court. 

The only entertaining guy was Reed Sheppard to be honest. No one in the top 15 really showed much. Kalel Ware had a great game against the Mavs but I'm not really expecting anything from him this year.

Ron Holland and Rob Dillingham looked terrible. Edey was injured the whole time (but had a great 1st game). Clingan looked slow. Buzelis was ok. 

Outside of the top 15, Tyler Kolek looked solid. And of course Scheierman for Boston looked lethal. 

I'm left with the feeling much like I had on draft night that once these guys actually play against real NBA players they are going to look like a dear in the headlights. Only Sheppard and Edey looked "ready" by my eyes. Kolek and Scheierman also seem to have something (but good luck getting Kolek to play for Thibs).

[Mavs2021]

snippet from Hollinger's latest article on struggling rookies.  Looks like Melvin wasn't the only french draft pick to struggle with shooting in summer league.


******************
That said, the so-called French invasion of the 2024 draft is off to a decidedly slow start. Top pick Risacher tapped out after two games with a quad contusion, shooting 11 of 28 from the floor in 59 minutes. Second overall pick Alex Sarr shot 0 of 15 from the field in his third game and only scored two points in his fourth for the Washington Wizards. The sixth pick, Tidjane Saluan, had some moments pushing the ball in transition but shot 1 of 10 from 3 in his three games for the Charlotte Hornets; hyped as an energy guy, he failed to record a single block or steal. Finally, 24th pick Pacôme Dadiet also struggled mightily in his minutes for the New York Knicks, shooting 12 of 39 from the field with a 4.09 PER in five games. His biggest highlight was slapping the board in midair after a dunk.

French guys usually can´t shoot. Call it stereotyping, but that´s how it is. Who is the greatest French shooter of all-time? Evan Fournier?

Tony Parker shot 33% from three for his career and 75% from the FT line. Those numbers would probably be even worse, if he was not born in Belgium.

They are athletic and play defense, rebounding, play-making, shot-blocking. 

Nobody thinks French guys can shoot. That´s why Wemby is truly an alien.

[Chicagojk]

As a jumping off point, I'm not going to lie, the Summer League this year was hard to watch as a whole. Alex Sarr was a bricklayer. Risacher showed some flashes but overall disappeared on the court. 

The only entertaining guy was Reed Sheppard to be honest. No one in the top 15 really showed much. Kalel Ware had a great game against the Mavs but I'm not really expecting anything from him this year.

Ron Holland and Rob Dillingham looked terrible. Edey was injured the whole time (but had a great 1st game). Clingan looked slow. Buzelis was ok. 

Outside of the top 15, Tyler Kolek looked solid. And of course Scheierman for Boston looked lethal. 

I'm left with the feeling much like I had on draft night that once these guys actually play against real NBA players they are going to look like a dear in the headlights. Only Sheppard and Edey looked "ready" by my eyes. Kolek and Scheierman also seem to have something (but good luck getting Kolek to play for Thibs).

You are not the only one who found it hard to watch.  Here was another section in that article:



Their struggles, at least, didn’t come under a hot spotlight. Normally, top picks command massive attention in Vegas, but this year wasn’t exactly Wembymania. The two Frenchmen at the top of the draft failed to resonate with the masses, and that was clear before a game was played: The marketing poster for Las Vegas Summer League featured Bronny James but didn’t include Risacher.

it went on from there. Consider the alleged marquee matchup of the top two picks on the first day of summer league. Its arrival was greeted by thousands of fans leaving Thomas & Mack Center, having just seen the Los Angeles Lakers and James. During Atlanta’s second game, against fourth pick Stephon Castle and the San Antonio Spurs, the TV broadcast bizarrely spent much of the third quarter interviewing Isaiah Thomas, who has never played for either team and appeared in 31 just NBA games over the past four seasons.
Part of the reason, of course, is that this was a different type of draft, with no obvious generational talent. It wasn’t even clear what the main prize would be when the Hawks won the lottery. Additionally, the top two picks are more renowned for their defense than offense; despite their lofty draft status, neither Risacher nor Sarr projects as a high-volume on-ball player.
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