http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Summer-League-Statistics-Something-or-Nothing--5628
Discuss...
http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Summ...Interesting that SL assists, the least selfish of the three stats looked at (rebounds would be next...then scoring in terms of unselfishness) are the best predictor for similar performance in the NBA.
This line stuck out for me:
Or maybe the general dysfunction of the Summer League, where teams and coaching staffs are hastily assembled, and extremely young NBA players are paired with grizzled journeymen from the D-League and Europe looking for “one last shot”, is not conducive to real NBA success.
This comes from a thread Martin posted and hints at something which supports this article:
13. And finally, don't be surprised to see Ron Baker get a camp invite and to make the team as an undrafted rookie. He's been pretty good in Orlando and repeatedly I was told "he just plays the right way all the time. All the time. It doesn't translate here (Summer League) because this is bull**** basketball. But this guy can play. He'll be in the league."
I think different teams and coaches are looking for certain things from their players. They might want to see a returning young veteran show certain things, and a rookie other aspects of their game.
Remember when the Knicks wanted Shumpert to play PG in SL and he pretty much blew them off?
I think the Knicks like Baker and Plumlee because they see them as team first, unselfish players, and this is why they will be at training camp. Couple of years ago Galloway did the same things in SL. I think Phil is looking for intelligent unselfish players who want to win, and nothing more. Seems like the right way to think, IMO.
Nice snippet from the article
Included in the top five in Summer League points per game among first round rookies were Jerryd Bayless, Randy Foye, and Adam Morrison. Further, of the 22 rookies to average more than 20 points per game in the Summer League, just six have a career scoring average above 15: Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, John Wall, Zach Randolph, Jason Richardson and Kevin Martin. The lesson here: don't fall prey to gaudy scoring in the Summer League.
