He said he’s been working out the past two weeks in SF and his conditioning and body are better than they were during the season. Lots of work left, though.

http://hoopshype.com/articles/vegas_preetom.html

Nice job!

The team didn’t call a play for him in the first half – everything he did was basically on his own improvisation with the situation.

darius miles. his range isnt that deep as tmac

I don’t think this game is proof that Randolph will be a star. I don’t even think it’s proof that he’ll be an effective role player in the NBA… the summer league just doesn’t allow for that kind of projection.

Still, I think there’s more to be excited about in this performance than there was in Belinelli’s. Specifically:

1) While Marco wasn’t exactly a “polished” prospect, he was considered to be farther up the learning curve than Randolph, being two years older and having logged lots of international experience already. A 19-year-old Randolph being the best player on the floor in a summer league game is slightly more unexpected, in a good way, than a 21-year-old Belinelli being the best player on the floor in a summer league game.

2) I didn’t see much of today’s game, thanks to the well-documented streaming glitches, but it seemed like Randolph was matched up against Thaddeus Young the majority of the time. Young is a ginyoowine NBA small forward, a probable starter for a probable playoff team—it means more to succeed against him than it does in most summer league situations. I only watched the second half of Belinelli’s breakout game last year, but I don’t recall him being matched up against players of Young’s caliber (Julian Wright covered him occasionally, I guess; it was pretty much scrubs other than that).

3) Marco’s big game basically involved a shitload of jumpshooting. He had a nice pass or two, had an entertaining steal, but it was basically about the guy draining a million shots. A guy who does that in a summer league game hasn’t proved anything; he’s basically just proved that he’s capable of having a game where he’s really on. And indeed, Belinelli was never “on” enough during the regular season to justify big minutes, primarily because of his defense.

In contrast, Randolph, by all accounts, showed a number of things tonight. He showed a nice midrange jumper and an ability to pull up for a jumper, but ALSO a nice handle, some slashing ability, some rebounding acumen and some defensive chops. People are praising all kinds of stuff about his performance… moreso than Belinelli’s last year.

I don’t think Randolph will be a big contributor for us this year. I don’t know if he’ll ever be… a lot of smart people think he has “bust” written all over him, and one good game won’t, and shouldn’t, erase that possibility. Summer league really isn’t indicative of much. But there’s a lot to like about what he did tonight. It’s a more heartening performance than Marco’s was.

I smell a freak fellas. Comments about AR’s skill and size don’t look so presumptive when watching the fluid coordination of a rare athlete at 6’10”. I was impressed with his instincts today (esp: defensive second half). So interesting to see the difference in game between BW and AR. I liked BWright’s approach to the game playing the role of glue guy. But AR seems more than appropriate to his posited posiiton (SF). AR can really handle, is built to slip and slash, and (most importantly) seems to have quick feet to defend and attack mismatches.

I must admit, given Nellie’s style of ball, I am giddy every time management adds another skilled swingman. One more would make me happy. Livingston? I said it at the trade deadline and I feel it bears saying again: “The team lives and dies with our swingmen”

Can you shoot me an email to check up on how you can get into the building? pbhattacharya@hoopsworld.com

In any case, if it is open to the public (as Vegas is, Orlando is not), you can just buy a ticket to watch the game. Credentials get you access to the players, but unless you are working for what the NBA deems a “news organization”, you won’t get a credential.

Haha, the world of writing keeps me up .. I took a nap for a few hours and just got up!

I think SL has a lot of value because the competition is a nice transition for college players – the speed isn’t quite of am NBA, but it’s close. I think for a guy like Randolph, who just showed that he’s pretty much a scorer at will, it won’t translate as well, but his skills are there. The same shake off and pull-up will be there in the actual NBA, but the defenders will be longer and more able to annoy him. How he adjusts to that will be interesting to watch – Marco was not able to pull that off.

I’ll have another story up about what all this means .. spoke to Coach Smart for a while, so I’ll get that up as soon as I can. I’m going to spend the morning with some NBA players as they work out, hoping to speak to some about the exact topic you brought up.

That’s the role they hope he develops into .. but I don’t think he can do that NOW. That’s too much to expect, but they do see him as a 3 in the future – just like Lamar Odom.

...he’s fixated on mismatches. AR will fit in great for that reason. Would create all kinds of chaos for the other team when you’re switching between a 6’6” Azubuike and a 6’10” AR. Same position, very different type of player. Heck, if the W’s got a true PG I wouldnt be surprised to see AR slide to the 2, if he keeps developing that handle. And don’t be surprised if we see Nellie match him up against Durant at the 2 during the season… That might be fun to watch…

is that Randolph is a 3 and Wright is a 4. I can’t see Wright ever playing the 5.

i think there is a possibility that beans will not be back he would be part of some sign and trade deal. 2 reasons why. mully was so adamant that beans and monta were coming back.he even mentioned a few times that he was willing to do a max deal for monta if he had to. if mully had to match a max deal or somthing close to it for monta we would be in the luxury tax trying to sign beans. i dont think thats something that cohan would be willing to do. also dont forget about the whole jrich situation. mully told jrich he was safe. they have 3 rfa’s left to sign buike beans and monta. somebody isnt going to be back. i think that no matter what mully say’s or feels about a player if he finds a deal he likes he will pull the trigger. i dont think they can sign beans and monta and stay under the luxury tax. if they resign buike then there’s a sign and trade in the works imo

A black Dirk Nowitzki.

Seems ok to me?