We'll take it! RT @AnaheimAmigos: Cracking open a beer. Toasting it to all the Warriors fans who finally got their beatdown of the Lakers.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
The Golden State Warriors opened their 2012 Las Vegas Summer League opener in impressive fashion with a 91-50 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rookie Harrison Barnes and second-year guard Klay Thompson led the way with a combined 47 points on a scorching 10-for-12 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. However, while those two will justifiably get the headlines for their scoring performances, rookie forward Draymond Green was also impressive, showing flashes of why people have been so excited about picking him up in the second round.
You can read the full recap at the Warriors' own site, but after the jump are just a few of my running notes from the game complemented by tweets for GSoM's own @PoorMansCommish who was live tweeting the game from Vegas.
First quarter
- Right off the bat, it was great to see Harrison Barnes attack the basket and get himself to the line. He went hard to the rim, took the contact, and just missed the dunk. But those are exactly the type of plays the Warriors need from the wing.
- Barnes' second basket was nothing exciting, but he got behind the defense in transition and got a nice 3/4 court pass from Klay Thompson off a rebound for a layup.
- Barnes' next attempt was from filling the lanes in transition and getting a pass from Thompson and again getting fouled at the rim. Good to see him go strong again, but - to nitpick - I'd like to see him actually finish now.
- Jeremy Tyler got his first points off a nice turnaround jumper on the baseline, which was good to see - he looked far more patient and in control than he did at any point last season.
- Barnes had a great drive from the right wing and finished with a floater to give the Warriors an early 17-2 lead before a Lakers timeout with just under five minutes left in the first. Off the bat, what you love about Barnes is he's got a nice combination of size and athleticism and he doesn't fear contact, which if you've been watching the rest of summer league is noteworthy for a wing.
- Barnes' next shot came off a play where he backed down his defender on the left side of the court and had a nice turnaround jumper over his defender. He missed the shot, but again it's great to see that Barnes is a guy that knows how to use his size as a rookie.
- Festus Ezeli got the rebound and putback off that last Barnes miss. Haven't mentioned him yet, but he already has a block and a bunch of rebounds. Again, it's great to see a rookie come in unafraid to use his size against suspect competition to have an impact on the game.
- Ezeli got a post touch with just under three minutes left in the first and it was a little disappointing to see him struggle to move Robert Sacre, who has a reputation as being soft in the face of contact.
- Klay Thompson is ridiculous - picked up a nice block.
- Was nice to see Charles Jenkins hit a jumper near the end of the first quarter, but he has yet to really make any plays for his teammates and didn't do much in the way of getting by his defender early
Nice help D by Klay on the back pick on Barnes.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
Second quarter
- Nice to see Draymond Green get on the board with a three in the second quarter.
- Barnes missed a pull-up jumper that pretty much fits the criticism of him coming out of college - he can struggle to beat his defender off the dribble and thus settles for long jumpers. But he really seems to struggle in situations where he's forced to create while putting the ball on the floor.
- Dray for trey again!
- The Warriors' second unit is really struggling to rebound - gave up two o-boards on one trip down the court.
- Barnes finally sat with 4:34 left in the second quarter. He was starting to look fatigued on both ends after playing the entire game to that point. It remains to be seen what he'll offer on defense consistently, but he showed some positive signs.
- Burrell got way up for a block with just under two minutes left in the first half.
- Green looks great with the ball in his hands. He showed great composure on the last play of the first half, getting the ball at the top of the arc off a tap out and patiently making a drive and attempting a tough pass off the dribble. For anyone who has watched Green at Michigan State, this is the kind of skill that we might have hoped would transfer to the pro level. But that's not the question - the question is far more about who he will defend at the next level.
Barnes really communicating on D.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
Great outlet Draymond Green to Harrison Barnes. On the break, Barnes gets to the rim, adjusts as a defender throws his body at him. Smart.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
Third quarter
- Worth noting - the Warriors' second team was not quite as effective as the starters.
- Tyler made an acrobatic layup off a cut that showed the type of athleticism and body control that makes him such an intriguing NBA prospect...and yet at times so frustrating.
- Ezeli has still struggled to convert post moves, but has been able to get post position and get good looks. But again, these are coming against Sacre - one might expect more.
- An interesting fast break possession with just under six minutes to go in the third. Barnes came down the middle of the court and dished to Thompson who kicked to Tyler for a jumper off one foot. For Tyler, it would seem to be nice for him find ways to take shots on balance. For Barnes, he led the break but again made a questionable pass to Thompson that led to him having no angle for a shot and having to make a difficult one handed pass to Tyler while flying out of bounds.
- Green made a nice defensive play late in the third quarter.
- Thompson had 24 on 9-for-13 shooting near the end of the third quarter. Ridiculous.
RT @LakersReporter: Since that Klay Thompson/Harrison Barnes inspired 15-2 run to start, teams are almost even (25-24 GSW). 40-26 overall.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
Probably nothin, but I noticed Barnes didn't react very quickly on that steal in the middle away from him to start the break. He shudda ran.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
Klay adjusts in midair at the rim to feed baseline.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
Nice charge drawn by Draymond Green. Darius Morris on the nice drive that went to deep.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
Klay has 21 points on 8-11 FGs, including 5-6 from 3-point range
— Marcus Thompson (@gswscribe) July 14, 2012
Fourth quarter
- With just under eight minutes left, Green showed off his ability to score in the paint.
- Burrell has looked nice in the paint in the fourth quarter just by quicker and being able to jump higher than his opponents. He displayed solid awareness and instincts on the offensive end.
- A play with just under six minutes probably epitomized a notable concern about Burrell's game - he has a tendency to look to avoid contact rather than going strong into it around the basket.
Draymond Green nice post up on taller player, left hand jump hook goes in.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) July 14, 2012
For updates on game results and player performances, visit SB Nation's NBA summer league storystream. And for ongoing tweets from Vegas, follow @poormanscommish on Twitter.