[King Glorious]

7/17

Detroit
Austin Daye with another solid performance. For someone so skinny, he really plays well inside. He had another double-double last night with 20-10. He continued to be more effective inside and on the boards than I expected and was very physical on defense. The thing I liked is even when he was muscled down there, he still at least tried hard to hold his position.

Cleveland
Another downer for Danny Green. He's just seemed to lose all his confidence. Shot 2-7 and missed all three from distance while scoring only six points. He's going to need a real good training camp to make the rotation.

Sacramento
Tyreke Evans returned to the starting lineup and looked more like his old self. Didn't shoot so well (6-16) but looked better as a point guard. Got where he wanted on the court and made good passes. Wasn't as aggressive as before as far as posting or going to the basket but we know he can do that.

New York
If Toney Douglas needed to prove himself as a shooter to make the league, forget it. Shot poorly again (4-14 and missed both 3s) but he worked himself to a 15 point night. Wasn't as much of a setup man here and overall, was a decent game but not great. Jordan Hill struggled with his shot. He only went 3-11 for eight points but again, you like the shots he's taking. He was more aggresive on the boards with 12 and you like to see a guy step it up in other areas when one is off.

Minnesota
Wayne Ellington played well again. The knock on him was that he wasn't athletic and couldn't create his own shot but he's actually doing that here. He's a long range shooter so you don't expect him to shoot 50% so his line of 6-14 (4-9 on 3s) for 19 points is about what you'd expect. Jonny Flynn had maybe his best game. He scored 21 and added five assists and shot 7-11 from the field. The thing I like about him more than a lot of these other point guards is that he doesn't settle for the bailout three. He'll get something good, either for himself or a teammate. He's really good at getting past his initial defender and making the defense collapse. Gerald Henderson got good minutes but didn't play a good game. Shot really bad (3-10) and looks like he's not even half the player Ellington is. Paul Harris has probably played himself off the roster. Only got in for a few minutes and did nothing at all.

Washington
Aminu was again a non-factor. Made both of his shots but only scored four and gave them only one board. He looked so good in college but looks scared here. Tyrese Rice, same thing. He just is having a hard time. If a point guard is not going to shoot well (2-7), he needs to be passing well. Didn't have a single assist last night.

Oklahoma City
James Harden was solid again if not great. He relied on the three a little too much but was hitting them (4-9). Finished with 20 and five assists. He's probably assured himself the starting role once the season starts. BJ Mullens continued his up and down play. Missed a lot of easy shots and looked rushed. Scored seven on 3-9 shooting but was good on the boards with seven. I just can't say which way I think he'll go. Livingston didn't play.

Chicago
I was saying earlier about Hill producing in other areas when his offense was out, well that's what James Johnson did here. Only shot 2-11 from the field although there weren't many bad shots. But he added 10 boards and seven assists and played an overall solid game. Very strong and physical player and creative with the ball. Taj Gibson didn't play.

Denver
The real Ty Lawson showed up. He finally looked comfortable on the court and his teammates looked better with him. He was very aggresive on offense with 11-16 shooting for 26 points and five assists. Still had quite a few passes that will be assists in the real games that these guys couldn't handle. What's great with him is he's always pushing. He's really good at looking ahead after getting the outlet or the inbounds pass and even though he's not getting an assist, he's putting the defense on their heels. I thought it was the best point guard performance of the tournament.

Portland
Jerryd Bayless is just not impressing me. You can see he's got ability but he's not making the step from a rookie to a guy that's ready to move to the next level like a guy like Nick Young or Anthony Randolph did. They are playing him at the point a lot because he's not going to get much time at the two with Roy in Portland and it's just not working for him. He dribbles too much and is not a willing passer. Shot 8-17 for his 19 points but didn't really have an impact. Dante Cunningham didn't play.

Phoenix
Goran Dragic finally showed something. He was aggressive out there and played pretty well. Had 17 and eight assists and looked a lot more in charge of the team. It's still a long way to go for him but at least he showed some signs. Earl Clark stepped back a little. He stayed on the perimeter too much for me and didn't take advantage of some matchups I thought he could have. Finished with 8-7 but wasn't really the factor he should have been. Dowdell is looking like a one-game flash. Only scored six here on 3-7 shooting and missed both 3s. Last two games have been below average for him.