Cheikh Samb was our Player of the Day for Saturday at the NBA Las Vegas Summer League. The Toronto big man scored 17 points with six rebounds, and seven blocked shots! He helped the summer Raptors remain unbeaten - concluding their Vegas run at 5-0.
Our All LVSL Day Nine Team (with game efficiency rating): PG: Toney Douglas - NYK .666, SG: Mark Tyndale - DLS 1.000, SF: Omri Casspi - SAC .875, PF: Leo Lyons - NYK .952, C: Samb - NYK 1.238. Bench: Guards: Derrick Byars - CHI .650, Kevin Palmer - WA .647, Forwards: Trey Gilder - ATL .857, Ronald DuPree - TOR .857, Curtis Withers - DLS .821, Dante Cunningham - POR .814. Center: Patrick O'Bryant - MIN .888.
The Player of the Day in Las Vegas Wednesday was J.J. Hickson who went ballistic for the Cavs with 34 points (12-19 FG, 10-13 FT) and nine rebounds. The athletic Power Forward who is legal to place a wager in Vegas at age 21 was dominant in the Cavs 93-82 win over the summer Suns.
We watched in the stands among the Kings brass as Sacramento rallied late to defeat the Timberwolves 79-78. DeMarcus Cousins (pictured) had his best game of the LVSL to date - positing a game EFR of .800. Cousins had 22 points, 12 boards, and five assists - leading the Kings in each category (Tyrese Rice also had five assists).
While it was fun to see Cousins show off - I was disappointed in a couple things for Sac. First, and foremost - Donte Greene was being guarded by Lazar Hayward who is at least four, maybe five inches shorter - but Greene never dragged Hayward into the post and demanded the ball. Greene, if he is ever to establish himself as a CONSISTENT pro, must change his game to inside-out, rather than outside-in. Greene can realistically be a match-up nightmare but much of that is on him. He has to recognize when he has a physical edge and then he needs to place himself in position to take advantage.
My second disappointment of Wednesday's Kings game was the tendency I've noticed for Omri Casspi to not share the ball. Pass that thing Omri! If a teammate is out in front of you - give up the pill. The fun police may have to arrest Casspi soon if he doesn't start sharing the sugar.
Our BasslineSpin Las Vegas Summer League All Day Six Team (with game efficiency rating). PG: John Lucas III - CHI .962, SG: DeMar DeRozan - TOR .772, SF: Trey Gilder - ATL .772, PF: Hickson - CLE .970, C: Cousins - SAC .800. Bench: Guards: Ish Smith - HOU .730, Toney Douglas - NYK .652, Alonzo Gee - SA .647. Forwards: Trent Plaisted - CHI .952, Jordan Hill - HOU .718, Centers: Garrett Siler - MIA .772, Solomon Alabi - TOR .750.
