ICYMI, Kristaps Porzingis blocked Jahlil Okafor three times at #NBASummer on Tuesday: WATCH » http://t.co/9ieAW7NW4d pic.twitter.com/IZFprQCT2A
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) July 15, 2015
Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsPMC
It's funny reading reactions to summer league games on Twitter and game recaps. Most people take summer league for what it's worth: a chance for fringe roster players to try to latch on with an NBA team and to get a first glimpse of high lottery picks in action. But, given that it is the death valley of the proverbial sports calendar, many sports fans are starved for some news, any news of their favorite teams. And because the NBA Draft just gave fans new toys, I mean players, to obsess over, their performances in the summer league are dissected as though they are somehow a good indicator of future success.
Which brings me to last night's game between the Sixers and the Knicks, and more specifically, the matchup between the number three and four picks of the NBA Draft, Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis. At the end of the first half, Okafor had dominated Porzingis, scoring 10 points with ease and using his strength and low post moves to over power the 7'3 Latvian. Those looking to talk up Okafor used this performance as a reason to validate their belief that Okafor was the better prospect. That Okafor had a considerable higher ceiling. And that maybe, just maybe, the Knicks made a mistake drafting the big European.
In the second half, Porzingis made some adjustments on defense and was able to use his length to stymie Okafor in the low post, blocking three of his shots. This lead to people in the Pro-Prozignis or Anti-Okafor camp to point out how good Porzingis will become with improved strength or how much Okafor's low release point and apparent subpar athleticism will stunt his growth as an NBA prospect.
I have cautioned from the start to take outcomes and performances from summer league games with a huge tablespoon of salt. Since context is a limited resource in sports today, take a look at this chart courtesy of Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, showing the best summer league performances ranked by PER:
Here's a look at the top performers in Vegas Summer League history (PER, min: 2 GP, 20+ mpg) over last 12 years (2/2) pic.twitter.com/El3iuuoAC5
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) July 12, 2015
Sure, Dwight Howard, Ty Lawson and Brandon Roy all had impressive performances during their introduction to the NBA vis-a-vis the summer league. But they are significantly outnumbered by good performances from NBA flame outs like Josh Selby, who had the best performance on record but is no longer in the NBA, or fringe roster players like Anthony Randolph, who has averaged four points and two rebounds in his six-year NBA career.
Heck, Seth Curry, brother of the reigning MVP who has yet to make his mark in the league, has scored 30, 25 and 20 points so far in games.
This is not to say good play cannot be an indicator of future success — again, Howard, Lawson and Roy all played well and all have had successful NBA careers, injuries to Roy notwithstanding — but it is to say that strong play in summer league is by no means a reliable barometer to judge the potential of young players in the league.
So with that gigantic caveat out of the way, lets look at this game and what it likely means moving forward:
- Okafor has a significant strength advantage over most young low post players he faces, and should be able to use that to his advantage;
- However, Okafor's low release point might always be an issue for his game. It likely won't be a fatal issue, but will more likely be an annoying aspect of his game that pops up from time to time;
- Okafor needs to improve his conditioning. Point blank. Zero. No excuses. It has been good at times, but downright awful at others. And it needs to improve. I trust Brett Brown and his staff to get Okafor in the best shape of his life. And if he struggles with it at times but continues to dominate, then so be it. Not comparing the two — but Shaquille O'Neal was notoriously in bad shape and still had a Hall of Fame worthy career. While you would like to avoid that issue altogether with Okafor — especially since he is not as dominant on the defensive side of the ball as O'Neal — it is not as glaring of an issue as some make it out to be.
- Ditto his defensive effort. When we last saw Okafor, he turned in a gem of a two-way performance that eased concerns over the loss of Joel Embiid for the foreseeable future. But last night? It was somewhere between "meh" and "not completely horrible." But if Okafor wants to dominate like he claims, he needs to do so on both ends of the floor, and it starts with giving better effort.
- Porzingis has a sweet, sweet stroke for a 7-footer;
- Unlike some of his predecessors from Europe, Porzingis is a tough kid that is not afraid to throw around what little weight he has. That has to be an encouraging sign for Knicks fans concerned that Porzingis was too soft to be a legitimate player in the NBA;
- Scottie Wilbekin has a legitimate shot at getting invited to training camp with the Sixers.
That's it. Maybe I missed a point or two, but there really isn't much else to glean from this game.
A thought on Wilbekin for a moment: I'm not sure he is an NBA player, but if he continues his play, he should get a legitimate shot to make it work with the Sixers. However, it will likely come at the expense of another summer league standout: T. J. McConnell. Both are limited athletes, good ball distributors, and straight up hustle guys that you can always keep around on a team with a ceiling of about 30 wins. But while McConnell was a decent shooter in college (49% fg, 38% from 3), he has struggled to find his shot so far.
Wilbekin, however, lit it up last night going 6-8 from deep and scoring 24 points overall. At one point he was 6-6, and the two misses were actually taken in desperation at the end of the game, so it is hard to hold them against the guy. The Sixers desperately need guards and scorers. If Wilbekin continues to stroke it from deep, he should have a decent shot of getting a training camp invite, a 10-day "prove it" contract, and who knows — maybe even a spot on the 15 man roster.
Oh, the Sixers lost to the New York Knicks last night, 84-81. In case you cared (which you shouldn't).
