|
Las Vegas Summer League Final Day |
|
|
|
Written by Sincity Warrior
|
|
Friday, 15 July 2005 |
The second annual Reebok Vegas summer league concluded on Friday night
with the Golden State Warriors defeating the Phoenix Suns by a final
score of 100 to 76. The Warriors rode to victory on the broad shoulders
of rookie forward Ike Diogu. Ike was absolutely dominant from the
opening tip to the end of the game. It was almost as if he was inspired
by someone?
Diogu showed off his full arsenal of basketball skills for the first
time this summer. I believe that he must have done some serious soul
searching about his past performance and figured out a way to flip the
switch early and become "The Best". Ike was a completely different
player than the previous three games and reverted back to the Ike that
we saw briefly in game one, only this time he was able to sustain his
energy for the entire game. Ike finished the night with 37 points on 13
of 15 from the field and 11 of 13 from the line to go along with 8
rebounds and 6 turnovers.
Rookie guard Monta Ellis continued his solid summer league with a 15
point, 8 assist and 6 rebound performance. Monta and Ike are developing
a nice report and have a comfortable feel allready when executing the
pick and roll in the half court offense. At least three of Ikes dunks
were due to perfect set ups by Monta driving into the lane, drawing two
defenders and then dishing to a wide open Ike. If the defenders did not
come over Ellis would just drop in the perfect floater over the
outstretched arms of the defender. Ellis took three 3 pointers on the
night and hit two of them. The only negative you can say about the guy
is that he has at least one or two completely unforced turnovers during
every game. Somebody needs to buy this kid some stickum so the ball
doesn't squirt out of his hands. Not much else to say about the kid, he
has far exceeded expectations and I believe he has locked up a roster
spot and a gauranteed contract. There is no question...Tay is here to
stay!
Andris went back into his shell finishing with only two points and 6
rebounds in 18 minutes, but he proved he was ready for the season with
his performance last night. There wasn't a whole lot of opportunities
for anybody besides ike tonight.
Back to Ike for a second. He had at least five shots from 18 feet and
snapped the net every time with a high arcing jump shot with perfect
rotation. He also scored in a variety of ways with his back to the
basket and even finished one in transition. Another time he recieved an
outlet after running the floor and was caught from behind and fouled
just before he went up for a dunk.
Once again, Chris Taft and Zarko Cabarcapa did not play due to injuries.
Summary:
Probable Roster Spots:
1.Andris Biedrins
2.Zarko Cabarkapa
3.Monta Ellis
4.Chris Taft
5.Ike Diogu
Possible Training Camp Invites:
1.Jawad Williams
2.Damir Milijkovic
3.Marquee Perry
My final thought:
All three rookies made a strong showing in a very competitive league
and it appears that Mullin hit a home run at the draft this year. If I
think all three players are ready to contribute to the team right away.
We will see if they get a chance to show what they can do in the
regular season, but no matter what it will be fun to see how things
transpire. |
