Blazers kick off summer league with a reminder of what summer league is

Blazers had their first summer league game against the Washington Wizards on Monday. The probably still incorrect box score can be found here--hey its summer, lower your standards! If I chose one word to describe the game, I would make one up, and it would be "summerleaguey." By summerleaguey I'm referring to the presence of the usual pick up ball characters; bricks, turnovers, fouls, more bricks/turnovers/fouls, and a general sense of disjointednesses.

And still, I love summer league. I'm coming to believe this is a symptom of some sort of disease. It is fun to try to get some insight into how those players dubbed as "projects" are coming along, nice to see the new guys, and equally enjoyable to watch lesser known talents scrap their heart out to get a shot at the big dream. But yeah, still ugly.

Last summer I went a bit crazy with the summer league game recaps. No more, we're scaling back (it is a recession after all). This time around, Comcast is actually broadcasting the Blazer's games on TV, so I assume more are able to watch. This is how I rationalize my laziness. Onward!

Petteri Koponen:
At long last, The Finnagler. (Fuck you all for not helping popularize that nickname, by the way.) The man that can stir lust even in grown men named Mike Barrett. Petteri has been working and waiting for his time to show the Blazers his improvement. This is a big summer for him, being left off Portland's regular season roster would mean a return to Europe with a contract that would likely be difficult to get out of.

With so much riding on these games, it is understandable Koponen came out a little shaky. Some bad decisions, lots of jumpers landing short, and getting pick pocketed by Dee Brown amalgamated into a first half a little rougher than he would have liked. But once he got loose and settled, The Finnagler was able to finagle a good nights work.

He started hitting more consistently from deep. Getting by his man got easier. He hit some nice floaters in the lane and did a very good job setting up his teammates. The rumors are true, the man can play. Very noticeable along with his skills is his size. Granted, Washington does have smaller guards, but Koponen looked gigantic next to them all. Hopefully we'll get to see Petteri minus the shaky start the rest of the summer and will find him on the Blazers roster come fall.

Jarryd Bayless:
So what of the new lottery pick? Let me paraphrase my man Sartre: He felt the heat. And the heat was actual.

Bayless is ready to score at the NBA level. He will give the Blazers what they are in need of in terms of a perimeter player who can get to the hoop and convert, and he will give it to them by the truckload.

I was happy to see that most of the night Bayless was matched up with Washington guard Nick "The City" Young. Young will be a rotational player next year, he is an explosive guard who can score. And for the most part, he looked outclassed by Jarryd Bayless tonight. This is good news.

Undoubtedly, you will hear knocks that Bayless cannot or will not pass the ball. Don't worry, Nate said in an interview Bayless was told to be very aggressive and look to shoot. Be excited that we have a player that will put considerable pressure on defenses with his ability to get to the basket and either convert, draw fouls, or both. Plainly, Jarryd Bayless was the best player on the court tonight.

Gunnin For That #1 Spot

I took in Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot last weekend. The film follows eight top high school basketball talents that have been selected to play in an All Star game held at Rucker Park. Oregon people will like that home state folks Kevin Love and Kyle Singler are both among the players profiled. Blazer fans may be interested in paying special attention to Portland point guard-to-be Jarryd Bayless, who is also featured.

This isn’t meant to be a review, but I liked the movie. It keeps it simple and entertains. Bayless comes off as a charismatic hardworking young talent. (He is anointed “Pay-Up” by game MC Bobbito Garcia). We get to see even more examples of why Beasley is a freak, with his talent and personality dominating any other players/buildings/laws of physics that happen to be around.

The movie affirmed to me that I am in love with basketball documentaries. The Hollywood stuff not so much, there are some gems but I rarely feel engrossed like I am during a documentary.

My favorite of course is Heart of the Game, with favorite #1A being Hoop Dreams. Through the Fire is also well worth your time, with those insights into that insane world of young basketball talents you get by following Bassy around. Gunnin For That #1 Spot doesn’t approach any of those movies in terms of being moving or providing some social commentary, but it doesn’t try to. It is about fun, the foundational component of why we enjoy this game so much. Crap this turned into a review.

More draft-related fun activities to waste time with

If the 2008 NBA Draft confirmed anything to me, it would be that the whole thing would be a lot more boring for everybody if Kevin Pritchard wasn't involved. Here is my 3rd grade reading level obligatory recap:

Players the Blazers ended up with: Jarryd Bayless, Ike Diogu, and Nicolas Batum.

I have been in like with all these players. Don't sleep on Diogu, he is a good banger style scorer in the post. The fact that he's undersized won't be that big of a deal considering Portland has enough trees to protect the rim. Batum will be stashed in Europe for a while.

There is a lot to love about Bayless at the point. Local media seem to be knocking him a little, but I haven't heard or read any legitimate claims to back up the criticisms. Basically, the argument seems to be that he is not a sure thing star that we know will definitely fit in. Duh. Being contrarian is fine, do what you gotta do to pay the bills, but I would appreciate it if you were not so lazy about it. Please, come with a more solid case. Need I remind you there are, conservatively some would say, three legitimate stars already on this roster? Bayless need not be Derrick Rose my friends.

Blazers sent off: Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts were sent off to Indiana. Both can be good NBA Players, I would hardly be surprised to see them both have reasonably long careers. Both could also probably use the fresh start. Best of luck.

I would give a rundown of all Blazers transactions and who they actually you know, drafted, but there is no point. KP traded every player the team drafted, so I'll save us both a few seconds and skip all that.

Also, I know everyone is linking to this, but I could get my sports bloggers license revoked if I didn't post this years' entry from the Stephen A. Smith Heckling Society of Gentlemen. It did make me like Kevin Love a little more. Sort of somber this year, but still well worth watching: