In their final chance to make an impression in Las Vegas, Gary Neal, Morris Almond, Luke Babbitt, Dominique Jones and Al-Farouq Aminu shined on Sunday afternoon.
Milwaukee 80, Cleveland 66
Larry Sanders lost a battle for a rebound, but stayed with the play and rejected a put-back attempt. On the next play, he put the ball on the floor, crossed-over and hit a nice 15-foot jumper along the baseline. He didn?t get very good position on rebounds.
Christian Eyenga got the Cavaliers running off missed shots and turnovers. On consecutive possessions he took the ball himself (drawing a foul) and fed a teammate, who drew a foul. He needs to work on his spacing. Cleveland?s staff had to position him after a number of dead balls. He also needs to work on finishing at the rim.
Sean Williams put together the best 25 seconds of his career in the first quarter. He flustered Jared Reiner with tenacious defense and then hit a turnaround 15-footer on the other end. Less than a minute later he missed a runner and then lost control of the ball while trying to palm it. He made a few nice offensive moves throughout the game, a sign that he?s improved his work ethic.
Milwaukee?s Sun Yue began nearly every possession with eight or nine seconds of dribbling. He made a nice up-and-under drive from the last side at the end of the first, but looked awful overall.
Size is an issue for Pooh Jeter and he was a step off defensively while trying to guard Dominic James. Jeter and Eyenga can really run the floor and they developed some chemistry throughout the week. Midway through the third, Jeter intercepted a pass in stride and converted an easy layup.
San Antonio 78, Memphis 64
Greivis Vasquez looks absolutely lost at times on defense. He?s not a premiere offensive player, but he almost looks like two completely different people on opposite ends of the floor.
Alonzo Gee showed an ability to score all week, but it was his vision and passing that impressed on Sunday. Gary Neal was the main beneficiary. Neal will be a great scoring punch off the bench for any team. The one terrible shot he took came after a whistle. To his credit, he took a charge in the paint against a much bigger player.
Hasheem Thabeet has shown flashes of improvement, but still has a long way to go. He would benefit from trying to block fewer shots, instead simply going straight up with his tremendous wingspan. It would save him some fouls. He showed a nice mini hook off an offensive rebound, but made more poor attempts at the rim than good ones.
Portland 83, Chicago 69
Patrick Mills had an up-and-down showing in Portland?s VSL finale. Armon Johnson held his own in their mini-Vegas battle, but Mills appears to have the edge. Johnson can have a greater impact without the ball in his hands, but Mills is the better facilitator. As the game wore on, Mills took some poor chances, including a three-quarter court lob pass that hit the right side of the rim.
Morris Almond finished with his best game of the week. He was Chicago?s most seasoned player and was very alert on the defensively end. He showed a varied offensive attack as well, driving to the basket, pulling up for mid-range jumpers and hitting a trey in the second quarter.
I was disappointed that Jack McClinton?s shot was off again. If he?s going to earn an extended stay on an NBA roster, he?s going to have to prove that he can score in bunches. If he couldn?t do so in Las Vegas, there?s not much hope he can against better competition. His best play of the week came late in the first half when he picked Mills? pocket and soared in for an uncontested lay-in.
Dante Cunningham was very active on both ends of the floor. He waited for plays to develop and hit his teammates cutting to the basket.
The Bulls are clearly looking for James Johnson to improve his handle. In Chicago?s last two games he took the ball up the floor on occasion and tried to take his man off the dribble. If he can add that wrinkle, he?d be a tough cover at 6-foot-9.
Luke Babbitt?s shot is as good as advertised, but his defense was also as poor. He had 12 points in the first half, but they were extremely quiet ones. He finished with 22 points on just eight shots.
Atlanta 89, Minnesota 83
Lazar Hayward looks like he?ll be a threat from downtown. He was the best offensive player in the first half, although he threw up an air ball in the third quarter.
The Hawks? Alade Aminu was good, but very inconsistent. He?d score one time down the floor and then commit a silly foul the next. At times, he looked better than Al-Farouq Aminu.
Jeremy Pargo has no trouble getting to the rim, but makes things way too difficult once he gets there.
Cedric Simmons needs to work on many things, his hands included. Hayward bounced a pass to him on the block and it embarrassingly went right through his legs. It?s been a precipitous drop for him.
I thought Jeff Teague had a very good game against the Timberwolves and the box score didn?t do him justice. He is at home at the top of the three-point line, having stayed there for one entire possession, and was focused on his playmaking rather than scoring. He did take too many chances defensively though, leading to a fast break dunk for Minnesota.
Jordan Crawford made a highlight play that won?t make the highlight reels. He used a spectacular hesitation move along the baseline to get past Hayward and score easily in the third.
Dallas 85, Sacramento 54
Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones got Dallas going out of the gate. Beaubois looked to be healthy after he was hobbled earlier in the week. Jones played terrific help defense in the first quarter on DeMarcus Cousins while never leaving his man completely.
Beaubois and Jones were the Mavericks? most active players as quite a few looked lackadaisical on the final afternoon. Jones was one of my favorite players in Las Vegas and for a late-first round pick he?s got a real shot to make an impact for Dallas right out of the gate.
Jeremy Lin got a lot of credit for his offense this week, but he?ll need to get better defensively if he?s going to stick in the league. He got beat off the dribble by Sylven Landesberg late in the first quarter. All was almost forgotten when he used a great spin move to draw a foul and get to the charity stripe. Because of his penetration, he was able to drive down the line and dish to open teammates in the second half.
I?ve said it in previous notes, but DeMarcus Cousins is a great passer. He made a poor bounce pass on a fast break that resulted in a turnover, but he?s always aware of where his teammates are on the floor. His finicky personality was on display again.
He missed a shot and shuffled down the court to play defense. When one of his teammates stole the ball and he saw that he had to get back on offense he let out an audible sigh.
D-League Select 79, L.A. Clippers 78
Eric Bledsoe was one player I thought would perform better in Las Vegas. He used a nice crossover and drove left and then went right on a fast break just seconds later. He kept his teammates off balance with unexpected passes, both sides deserve blame.
A majority of his offense came off penetration, but he did hit a few mid-range jumpers. He made a great hustle play on defense in the second quarter as he rose up to contest a lay-up taken by a taller player. He got up just as high and although he blocked the shot, he was whistled for a foul.
Al-Farouq Aminu was very unselfish. He passed off to Bledsoe on a 2-on-0 for an easy bucket. Bledsoe later hit him for a spot-up three that has nothing but net. His release looked more consistent than it had been. He used a great fake to get his defender in the air and earned three foul shots for his good work in the second period.
Yaroslav Korolev had a very quick trigger. He ruined a number of fast breaks with ill-advised jumpers and they certainly weren?t falling in the first half (1-for-7).
Thanks for following my notes from Las Vegas this week, especially to those that e-mailed and chatted with me on Twitter!
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. You can also follow Andrew on Twitter: APerna7.