In the game, I learned that...
...NBA summer league games are nearly unwatchable. Really, really ugly.
...Mike Scott was really, REALLY jacked up for his first summer league game, and thus got frustrated quickly by a lack of touches.
...he's short for an interior role, and will need to move better without the ball and on defense to match up with these superior athletes. His body looks more like a big 3 than a 4, but he's just not a wing player in terms of athletic ability.
...he seems desperate to prove his worth to his new employer. That's easy to understand. First game, you're over-eager to impress.
...he can in fact hang with this level of competition. It wasn't a good game, but it wasn't all bad.
...Keith Benson and John Jenkins will be playing in the NBA this season.
...for my money, John Jenkins > Bradley Beal. Jenkins isn't the athlete Beal is, but he's a better shooter and frankly a better player. Athleticism translates to the pro game, but the NBA wildly overvalues upside and potential, in my opinion. Give me Jenkins - a guy who can already do what Beal aspires to - any day.
...the Hawks have some decent young talent (Benson, Jenkins, Scott, Brad Wanamaker, Frank Hassell, and Elijah Millsap all looked good), and beyond Beal and Chris Singleton, the Wizards do not.
Knowing Mike like we do, I think it's a safe assumption that his second game will be light years better than his first game, which was a struggle due to obvious pressing. He has a unique game, and I'm still sold on his ability as a pick and pop specialist at the NBA level. The problem is that he'll have to make the team based on his work in the summer league, and these summer league games are every-man-for-himself free-for-alls more than they are team basketball. Mike's game and skill set revolve around the team concept... so I'm a little bit nervous about his fate right now. Still confident that he'll show enough, and that the Hawks need him, but this wasn't a very good start to his crusade to make their roster.
Box Score and Videos: Hawks 102, Wizards 82
Up next for Mike and the Hawks in Las Vegas: Sunday against Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Denmon, Derrick Byars, and the Spurs.
Poke it HERE for the (surprisingly good) NBA Summer League website. Check out the "Rookie Ladder" for a really interesting, compelling way the league is presenting the relative success or failure of the rookies in summer league action. (John Jenkins is currently ranked #7 while Bradley Beal is #9. Just sayin'.)
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