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Summer League Play Isn't Entirely Horrible

Because I live a rich and fulfilling life, I spent Monday afternoon watching YouTube highlights of NBA summer-league play. This isn't recommended for anyone with actual responsibilities, ambitions or even just errands to run. It's time-wasting distilled to its Platonic ideal. To give you something to watch instead of the home-run derby or the Tour de France, though, here are ten minutes' worth of "action" between the Lakers' and Raps' farm teams. I AM AN AMERICAN HERO.

This is actually a bit more compelling than I'd expected. There are players we've heard of, real offensive sets and spectators that might not have been paid to be there. But don't kid yourself: this is nothing but a cheap, temporary fix for the hoops addict who's way beyond help. Not that I'm one to judge.

Thrill to my commentary after the jump!

Star-divide

0:19 - You know how youth rec leagues name their teams after NBA franchises, like kiddy versions of the "Celtics" and "Rockets," even though they probably haven't properly licensed the intellectual property? And they give the kids crummy mesh uniforms manufactured by 10-cents-an-hour Burmese sweatshop labor? That's what summer-league uniforms look like.

0:38 - Is that David Aldridge on the color commentary? His career might be going sideways. Of course, I'd happily call summer-league games for $20 in chips and buffet comps from Excalibur. It's like traveling in a time machine to Arthurian England! If Arthurian England had Wheel of Fortune-themed slots and was overrun by Wisconsin tourists wearing Brett Favre jerseys.

0:55 - Aldridge becomes the 20,000th commentator to compare Adam Morrison to JJ Redick. This is still better than the Tour de France, but the gap is closing.

1:27 - Smush Parker, ladies and gentlemen! He will haunt Lakerdom for all eternity.

1:36 - Morrison hits a runner to put the "Lakers" up one. I actually clapped for a second before remembering this isn't real basketball.

1:46 - Smush again! He will have his revenge.

1:53 - Brent Petway, seen swatting away a jump hook, is well liked by our friends at Ridiculous Upside and, I'm told, won the D League's dunk contest in 2008. Similarly, I used to have a nerf hoop in my office that I dunked on when I was supposed to be listening to conference calls.

2:32 - DeMar Derozan gets whistled for a charge. My stathead friends generally think he's going to bust in the Association, but I think he might work out OK. He needs to either eat more or get on an HGH cycle.

3:00 - Fast break finish by Ben McCauley, who had a monster game (24 points and 15 ribs) in this one. He's a tweener out of North Carolina State and doesn't look half-bad, to be honest. He will never play for the real-world Lakers, however, so you have permission to resume not caring about him.

3:25 - If you're wondering about the difference in quality between the summer league and the actual NBA, please note that Adam Morrison is a devastating scorer in this game.

3:54 - Petway gets blocked on a dunk attempt. Jordan Crawford is unimpressed.

4:15 - But Petway redeems himself with the colossal basline flush! Chinemelu Elonu gets posterized, and the Nigerian version of Nike demands confiscation of the video.

4:42 - Holy crap... the "Lakers" are actually running the Triangle. I am legitimately surprised and impressed. It's really not a simple scheme to learn, and considering these guys have spent about 12 minutes together....

5:05 - I enjoy just making shit up, so here goes.... Morrison will be the summer league MVP. If not this year, then eventually.

5:32 - Sweet oop finish by Derozan. In regular league action, I suspect someone would have destroyed him with a Flagrant Two rather than allow that to happen.

6:04 - Morrison uncorks a brilliant 60 foot lob to someone named Tony Gaffney. I'm beginning to think this video was doctored.

6:26 - Taylor Rochestie puts the Lakers up one! My wife just scolded me for cheering too loudly hahaha just kidding. I am single and deeply antisocial.

6:48 - Look at that ball movement! This is a very credible version of the Triangle we're seeing.

7:08 - Someone named "Monds" scores for the Lakers. I have no intention of figuring out who he is.

8:05 - Aron Baynes is in the game. The boxscore indicates that he committed five personal fouls in less than nine minutes played. Somewhere, Andrew Bynum nods approvingly.

8:23 - Raptor plans will be pleased to learn that Derozan can't guard Morrison one-on-one.

8:52 - Smush is back on the court! Just in time to throw it away on a key late possession. That seems so unlike him.

9:18 - Morrison blocks Derozan. This video has absolutely been doctored.

9:33 - The mysterious "Monds" hits a key jumper after a travel that isn't called. The refs really want to get to the blackjack tables before the minimum bets get raised.

9:46 - McCauley FTW with 15 seconds left! Suck it, Canada!

In conclusion, if I were in Vegas I would absolutely gamble on these games. The end.

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Comments

Display:

8:05 – Aron Baynes is in the game. The boxscore indicates that he committed five personal fouls in less than nine minutes played. Somewhere, Andrew Bynum nods approvingly.

A+ commentary. Love your stuff Dex.

Todays summer league game was horrible. Against the Clippers the team looked bad and very sloppy. The Lakers roster is full of a bunch of scrubs, while the Clippers summer league roster is stacked. It was brutal and they ran a lot less triangle. I watched the Toronto game you were talking about. That was one of their better games.. especially in comparison to the game they played today.

by intuitive on Jul 13, 2009 8:26 PM PDT reply actions  

Does our summer league team really run the triangle?

whos coaching them?

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

by Justin N. on Jul 13, 2009 10:07 PM PDT up reply actions  

They try to run the triangle as much as possible. I think the coach is Chucky (Chuckie?) Brown

by intuitive on Jul 14, 2009 1:19 PM PDT up reply actions  

any team not in the NBA and has blake griffin is stacked. at least we have the luxury of knowing that’s never gonna happen in the real thing

by aGT on Jul 13, 2009 11:23 PM PDT up reply actions  

Thanks for the YouTube link and commentary. I was actually thinking of going to Vegas to catch a game or two but since the Lakers’ roster will be full when they sign Lamar I decided against it. And I was glad I skipped it when I read it was 108 in Vegas as I sat by the water in Redondo Beach!

So this was the next best thing to being there. I hope Ammo can come back healthy and maybe provide some 3 point shooting in case Sacha is still a headcase this year.

by lazNirv on Jul 13, 2009 9:50 PM PDT reply actions  

damn. i just finished playing in a league in which the team i played on went winless. lol

by chaucer on Jul 13, 2009 9:54 PM PDT reply actions  

I expect to see DeRozan alot on top 10 plays of the day lists

by I Can't Feel My Face on Jul 13, 2009 10:20 PM PDT reply actions  

well the Lakers just got their butts handed to them by the Clippers in todays action

There are basic Fundamentals that are needed to move forward in this game. Always keep your guard up at all times to avoid being caught in a trap. Overcome the fouls that will be commited against you REBOUND AND PRESS ON. ADJUST to the LimeLight: ALL-STAR PLAYERS ARE ALWAYS THE CENTER OF ATTENTION. Know what your role is and play your position. Find a game plan and execute it. REMEMBER YOU ONLY GET OUT OF THE GAME WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.

by BrittneyM on Jul 13, 2009 10:54 PM PDT reply actions  

We Blazer fans take out summer league seriously — 1100+ comments in the live thread on BE and the game wasn't even on TV!

The next 3 games will be on Comcast in HD, so the season is off to a rousing start… Portland is running three guys that will be on the roster: Bayless (backup PG), Jeff Pendergraph out of ASU (who will be the backup PF assuming Millsap gets matched), and Dante Cunningham from Villanova, who is a big 3 or a small 4 with a pretty midrange jumper. He’d make a nice Laker, his game is very triangle-compatible, it would seem — he finished up with 21 points or something.

The Lakers came on after the Blazer game finished, but it was about a 20 point margin and I don’t like Adam Morrison, so I got myself a life for the evening…

Be advised that there are Justin.tv type internet feeds to be scored if you don’t want to fork over $15 (unconscionable!) for NBA LPBB-Sumer League.

"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal

by timbo on Jul 13, 2009 11:34 PM PDT reply actions  

Anticipation is brewing. Very close now...

"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal

by timbo on Jul 14, 2009 11:18 AM PDT up reply actions  

Re: the video...

Nice job by Morrison and McCauley.

"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal

by timbo on Jul 13, 2009 11:48 PM PDT reply actions  

It's Bill Simmons!

but this version doesn’t hate the Lakers!

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jul 14, 2009 1:45 AM PDT reply actions  

yes, it is bad

when adam morrison is the best player on the court.

by Shark Sandwich on Jul 14, 2009 12:03 PM PDT reply actions  

what's up with the fouls?

NBA Summer League, Where You Can’t Foul Out Happens

by Shark Sandwich on Jul 14, 2009 12:34 PM PDT reply actions  

Actually you can foul out. Each player gets 10 fouls.. Though the refs are atrocious and erratic with their calls.

by intuitive on Jul 14, 2009 1:20 PM PDT up reply actions  

And this differs from the regular season, how exactly?
…the refs are atrocious and erratic with their calls.

"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal

by timbo on Jul 14, 2009 5:02 PM PDT up reply actions  

It’s actually worse.

The people refereeing summer league are the ones trying to get into refereeing the NBA…… Believe it or not, most of them are worse. For one, Violet Palmer officiates the summer league..

by intuitive on Jul 14, 2009 5:12 PM PDT up reply actions  

Petway=Joke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMIPahuaFxs

"There are no next times when you're competing for big things." - Tom Izzo
Go Spartans

by msufan23 on Jul 14, 2009 1:26 PM PDT reply actions  

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