Summer League 2018

[Hoop Head]

what exactly are y'all expecting this season, from the rookies/win totals?

Here's what I'm expecting:

Record: 31 wins up from 21
Ayton: 14/8
Bridges: 10/3, shooting 35% from 3
Okombo: Next to nothing. He's a second round very raw rookie who will probably take at least a couple years to turn into anything if he does at all.

Wins: 32-38 wins, so a 11-17 win improvement.
Ayton: 15 & 9
Bridges: 11 points 4 boards and 2 assists
Okobo: 3-5 ppg & 2-3 apg with an Assist to Turnover ratio of 1.8 to 1. 2 to 1 would be preferred but he won't play much so some games will be harder than others.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Man... I think that's a pretty huge jump.



40% from 3 would make him one of the best shooters in the game. I think that's unrealistic for a rookie where he's going to have to adjust to the speed/size and athleticism in the league. He might eventually get there, but remember, I'll be pleasantly surprised if he's that hot right out of the gate.



agreed... if that. I can see him spending a good chunk of the season in the G-league.

35 wins is only 4 games off from your prediction. Also I think we would have easily won more than 21 games last year if healthy.

40% would absolutely make him one of the better shooters in the game, but I do believe that he could very well be that this year. Not that this is proof, but Tatum shot over 43% as a 19 year old rookie.

Not sure I see Okobo spending a whole lot of time in the G-League. He will almost certainly spend some stints up there, but I would guess a total of like 10-15 games.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Training camp is going to be so important with this group. I'm glad that Igor is here now and can properly prepare. When was the last good training camp the Suns had? Back when Gentry was coach? Maybe Hornacek?

This is so true. I’m glad Igor had the opportunity to do some implementation with summer league. The team looked very well coached. Seems like the first time in a LOOOOONG time I feel comfortable saying that.

 

[Phrazbit]

I think Okobo will probably spend a lot of time in the G League.

Ayton... 15-9.

Really hard to say with Bridges, I think he's one of the most NBA ready guys in the class, I think he's going to be one of our best defenders but unless we see a trade, I don't see him playing more than 15-20 minutes a game. So, I'd peg him for, 8 points a night with good defense and a good 3pt percentage.

If Jackson plays as wild to start the year as he was in the Summer League I think Bridges will eat into his minutes. Bridges is a lot more disciplined, which isn't surprising given that he's a year further removed from HS than Jackson and played for 3 years under Jay Wright.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Record: 35 wins up from 21
Ayton: 14/9
Bridges: 10/3, shooting 35% from 3
Okombo: Next to nothing. Will have occasional games where he flashes.

Not much different from cheese but I think we will win a bit more because not tanking so booker will play more, addition of ariza, much better coaching, improvement from existing young players (JJ, Reed, bender, Chriss), and additional talent in Ayton and Bridges.

 

[Chaplin]

Record: 35 wins up from 21
Ayton: 14/9
Bridges: 10/3, shooting 35% from 3
Okombo: Next to nothing. Will have occasional games where he flashes.

Not much different from cheese but I think we will win a bit more because not tanking so booker will play more, addition of ariza, much better coaching, improvement from existing young players (JJ, Reed, bender, Chriss), and additional talent in Ayton and Bridges.

That seems pretty reasonable to me. Only thing I’d MAYBE change is Ayton’s ppg, but that’s negligible.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

That seems pretty reasonable to me. Only thing I’d MAYBE change is Ayton’s ppg, but that’s negligible.

Yeah I’m hoping for more, but that might unrealistic for a 19 year old.

 

[Superbone]

Training camp is going to be so important with this group. I'm glad that Igor is here now and can properly prepare. When was the last good training camp the Suns had? Back when Gentry was coach? Maybe Hornacek?

I'd say probably Hornacek's first year where he did the same thing as Igor and coached the summer league team. I think that SL team lost in the finals to the Warriors.

 

[BC867]

Ayton... 15-9.

It might make more sense to predict his scoring/rebounding averages . . . for the the 1st quarter of the season; for the 2nd quarter; for the 3rd quarter; and for the 4th quarter. I'm referring to time of the season, not quarters in a game.

With the development over his first professional season that we all hope for, analyzing his performance as one average won't mean much. Unless all four quarters turn out to be about the same, which would indicate lack of progress.

It's like the guy standing with one foot in a bucket of boiling water and the other in a bucket of dry ice. On average, he's pretty comfortable.

Or to put it in in basketball terms, if half of your team is 7' tall and the other half is 6', the average would be 6'6", but not one player would come close to that.

 

[Hoop Head]

Young is the only non-big that I've heard about in Summer League this year. I know Doncic didn't play. Did SGA and Sexton play at all?

 

[Carolinacacti]

Sexton making Lebron wish he stayed in Cleveland.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Both played pretty well. SGA averaged 19/5/4 in four games and Sexton averaged 19/3 in four games.

 

[Phrazbit]

Sexton making Lebron wish he stayed in Cleveland.

I somehow doubt it.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Yeah I’m hoping for more, but that might unrealistic for a 19 year old.

especially with what might be pretty weak PG play.

I really wish this team would have signed a Rondo or Parker even for just one year to get Ayton touches and off to a good start.

 

[Bufalay]

especially with what might be pretty weak PG play.

I really wish this team would have signed a Rondo or Parker even for just one year to get Ayton touches and off to a good start.

Parker? No way. That’d be almost as bad as when Mario Elie was on the Suns.

 

[GatorAZ]

Parker? No way. That’d be almost as bad as when Mario Elie was on the Suns.

I’ve always respected Parker. It was Horry and Bowen that grinder my gears. Elie hit a shot that likely costed us a title. Granted we choked it away.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Both played pretty well. SGA averaged 19/5/4 in four games and Sexton averaged 19/3 in four games.

Wow. I’m surprised we didn’t hear anything about either with those averages.

 

[SunsFanFirst]

I feel like we were a 30ish win team last year if we didnt tank (you cant base the improvement off of 21 wins).. 40-45 wins just doesnt sound unreasonable to me.

 

[Mainstreet]

I feel like we were a 30ish win team last year if we didnt tank (you cant base the improvement off of 21 wins).. 40-45 wins just doesnt sound unreasonable to me.

I sort of agree with this line of thinking if the Suns fix the PG position before the season begins.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I feel like we were a 30ish win team last year if we didnt tank (you cant base the improvement off of 21 wins).. 40-45 wins just doesnt sound unreasonable to me.

Every team in the West looks to be improved this season and we already had 10 teams winning more than 45 games. I think it would take more than a couple of stars going down for us to win 40+. JMO.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Love this guy.

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[Ronin]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2785956-biggest-nba-summer-league-disappointments-so-far

 

[Mainstreet]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2785956-biggest-nba-summer-league-disappointments-so-far

Ouch. The Suns have two on the list, Bender and Jackson.

However, the list consists of only 5 players. I'm thinking the list should have been much longer.

 

[devilalum]

Ouch. The Suns have two on the list, Bender and Jackson.

However, the list consists of only 5 players. I'm thinking the list should have been much longer.

I've defended Bender based on the fact that he is so young but at this point we should be seeing some growth. He is basically the same player he was 2 years ago. Can anybody really identify an area in which he has improved?

 

[Hoop Head]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2785956-biggest-nba-summer-league-disappointments-so-far

It's interesting that it's almost all bigs listed. Bender, Henry Ellenson (Pistons), Josh Jackson, Terrence Ferguson (Thunder), and TJ Leaf (Pacers). Ferguson and Jackson are more wings but they're combo forwards in today's NBA more than guard/forwards of years past. Bender, Ellenson, and Leaf are all bigs though, definitely. It seems that Bleacher Report isn't subscribing to the SL is for guards line of thinking if they singled out 5 forwards to call out.