So how has the D-League helped Williams?  Well, he played for the Tulsa 66ers, who are a direct affiliate for the Thunder, meaning that he already has a year’s experience with the Thunder’s offensive and defensive systems.  Even more importantly, Williams was playing in a league that has rules that are exactly the same as the NBA’s rules.  Meaning that Williams already has a knowledge of the unique rules in the NBA, the key one being defensive three seconds.  During his summer league performance’s Williams, looked very comfortable off the ball, and a lot of it had to do with his knowledge of the defensive three second rule:

Before we even get to the real defensive play I want to talk about, Williams does a good job of rotating off to the roll man, to make sure he doesn’t get a wide open catch in the paint.  Now that he is covering the roll man, Williams is standing in the paint.  However, he knows the defensive three second rule and knows that because he is defending someone at arms distance, he can stand in the paint however long he likes.  This means he is in perfect position for help defense, and he is able to get the block.

The play continues with Williams standing in the middle of the lane.  He quickly returns to his man to avoid a three second call, and then as the shot goes up, he gets into the paint and positions himself for the rebound.

And here is another example of Williams moving in and out of the paint pretty efficiently, avoiding the defensive three second call, while still being in position to help.

Compare this to someone who spent a year playing in college, Derrick Favors, who struggled with the defensive three second concept during Summer League, and Williams’ play impresses you even more:

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In addition to his knowledge of the three second rule, his basketball IQ has improved in general during his D-League experience.  In a conversation I had with Scott Schroeder of RidiculousUpside, he had this to say about Williams:

but most of the changes in his game throughout the year were simply basketball IQ type things (which isn’t a bad thing)

This was also apparent during his summer league play.  On defense, Williams played the pick and roll very well:

Here, Williams doesn’t show too hard, allowing himself to be in position to cover the roll man and bother the shot.

And here, Williams makes a very good hard show, knowing that there is little time left and that the ballhandler is probably going to be the one taking the shot. His defensive pressure causes a loose ball here.

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On the offensive end, Williams does a very good job of finding pockets in the defense and making himself available to receive the pass and finish:

So why is this new found basketball IQ so important?  Well, it adds on to what Latavious Williams already has, and that is insane athletic ability.  Without his basketball IQ, Williams is just another one of those crazy athletic guys who may never find a home in the NBA.  With the skills/feel he has developed in the D-League, he can make an impact this year.

Williams will probably start the year in the D-League, and that is a good thing.  He could benefit from a little more strength to help him with his post defense.  Also, he doesn’t have any post moves to speak of, and he doesn’t have a go to move in the high post, and more D-League time could help him with that.  However, with all of that being said, I fully expect Williams to have a productive stint in the NBA if he can get himself a call-up with the Thunder, and it is all thanks to his D-League experience last year.

A huge thank you goes out to Scott Schroeder of RidiculousUpside, who was nice enough to answer my annoying questions both on Twitter and G-mail.

With that buzzer beater, Summer League 2010 finished in thrilling fashion.  Over the past 14 days, there were a combined 78 games played in Orlando and Las Vegas.  In those 78 games you had rookies trying to prove they belong, second year players trying to take the next step, and undrafted rookies/unsigned free agents trying to earn a contract.  All this lead to some great individual performance and some fantastic games.

NBAPlaybook got into Summer League this year by doing 19 posts over the course of 14 days.  Just in case you missed any of them, here is every post we did over the past two weeks:

• Gordon Hayward Working Off The Ball
• Summer League Can Be A Learning Experience
• Is Lance Stephenson A Point Guard?
• Should The Sixers Be Worried About Evan Turner?
• Paul George Wins The Game With Both Offense And Defense
• Dominique Jones Can Attack The Rim, But Is That All?
• Patrick Patterson Is Ready To Contribute Right Away
• Unsigned Hype: Day 1
• Austin Daye’s Ability To Handle Physical Play Key To His Success
• Unsigned Hype: Day 2 & 3
• Breaking Down John Wall’s Debut
• DeMarcus Cousins’ Passing Ability
• Bucks Get Beat At The Buzzer…Twice
• Jordan Hill’s Post Up Struggles
• Why Multiple Options Are Important During Sets Late
• Pooh Jeter’s Game Winner
• How To Make Up For Missed Free Throws
• Gani Lawal Proving He Belongs
• Earl Clark Still Looking To Take The Next Step

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been stopping by the site to check out a post during Summer League this year.

Clark’s Summer League performance was average at best with a few great plays sprinkled in, showing flashes of what Suns’ fans hope Earl Clark can become with more playing time.  However, for the most part during Summer League, I saw an unwillingness to attack the basket from Clark:

Here Clark grabs the rebound and brings the basketball up the court on his own.  Now, this displays the pretty good ball handling ability of a 6’10″ PF, however Clark needs to either try and get to the basket (and take advantage of his ball handling ability) here or get it to a guard and start the offense.  Even when Clark wanted to try and drive to the basket, he had a tendency to shy away from contact:

Here, Clark makes the catch and decides he wants to attack the basket.  However, he never really takes the ball towards the rim.  He simply dribbles to the open lane and takes a shot falling away from the basket (and the contact).  Finally, this timidness really hurts Earl Clark in the post:

Here, Earl Clark tries to seal and make his catch in the mid-post (Working in the mid-post is something Earl Clark can do to take advantage of his skills, sort of like what Austin Daye was doing effectively earlier in summer league).  However, Clark gives up his position too easily and is allowed to be pushed all the way out to the college three point line before he makes his catch.  As a result, Clark again needs to attack the basket with his dribble, and he does what he did in the previous clip, driving to an open lane and falling away from the basket (he gets bailed out with a foul call this time though.

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All this being said, Clark has shown some things during Summer League that make you think he can excel playing in the Suns system with a point guard like Steve Nash.

At 6’10″, Earl Clark has a unique combination of size and athletic ability.  Clark is fantastic in the open floor, especially without the basketball.  He has a knack for finding open lanes in transition, and even on the secondary break Clark can make himself available for teammates on open spots.  This skill will allow for Clark to pick up a lot of easy baskets in transition playing with Steve Nash.

Clark can also get himself to the rim WHEN he wants to.  When Clark sees a wide-open lane to the basket, he can take advantage of that.  However, when he has to create his own lane, or drive into traffic, that’s when he starts falling away from the basket (like we saw from the videos early in the post).

Finally, Earl Clark has a decent jump shot that makes you believe he can excel when running the pick and pop with Steve Nash.  His shot isn’t good enough for him to explain coming down and hoisting up shots without making a pass, but Clark’s shot will prevent teams from sagging off of him and exclusively cutting off the drive.

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In conclusion, Earl Clark didn’t really wow anyone with his play during Summer League, but Clark could be the type of player that excels with better players playing around him.  Playing with Steve Nash meshes really well with his ability to run the floor and with all the shooters spreading the floor he may be able to attack through the open lanes.

What Suns’ fans are going to need to see from Clark is consistency though.  He needs to be able to run the floor, attack the basket, and take good shots for long stretches before he can take that next step and become the player the Suns think he can be.

The Good

Physicality

Despite being undersized (in terms of weight) when going up against opposing power forwards and centers, Gani Lawal shows a physicality that is needed to excel when matching up against bigger opponents.  This willingness to bang bodies helps Lawal on both sides of the court:

Here, Lawal gets the ball in the post with a taller defender covering him.  Lawal simply drops his shoulder and drives it into the bigger defender, pushing him back a few steps.  Lawal gets to where he wants to be on the court and attempts his shot (though he gets fouled).

And here, Lawal gets his hands on the ball and rips it out of the defender’s hands (and sends him off balance, almost making him fall).  He then takes a dribble, turns his butt into the help defender (keeping him away from the basketball), and then he completes the spin with a strong dunk.

On the defensive end, Lawal’s willingness to bang helps him when defending taller defenders on the inside.  Here, Jordan Hill makes the catch on the post, with Lawal defending him.  Hill tries to force his way to a comfortable spot on the court, but Lawal pushes right back, not letting Hill move.  Hill has to settle for a hook farther away from the basket then he would like and misses it.

Free Throw Rate

A direct result of Gani Lawal knowing how (and being willing) to use his body is that he was able to get himself to the foul line a ton during Summer League.  Lawal got himself to the line 41 times and amassed a free throw rate (Free Throw Attempts/Field Goal Attempts) of .695 over the course of five games (this isn’t something that just happened either, last year at Georgia Tech, Lawal was ranked 57th in the country with a FTR of .683).  To put some perspective to the number, the average free throw rate for PFs who played more than 25+ minutes a game (which is what Lawal averaged in Summer League) was .330 and the average free throw rate for Centers who played more than 25+ minutes a game was .374.  So how does he get himself to the line so often?  He knows how to use his body, and leads with it more often than not when making moves in the post:

Lawal is also strong enough in the lower body that defenders need to use their hands when trying to defend him in the post. This is what allows Lawal to pick up a couple more fouls on defenders over the course of the game.

Fits The Suns System

When looking at Gani Lawal, you don’t really see a player who can fits in the Suns’ run and gun/pick and roll system.  I mean, he is a big and physical guy who likes to bang.  However, looks can be deceiving.  Throughout Summer League, Gani Lawal has shown an ability to be effective in the pick and roll and when running the court:

The clip above shows you how strong Lawal looks when running the pick and roll. In the pick and roll, Gani Lawal’s wide body is what you are looking for in a screen setter. Lawal is also able to disengage from the contact on the screen and find the open spots on the roll. He then is able to finish strong at the rim.

In the two clips above, Gani Lawal shows you exactly how a big man should run the floor. Once he sees his team has secured the basketball, he puts his down and sprints as fast as he can to the opposite end of the court, and as soon as he reaches the lane he picks his head up and looks for the ball handler running the break. He locates the ball, makes the catch, and finishes strong at the rim.

Defending On The Outside

I think that Lawal’s is better suited to play Power Forward rather than center in the NBA. This means that he will find himself defending “stretch 4s” a good amount of the time. Despite being a banger, Lawal has shown during Summer League that he has no problem stepping outside and defending on the perimeter:

The Bad

I know what you are thinking, if Gani Lawal is so good, how come he dropped all the way to the middle of the second round?  Well he does have some flaws to his game.

Free Throw Shooting

One of the things that really impressed me about Lawal was his ability to get to the line.  This is only a positive attribute if you can make your  free throws, and Gani Lawal can’t do that.  Out of the 41 times Lawal got himself to the line, he only made 19 of them (46.4%), essentially giving away 22 possible points.  This is definitely a trend and not summer league nerves because in college last season Lawal shot around 57% from the line.  So why does he shoot so poorly from the line?  It all has to do with his shooting form:

On his foul shots, Lawal takes two bounces and bends his knees.  Now, you are supposed to bend your knees when taking foul shots but when Lawal does it he is much too stiff and mechanical.  There is no “bounce” when he bends his knees, and this throws the rest of his shot off.  He rises up too early and shoots it after he stands up straight.  The hurky-jerky motion means that his shots end up being all wrist, and that isn’t what you want.  You want to be in rhythm when shooting foul shots and have your whole body be rising up when he is releasing the basketball.

Outside Shooting

Kind of an extension from the foul shooting is the fact that Lawal has no outside game (in terms of an outside jumper) at all.  In fact, I can’t even show you a clip of a Gani Lawal jumper because I don’t even think he took one throughout the five games.  While this is a good thing (he seems to know his limitations), it also hurts him.  Part of what made the Suns’ pick and roll so effective is that Amar’e Stoudemire had an ability to pop out and be a legitimate threat to hit a jumper.  With Lawal probably playing more PF than Center he is going to need to have to be a threat to hit a jumper to be effective in the Suns offense.  He simply does not have that right now.

Fouls

The final flaw that I see in Gani Lawal’s game right now is that he fouls way too much.  In fact, during one Summer League game against the D-League Select team he picked up the infamous Summer League Triple Double (15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 fouls).  Some of it had to do with the tight game the refs were calling (refs are trying to make the league too, and they are reffing the games like it), but there are two other reasons he picks up a good amount of fouls.  He tends to jump out instead of straight up and his style of play allows him to pick up a ton of fouls:

In the NBA, you are allowed to jump with your hands up and make contact with the player attacking the basket.  The only rule is that you need to have everything (including the hands) be straight up and vertical.  The minute you jump out towards the man attacking the rim and you make contact, it is a foul.  Lawal has a problem where he jumps out instead of up, and the above clip shows you what can happen.

In the above clip Gani Lawal picks up a foul fighting for position on a rebound.  This is Lawal’s style leading to a foul on him.  Lawal simply isn’t big enough to just get in front of his man when boxing out and use his body to hold his position on rebounds.  He is a guy who needs to bang and use his hands to get position, and this will eventually lead to a few fouls getting called on him on boxouts.

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In my opinion, Gani Lawal’s performance during the Las Vegas Summer League should guarantee him a roster spot, especially with the Suns looking to replace the production of Amar’e Stoudemire. There is a lot to like about Gani Lawal’s game, but he does need to improve his outside shot before he can truly be a factor for the Phoenix Suns. Even with that iffy jumper, I can see him being a spark guy coming off the bench and giving good and physical minutes in spurts.

Instead of pouting after the miss, Tony Douglas got back on defense and got himself in position to take the offensive foul.  Was it a bit of a flop here?  Sure, but credit to Douglas for reading Cartier Martin’s move and jumping into position to take the charge.  Also, once Martin’s arm swings out when the contact is made, it’s foul no matter what.

Now, Sam Cassell was livid after the play, and it wasn’t with the officiating.  According to the announcers calling the game, Cassell was giving it to Lester Hudson for not getting the ball and bringing it up.  I get the logic, Martin isn’t a point guard while Hudson is.  Hudson probably would have been more comfortable bringing the ball up late (Martin looked a little tentative then picked up the offensive foul).  However, the way the situation transpired, Martin was the only option for the Wizards.

Sure, Hudson could have came down and me the ball, but he still would have been double teamed.  Good work by the Knicks here, they identified the primary ball handler and made sure they didn’t let him catch the basketball.  This is what allowed for Tony Douglas to take the offensive foul.

When the ball gets tossed to the trigger man, Pooh Jeter comes down and set a brush screen for Marquis Gilstrap.  Gilstrap come out can receives the basketball from the inbounder Aaron Jackson.  After the quick screen, Jeter floats out towards the corner.

Gilstrap receives the pass and quickly hands it back to Jackson.  This handoff bascially become a screen, as Jackson comes off of Gilstrap after getting the basketball.

This forces the Bulls’ defenders to switch (because as we know, defenses like to switch every screen late) and this results in a big man covering a guard.

Jackson uses his speed advantage to get around his new defender with ease.  Jackson does the smart thing here by attacking the basket, he doesn’t hang around the perimeter or settle for the mid range jumper.  He dribbles right at the help defender, forcing him to make a choice, either stay with his man (Pooh Jeter) or stop the basketball.

The help defender chooses to help on the penetration, allowing Pooh Jeter to spot up wide open behind the three point line in the corner.

Jackson does a great job of finding Jeter wide open and he is able to rise up and attempt the jumper before the defense can close out on him.  Here is the play in real time:

This play is initially run to either get Cartier Martin an open shot on the curl off of a Javale McGee brush screen (he doesn’t really get set for the screen, they just rub off of each other) or to hit McGee on a backdoor lob.

The first two options for the Wizards are well defended by the Hornets.  Both Martin or McGee are well covered, and the Wizards needed to move on to the second option.

That option is a downscreen for Lester Hudson to receive the ball at the top of the key.  While the simple downscreen won’t get Hudson a wide open look, it does provide a safety valve for John Wall (the man inbounding the basketball).

Wall hits Hudson with the pass, and since he has a big man covering him (the defense was forced to switch the downscreen) he was able to take a dribble to create some separation.

That is just enough room for Hudson to rise up and take the jumper.  He knocks it down, winning the game for the Wizards.  Here is the play in real time:

If the added option of hitting Lester Hudson coming off the downscreen wasn’t drawn up in the play, Wall would have had to either force it to Cartier Martin or Javale McGee for a low percentage shot (or even a turnover).  Instead, the Wizards were able to get the win because they had multiple options late.

Jordan Hill’s biggest problem offensively seems to be his inability to get a good look after he receives the ball in the post with his back to the basket.  He was so raw offensively coming out of college, and it seems (at least to me) that he still hasn’t done any back to the basket work.  Hill doesn’t know how to use his combination of size and strength in the post to his advantage just yet:

Here, Jordan Hill makes the catch in a pretty good spot.  Defending him is the Suns’ second round pick, Gani Lawal.  Lawal probably is equal to Hill in terms of strength, but when it comes to quickness/athletic ability, that favors Hill.  Hill doesn’t exploit this advantage, and instead he tries to improve his position by muscling Lawal with two shots to the body.  He doesn’t get anywhere, and instead of trying a spin move to the baseline (which is there, and with Hill’s quickness advantage it would work) he settles for a fall-away hook over his left shoulder.  Not a high percentage shot.

Another thing that I noticed when watching Jordan Hill in the post is he tends to settle for jumpers a little too much. Here, Hill makes the catch and faces up.  The face up works for a player like Hill because he can turn, survey the situation, and decide what to do next.  After the face up, Hill turns his back to his man as if he is going to make a move, then quickly turns around and takes a forced jump shot.  If you are going to face up and take the jumper, that is fine, but that little spin doesn’t really give Hill an advantage, and it makes the shot attempt harder.  Especially when he has a guy he can bully defending him.

Something that I noticed with Jordan Hill is that he always turns to the middle of the court when he makes a move with his back to the basket.  It doesn’t matter which side of the court he is on, but he always turns to the middle and either tries to get to the rim or attempts a hook with either one of his shoulders.  Here, Hill makes the catch, fakes baseline, and turns middle.  The double team was a little late, and Hill gets bailed out with a touch foul call, but this is something I wanted to show you because this is something you might see defense do when Hill makes the catch.

When you turn to the middle, you are basically turning into the defense.  If you mix it up as a post player (going baseline sometimes then going middle), teams aren’t going to be able to effectively defend it.  However, if you turn to the middle every time (like Hill does), teams are going to pick up on it and sit on it, waiting for the turn and then sending the double.  Against better quality defenders, this move is a stolen ball and not a trip to the foul line for Hill.

Bucks vs. Mavs

With 0.3 seconds left, the Bucks were holding onto a 2 point lead.  Here, there is just enough time for a catch and shoot, but more than likely the opposing team would be running a play right at the rim:

As the ball gets to the trigger man, J.R. Giddens gets a staggered double screen set for him from the two Dallas Mavericks’ bigs.  These screens are set so Giddens can curl around the screens and get freed up by at least one of the screens.

As this takes place, Dominique Jones flashes from the weak-side block to the ball side corner.  His defender, Dominic James, stays attached to his hip and follows him into the corner.  Now, we have talked about Jones lack of a jump shot, so there is no real reason to follow him into the corner.  James’ best bet would have been to let Jones run to the corner uncontested and stay in the paint to defend any lob.

With James running into the corner, the weak-side is completely left undefended by the Bucks.  Larry Sanders is covering a Mavs’ big man setting a screen.  He is right on his hip instead of being in help position, another mistake.

With the ball in the air, Sanders seems to see what is up, and he tries to recover to J.R. Giddens, who is cutting to the basket undefended.

Giddens makes the catch at the rim and hits the buzzer-beater, sending the game into overtime.  Here is the play in real time:

Bucks vs. Grizzlies

The next game, the Bucks were faced with yet another late game situation.  This time, there was .7 seconds left for the Grizzlies to try and win the game.  It’s funny, the Grizzlies come out in a similar set that the Mavs used a day earlier.  The one difference is that instead of the three ball-side players being in a straight line, you have two players bunched next to each other with another in the block.

As the basketball gets handed to the trigger man, both players (one big man and one guard) start towards the block at the same time.

As the big man stops and sets a screen in the middle of the lane, the guard cuts to the corner off a screen being set.  At the same time, Sam Young takes a few steps to the corner and then quickly changes directions, flashing to the top of the key off of the screen that is being set in the middle of the lane.  His defender, DeMarcus Nelson bites hard on the flash to the corner and runs himself out of position.

Sam Young is now running to the top of the key with nobody near him.  Not only is this important because he will be able to get up an uncontested shot, but because he is so wide open he can turn into the ball before making the catch.  While this doesn’t sound like a big deal, it saves valuable tenths of a seconds in a late-game situation like this.  Another thing to look at is the man defending the inbounder, Deron Washington.  Washington is doing a good job being active and taking away the pass to the corner, but that isn’t where the ball is going, and he leaves the passing lane to Sam Young wide open.

Sam Young makes the catch, rises, and fires before the Bucks can get someone to close out on him.  Here is the play in real time:

Cousins makes his first catch as a professional just a few steps away from the block.  Instead of rushing the move, he lets the play develop and allows for the passer to cut through, clearing out an easy double team.  Cousins then takes what I like to call a “bait dribble.”  If you watch the video again, you can see the man who eventually doubles kind of floating, and then as soon as Cousins puts the ball on the floor, the double team comes.  This is because most NBA teams like to double team on the first dribble the big man takes, and DeMarcus Cousins knows this.  The dribble that Cousins takes isn’t to make a move or better his position, it’s to draw the double team so he can kick the ball to an open teammate.  It works, as the defense is forced to rotate, but the Kings can’t knock down the open shot.  This is really impressive to me because there are bigs that have been in the league for years that struggle with this concept, and here is Cousins getting it right on his first touch in the pros.

Another thing that impressed me about Cousins was his ability (and willingness) to keep his head up while making his post move, allowing him to spot open cutters.  Here, Cousins also shows an ability to make a pass into the lane with his back to the basket.  The fact that he doesn’t have to turn around and face up to make the pass means he can make the pass quicker (because a window on an open cutter only stays open for too long).

Again, this pass from Cousins is a direct result of his ability/willingness to keep his head up when making his move.  This was a set play to free up an open three point shooter on the weakside, but what impressed me about the pass was that Cousins was able to send it cross court with enough zip (instead of lobbing it over) that the man can make the catch and shoot it before a defender can close out.

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DeMarcus Cousins is so big and strong in the post that he will be doubled a fair amount of the time.  The way he handles these double teams will determine how effective he (and his team) can be.  If Summer League has been any indication, he will handle the double teams just fine.