The Summer League experience wrapped up for the Cavaliers on Friday afternoon and a couple hours after whipping the Knicks, several of us who made the junket to Vegas got on the plane for Cleveland.The Wine and Gold finished the annual invitational at 3-2 – following up their worst performance of the week (Thursday’s loss to Minnesota) with their best (Friday’s drubbing of New York).
Many of the players from this week will be back to work in Independence before long. But the NBA’s dog days are also approaching. We’re about two months from Training Camp.
Before the league takes its summer slumber, here are a few thoughts from this past week in Sin City …
* If not for the sloppy ending against Charlotte in the opener, the Cavaliers could’ve gone 4-1 on the week – not that a final record is the best barometer of team’s success in Summer League.
Some squads – like the Cavs Blazers and Warriors – were loaded with players that’ll be integral parts of their team this season. Others – like the Knicks – had a squad full of players that’ll be hard-pressed to make an NBA roster. The closest thing New York had to an actual Knick on the floor Friday afternoon was J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton sitting courtside in street clothes.
The Cavaliers looked sharp at times, but that 34-point win was a bit inflated. The Knicks didn’t win a single game in five tries. (The D-League select team, by comparison, was 2-3.)
*I’ve always liked the Portland Trailblazers. They’ve always struck me as something of a “Cavaliers West.”
The Blazers had easily the biggest fan contingent in Vegas. At times, it was like they were playing a home game at Thomas & Mack or Cox Pavilion. And they’ve got a lot to be excited about; the first of their two first-rounders – guard Damian Lillard – was the best player in Las Vegas last week.
* No final decision has been made on the decision to allow teams to place corporate advertising patches on uniforms beginning in the 2013-14 season, but will likely come in an e-mail vote in September. The patch would be on the front of the jersey – 2 ½ inches-by-2 ½ just above the heart.
This new “revenue stream” is expected to generate $100 million annually, so its ratification is likely.
Most fans aren’t crazy about this idea, and I’d put myself in that camp. (A poll on NBA.com showed 79 percent of fans opposed, a Houston Chronicle poll, 84 percent and a poll by NESN in Boston, 85 percent opposed.) I’m all for revenue streams, but I think it’s a slippery slope.
*Dion Waiters led the Cavaliers in scoring this past week at 12.3 ppg, despite not shooting the ball very well (30 pct FG, 17 pct from long range) or playing in either of the squad’s final two games. The injury was nothing serious, but the No. 4 overall pick did experience some soreness in his left knee after an awkward play against Markieff Morris in Tuesday’s game against Phoenix.
Waiters is billed as a combo guard, but played off the ball in the Cavs first three games. Against the Suns, he came off the bench and played the point for the duration. The Philly native notched 16 points and, more importantly, flashed the aggressive style that made him so attractive to the Cavs brain trust.
Even after the third-quarter play against Phoenix – (if you didn’t see it on SportsCenter, Waiters pulled up on a fastbreak, slipped oddly and had his shot blocked by Morris) – Waiters continued to attack the Suns defense and propelled Cleveland to the 89-74 win.
*The Cavs leading scorer in that 15-win (also off the bench) was Samardo Samuels, who seems like an entirely new person only two months after the 2011-12 regular season ended.
It wasn’t just the much-reported weight loss, although that’s a huge factor. At 243, the former Louisville standout gets up and down the floor much better and, more importantly, gets off his feet much quicker. He’ll be a greatly-improved defender in 2012-13.
Samuels is one of the more laid-back players on the squad – always off the floor and, to the aggravation of Coach Scott, sometimes on the floor. But he showed a nasty streak on the boards and defensive end during Summer League.
The Lockout contributed to Samardo’s sophomore slump. This year, a productive offseason can get his career right back on track. Byron Scott spoke to Samuels after this past season and told him, essentially: ‘I can’t want (success) for you more than you want it for yourself.’
Looks like Samardo got the message.
*One of the most entertaining combos on the floor in Vegas was Samuels and Luke Harangody – a pair of Big East bruisers.
The two former college adversaries, who once got into a memorable push-up contest on the team plane, complement each other well on the floor and neither shies from contact. (From paint to perimeter, Luke can seemingly find contact anywhere on the floor.)
*For most of the week, rookie Tyler Zeller was the most impressive player on the Cavaliers roster. The ACC’s Player of the Year averaged 11.4 points and a team-leading 7.2 boards and 1.0 block per contest.
Zeller was as advertised. He had only one poor shooting game, was a strong offensive rebounder – exactly half of his 36 boards were on the offensive end – and shot 90 percent from the stripe. Experts who said he’ll be a solid-to-very-good NBA center for a dozen years look to be right on target.
It was also cool to hear his teammates calling him “Z” – especially with Zydrunas Ilgauskas sitting just a few rows up in the stands.
*Injuries took some steam out of the Cavaliers Summer League experience -- especially the absence of how Kyrie Irving interacts with his new mates. But those injured players should be ready to roll when Camp opens in September.
Dion Waiters missing the final two games was purely precautionary. Irving had successful surgery on his injured right hand. Kevin Jones’ bruised heel should be healed. And Kelenna Azubuike, who worked out with the squad in Vegas, looks to be bouncing back from his bad knee.
*Tristan Thompson was on my flight home from Cleveland and was sporting a decent shiner and some redness in his right eye after being poked by New York’s Ahmad Nivins in the third quarter of Friday’s game.
* Of the non-roster players last week, forward Micheal Eric and guard Justin Holiday were probably the most impressive and most likely to take the next step – a Training Camp invite.
Eric, a bruising 6-11 big who played four years at Temple, proved to be a rugged defender in the post. A native of Nigeria, Eric was long and strong and could find himself on the Cavs roster. Holliday, a defensive specialist at Washington – and younger brother of the Sixers’ Jrue Holliday – closed out the week very well, defending three positions and showing a deft shooting touch.