I remember being sort of kind of excited about Shelden Williams' summer league performance. Even in my optimism I always knew that Mr. Parker was dominating men who would never be in the league in a style of play that would rarely be seen in an actual game. I of course chose to ignore said facts because the only other option was crying about how a late first rounder went in the top five.
Let us pause on this trip down memory lane to throw up.
Everyone good. Well, good. Because the news of yesterday is that Jeff Teague is going to be a star and Othello Hunter is ready to dunk on your head.
And of course we are not even talking summer league. We are talking mini camp Which is code for don't ask us why we didn't have a summer league team. Can you not see we have a mini camp? But it is July and I love the NBA so lets dive into the world of false optimism.
Jeff Teague
But the good news is Jeff Teague is doing what he is suppose to do. He is being the best player on the court. It won't translate one to one, but Teague is at least holding up his end of the bargain. The one thing that may translate is this little line from Sekou Smith's twitter, "Teague is really impressive. His quickness is off the charts."
You may make more shots against bad competition. You may finish a little easier against borderline 12th man talent. But you are either fast or your not, and without a doubt Jeff Teague is really fast. I can be excited about that.
Othello Hunter
The other good news, more because I like him and less because it may actually affect the team, Othello Hunter has gotten better. Sekou and Micah Hart both saw him this time last year and say quite emphatically the man is better. Granted Othello played 92 total minutes last year so whether the improvement can translate to a regular season role in the rotation who knows. And by who knows, I mean probably not.
But mark my words now, one day Othello Hunter will be an above average 8th man in the league. And I hope it is with the Hawks.
Some other notes
- A guy with the nickname "Homicide" was invited to camp. Let us all begin praying this man makes the team.
- Yaroslav Korolev can shoot. I like that. Then again, so could Thomas Gardner. By the way, Mr. Korolev was drafted 12th. I forgot that. Good work there Clippers. Somewhere Danny Granger is laughing.
- Micah Hart's recap from yesterday.
- Jeff Teague is officially a Hawk.
- Joe Smith anyone? How about Ben Wallace? Considering the Cavs felt the need to go get Joe Smith when they already had Ben Wallace on the team, I would take Joe on a one year deal and be quite happy about that.
Actual blogging coming later today. Your thoughts on summer league? Who is ready to buy a Teague jersey? And I will pay someone five dollars if he or she can convince me to buy an Othello Hunter jersey. And I want to be convinced.