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Vegas 2007
User account number (aid):
10376
Posted by John C in OC on 2007-07-16 15:28:46

I saw the first three games then had to fly to Montreal on business.
Marco is called "Nelli" by the players and coaches. Rest assured he is nothing like Brent Barry or Vinny Del Negro. More like a poor man's Kobe who has the quickest release on a shot I have ever seen. He has this unique ability to receive a pass and in one motion put the ball above his head and release it almost instantly. I've seen post guys do it up close but never someone from three feet behind the three point line. Amazing. He loves to shoot. One fan (or non-fan) yelled at him "shoot it, you are in the gym". He shot it. He is always close. Even when fading away with a hand in his face from long range you always expect it to go in. You could hear the surprise in the crowd when he missed. He is basically the opposite of JR. I loved JR but always felt like he played basketball as if he learned it from a book. Marco plays like an artist. He is very clever, always looking to be creative and never bothered by his mistakes. Once he puts his creativity into drawing fouls he is going to get to the line allot. In the games I saw he finished his drives with wild reverse lay ups, always trying to avoid contact rather than initiating it. Not a big problem. He will play point allot for Nelson. Especially when Baron is in the game and they want to get Baron the ball in a particular spot. He is perfect for Nelson. After every rebound, closes your eyes for two seconds, open them and you will find Marco at the three point line ready to shoot a three off the break. He does it every time.
The fans are going to love Marco. In his first game he had 24 points in the 1st half and made 4 or 5 three pointers in a row in the 2nd quarter. It was great to watch the Warrior bench stand up every time he shot one, anticipating high-fiving each other as the shots fell. Lots of fun.

To Pierce. I like him. He is fearless. But mostly he is huge. Very very strong. The guy goes to the hoop and 4's and 5's bounce off him. I never saw him lose his balance once on a drive to the basket. A strong and creative finisher. On defense he can guard 3's and certain 4's which makes him less of a defensive liability on the pick and roll. Is he a point guard? Hard to tell. He is built like a 6'4" Baron. If he is quick enough...??? If the Warriors don't sign him look for Phil Jackson to give him a look. I believe Phil likes linebackers for point guards.
Buki looked good. Although he cannot go to his left. The league has already figured this out and every defender he faced forced him to his left, where he seemd quite uncomfortable. Not a great passer either. Plays his butt off though. Will be a great 10 to 15 minute guy and leave him in if his three's are falling.
And finally to POB. A little story first. My son and I were walking into the third game when we saw Baron and Nelson sitting together. So of course we sat right behind them. A couple of comments my son and I picked up. Baron yelled out something to O'Bryant calling him PB. My son and I definately heard Nelson turn to Baron and say "PD" for Developmental League" Baron was hiding his head in his hands while he laughed. PD sucked. On a play when he took an offensive rebound and layed it back in, Nelson's comment was "blah blah would have dunked that". I could not hear the player he referred to. He was passive, weak, and mechanical. Rebounds slipped thru his hands and players knocked him off balance constantly. To the D-League for sure.
The center from Harvard is pretty interesting. Runs well, shoots it pretty well and is very slow laterally. But the total opposite of PB. Very aggressive. He will be in the league someday as I think coaches like 7 footers who have a bit of that football mantality.
No one else was worth mentioning.
Baron was cool. He was wearing a "property of the Warriors" t-shirt and was continually yelling encouragement to the team. Nelson's wife was right in front of me and Baron was very polite as they discussed golf, Las Vegas, and his recent trip to London.
Louis Williams was my favorite non Warrior player. Tough kid. Although when he stood next to Pierce he looked like a 5th grader. Durant is awesome but is going to get knocked on his rear end constantly. Unlike Pierce, whenever he drove into the lane he looked like a rag doll. One of my picks from last year, Jason Maxiell, looked very good as well.
Try to make it some time. It is allot of fun. I saw POB play in Anaheim last year and the summer league is definately a big notch up from the D-League.

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