Cam Boozer on why he played eight games of summer league: “It’s why I love the game—for games like this, where it’s high-intensity, it’s back-and-forth, and you’re competing against great players.”
Players wanting to play is a green flag, simple concept of course but it deserves celebration
People forget that a lot of players don’t love the game. They don’t love the practice and grinding. It’s like most people with a high paying job. They just do it for the money. And hot ass women that want your child support.
Yeah everyone gets all up in arms when players don’t have a Kobe mindset meanwhile they’re half assing their day jobs.
It’s real easy to say that because you’re getting paid more or playing basketball that changes things but it wouldn’t for the vast majority of people
I’d retire after like 5 or 6 years.
Its also a grind for them from puberty to college to get drafted. Imagine practing every day for years to get into the league so it makes perfect sense some become burnt out
most players aren’t necessarily the best. they just stuck with it.
Not to mention how many of them have had the added pressure of being their family’s meal ticket since like middle school. Of course you’re gonna feel exhausted and want to take your foot off the gas pedal and/or get really fucked up when you’re not working.
So who didn’t want to play, Dybansta?
I am rooting for him this coming season. Hope he win ROY!
He was my top player coming into this draft, it’s so insanely stacked
To think this was Flagg’s original class too, insane draft class
If he hadn’t moved up would he still have been No. 1 this year?
Yes. His advanced stats were almost as good as Boozer’s, his eye test is as good as AJ’s and his defense is better than both. He’d be number 1 in almost any draft unless you have a Wemby or LeBron type prospect.
Yes
Even more so
Even more so? As in Dylan Harper > AJ Dybansta?
No just that coop would’ve dominated college last year
Easily
Our guy 👍
He looks like me after trying to take my cat to the vet
SL is even worse than regular season about refs letting the defense maul bigs around the basket.
Are these scratches all from the warriors game? They were fouling the shit out of us in the semis
The big ones on his arms were there before the game started. The one’s on his face came from the warriors game
Cam can’t win with these cats
Unless you’re seriously competing and your rookies are projected to play heavy minutes, I’ve never understood why they get shut down in summer league. Yes, you risk injury, but you risk injury every day in practice too. Why not give them a real taste of strong-ish competition before they work on their game all summer?
It’s because teams often want to get looks at other players for the rest of their roster and those other guys aren’t going to get many opportunities if everything is running through Dybantsa.
I remember Kent Bazemore didn’t even play in the first Warrior SL game in 2012 when second year Klay torched the Lakers. They shut Klay down soon after that though, and Bazemore started the last three games of Summer League and played well enough to earn a contract.
Portland fans can tell you why, given they had 2 lottery picks injured in SL (Scoot and Sharpe)
Iirc the Scoot injury was ultimately very minor and he was held out as a precaution. Can’t remember sharpe’s but it obviously wasn’t anything big.
Hundreds of rookies have played since then, and the overwhelming majority are fine. Seems very much worth the risk to me.
It’s simply health. Summer league has a ton of players who are not nba level guys and play very wild. Try hard types who will do anything for contract. I’m not putting high talent against that any longer than I have to. Honestly I wouldn’t play any top level game prospect at all in summer league. It’s a huge risk for nothing. I’d much rather have my high end talent playing with their national program or running pick up games with nba talent or working with coaches than playing guys who are gonna be working at Arby’s in a few months.
There are also a lot of reckless players in SL.
IMO teams that shut down their rookies after 2 games are pretty whack, but 8 games is definitely too much. 4-5 is the sweet spot IMO.
And they need to get rid of back to backs in SL lol why is that even a thing.
idk, I mean summer league is pretty low level sloppy competition
you could make the case for _some_ players it’s not really teaching any useful habits, is wear and tear and just no upside
for some guys, most guys, it’s still worth it for the run and getting some reps and the coaches seeing you
but for top picks it probably really isn’t worth it
I think an underrated part of it is that SL is really bad basketball and I think it would be easy to develop bad habits. I don’t think that’s a concern with Cam Boozer, but it could be with other rookies.
So they get a few games, get a good idea of what they need to work on, and then get them back to training and developing those specific skills.
nah thats ridiculous, by that logic they shouldn’t be playing in middle school games or even high school games. Only difference here is the talent level will be weirdly high for how low the quality of team play is, compared to anything they’ve done in the past.
nah thats ridiculous, by that logic they shouldn’t be playing in middle school games or even high school games.
I don’t follow your logic. Middle and high school teams practice and play together over longer periods. They often practice and play together over multiple years.
SL teams are assembled like a week before games start and they barely have any practices. The players have no long term future together, can’t run a coherent offense, have no defensive continuity, and are literally competing with each other for a job.
How is that the same?
because you’re talking about developing bad habits based on the tier of game. middle schoolers are GOING to play a less sophisticated version of the game, and reinforce bad habits through practice incidentally. they aren’t pros, this SL game is likely of way higher quality than any middle school game they ever participated in despite the lack of practice etc, so by the logic its gonna form bad habits, the middle school games reinforce bad habits, you should by that same logic consider it even worse for development, but its just not the case.
If the player can’t figure out that a summer league game has a different flow than a game vs a more structured team, then he is doomed in general. It’s like saying you can never play a pickup game ever or you will form bad habits, or you can’t play 1v1 vs a friend because you will be confused when those same driving lanes aren’t open in a 5v5. The players arent drooling on themselves, and if they are they wouldn’t have made it this far.
because you’re talking about developing bad habits based on the tier of game.
Stop telling me what I’m saying if you don’t know what I’m saying. Lol. I’m not talking about the “tier” of the game.
middle schoolers are GOING to play a less sophisticated version of the game they aren’t pros, this SL game is likely of way higher quality than any middle school game they ever participated in
middle schoolers are GOING to play a less sophisticated version of the game
they aren’t pros, this SL game is likely of way higher quality than any middle school game they ever participated in
Middle schoolers play at a sophistication and structure that is appropriate for their age range. Cam Boozer played middle school basketball when he was in middle school.
It’s like saying you can never play a pickup game ever or you will form bad habits, or you can’t play 1v1 vs a friend because you will be confused when those same driving lanes aren’t open in a 5v5.
Did I say they can never play SL? No. We are literally talking about players who DO PLAY SL GAMES. So obviously I’m not saying they can’t. Again, please just read what I’m actually writing.
But yes, players absolutely can form bad habits playing pickup ball or unstructured 1v1. Anyone who has coached or played organized basketball knows that. That’s literally the most well known and common criticism of AAU- that it’s more like pickup ball and players pick up bad habits because they aren’t practicing or playing a structured game.
be coherent next time and i wont misunderstand you. You still aren’t really achieving it, you still seem to want to say its gonna form bad habits, but wanna say its fine to play, you’re just contradicting yourself before you even finish a sentence.
Did I say they can never play SL? No. We are literally talking about players who DO PLAY SL GAMES. So obviously I’m not saying they can’t.
how is any sane person supposed to interpret whatever the fuck it is you are trying to say here? are you saying of course they can because they are? are you assuming im absurdly aut and dont understand ? If i say a player forms bad habits by doing something, thats a strong implication that im saying they should NOT partake in that activity. is that concept lost on you?
The fact remains, if the player can’t separate the garbage portions of summer league from a traditional game, they arent worth the effort to begin with.
You actually can’t comprehend how something could be helpful in small quantities, but harmful when overdone? That seems pretty straightforward to me…
As I said in my first comment, I think teams have players play a few games to get an idea of how their strengths translate and what flaws they might have. Once they know what they need to know, they have them stop playing before they develop bad habits.
alright so they all play about 5 or 6 games, somewhere in there is the threshold of helpful to overdone and bad habit forming… so as they get to know those teammates slightly better game to game, it just becomes worse suddenly?
Sorry your take was kinda bleh, we can keep going in circles if you want.
Right mindset to have
Grizzlies will be fun to watch this year
I’ve been hearing this almost every year for the last decade about them lol
Well they were fun to watch for several seasons in that span, one of the most fun watches in the league for a couple of them, so…makes sense lmao
I would love a true ironman on the team. Someone who guns for 82 games.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I know that his lack of verticality can be a negative, but I’ve been thinking about the potential positives, too. Seeing Ja crash into the ground for so many years has given me some kind of PTSD, so perhaps being more land-bound isn’t such a bad thing if it means staying healthier. 😅
Pretty much the same size and max vert as prime Blake Griffin. He just has a play style that leads to more longevity IMO
His face says it all. Can’t get marks on your cheek and nose like that unless you are really competing! Got a warrior!
but “them refs be saving him” according to yaxel
Get out of here, Yaxel! Saving him from what?!?! A good time?!?! Looks like the refs hit him too 😅😂🤣
Meanwhile some guys quit after 2 games of shooting 7-20
The way he is shooting the ball has been crazy. I can actually see him as a wing and not a big
I still doubt he’ll ever play alot of SG minutes. He’s just built more like a PF or SF
Yeah I’m definitely thinking SF. makes sense why they signed and traded for so many bigs
It’s straight up cruel how long we have to wait until we get to see him playing with Edey.
You want young rookies or players who are relatively young currently in the league to be playing in these games to learn the pace of NBA basketball, the things they need to work on, and also what works and doesn’t work for them play style. It also gives a chance for younger players to work on things they need to improve on during the offseason.
to learn the pace of NBA basketball
100%
You can tell he has smart people around him and that he trusts them and has bought in.
Great attitude.
he does not look 19 good lord
Bum ass AJ hates basketball - espn
He’s a hooper, everything you want in your franchise guy (especially after your last franchise guy *cough*)
Ja was ROY - do you think Boozer will be?
I wish more players took Summer League seriously, it’s a really fun little tournament even if the biggest names are the rookies.
Basketball player gets asked why he plays basketball. Basketball player reports it is because he likes basketball. Much wow
To be fair, he was only asked that because it’s kind of rare for a top pick to play that many games in summer league. He wanted to play as much as he could and start building chemistry with his new teammates. That’s a good thing!
Damn. I like him already.
Glad he played well and avoided a SL injury. he should have a great rookie season in Memphis.
Does dude ever smile?
Ain’t shit funny
What a contrast in maturity to the guy five years his senior on the other side of the gym talking about puckered buttholes.
yo shit you heard me?
EDIT: you meant someone else, i was actually just kidding tbh
Best player in the draft.
Good mindset. I personally think if AJ played the last two games for the Wizards, they make the Summer League playoffs
He knows he’s talking about summer league right?
Just give him a week into the NBA season and the “love” will automatically disappear lol.
Does this guy have a facial expression aside from side eye? The Gen Z stare has hit the NBA.
Asking a pro basketball player why is he participating in basketball games?!? Man get me off this planet.
Maybe they should be asking the guys who quit after two games why they aren’t participating in basketball games?!?
Is it quitting or clubs shutting them down?
Maybe you should be asking the teams why anyone serious in any profession wouldn’t benefit from more experience doing the thing they’re paid to do. Maybe you should be asking yourself why you accept such a low standard as a fan.
You misinterpreted the context of my og post. Read again. Slowly this time.
This guy is good but I can’t believe they passed up on a generational talent like Caleb Wilson
It will become more believable for you don’t worry.