More player-by-player analysis of Detroit Pistons Summer League opener

Patrick Hayes already analyzed the Pistons’ 89-84 Summer League win over the Lakers, but I’m going to provide my two cents, too. For the most part, we agree, but there are a few thing I saw differently.

Terrico White

Terrico White had a nice, sharp pass early, but Marquez Haynes played a lot of point guard with White at off-guard.
His court vision has room to improve. During one drive, he missed Monroe for an easy drop-off, and Monroe was pretty obviously open.
He was extremely rattled when the Lakers showed on pick and rolls.
His defensive awareness wasn’t great, but his athleticism helped him make some really nice plays on that end.
He had a smooth jumper – both off the dribble and on catch and shoots.

Austin Daye had an unnecessary one-handed rebound early, but rebounded well later.
Daye grabbed one rebound, Derrick Caracter hip-checked him. Daye was barely phased. Those extra 10 pounds are paying off.
He was soft with help defense on inside drivers.
He’s still too slow to play opponents tight on the perimeter, which gives them room to take jumpers. It’s not as big a deal in Las Vegas, but NBA players will take the easy jumper consistently, especially if he’s playing guard. On the plus side of that, with his long arms and unconventional positioning, Daye deflects passes most players aren’t in position to.
He’s more comfortable scoring on the move than spotting up. That appeared to be the case during last season, too. Although, he hit two 3-pointers standing still, including one while he was fouled.

DaJuan Summers scored 15 points, but he didn’t overly impress me.
A couple questionable calls sent him to the line.
He scores in a variety of ways, and many teams are looking for specialists in the Summer League who can do one thing well. Maybe Summers is adept at adjusting his game for whoever is guarding him. That doesn’t fly in the NBA, where more players can do many things.
His shooting stroke, especially behind the arc, was excellent.

Jonas Jerebko didn’t seem like he cared too much about this game until late. I’m not going to beat him up about it. He was – by far – the most accomplished player in the game.
He had weak defense in the post, missed a couple of box outs and was careless with the ball. Again, I’m not really concerned.
He looked smarter on offense, using the rim to avoid a defender and get a shot off inside.

Greg Monroe really looked winded in the fourth quarter. He has a long way to go before he can play starter’s minutes in the NBA.
He has nice touch in the post. His turnaround was sweet, and although he missed the one hook shot I saw him take, that looked good, too.
His jumpers while facing were his worst-looking shots, but they weren’t that bad.
He was flat-footed on defense at times.
He rebounded in traffic fairly well.
He charged while leading a fastbreak. He moves well, but he still seems best-suited for the half-court.
He also set most blatant illegal screen I’ve ever seen.

I was pretty impressed with how Marquez Haynes balanced shooting and distributing while playing point guard. He’s still a long shot to make the team, though.
Mike Abdenour is awesome.