Summer League Notes:

• Lakers: Bynum has added some muscle and can block a shot or two. He still has trouble with post defense and needs to work on his post moves on offense. Bynum’s final line: 12 points (3-7 FG, 6-9 FT), 5 rebounds 2 blocks. Farmar’s debut was as expected. He defended well and got his hands on many balls. On the offensive end, he finished well and found teammates for easy buckets. He still needs to work on his outside shot; by the end of the game, Memphis was laying off of him, daring him to shoot. Farmar’s final line: 17 points (5-6 2pt, 0-3 3pt, 7-9 ft), 2 steals, 3 assists, 0 TO. Danillo “Don’t call me J.R.” Pinnock was a pleasant surprise. Drafted as a defensive stopper, he didn’t disappoint, yet also showed a variety of offensive moves and nice range on his jumper. He finished with 16 on 6 of shooting including hitting both 3-point shots he attempted. Von Wafer showed nothing. Devin Green showed some good defense, but not too much else.
• Washington: Andray Blatche, a 2^nd round pick in 2005 is a player. He came out of high school and played sparingly in the NBDL last year after getting shot, but has shined this summer showing a diverse array of skills for a big man: good shooting range and ball-handling, tenacious rebounding and the knack for blocking shots. Complementing Blatche has been this year’s 1^st round pick the "Big Oily" Oleksiy Pecherov, who has shown good range, rebounding and court awareness. If Washington can get production from these two big men, Agent 0 will be a happy man.
  
• New York: David Lee has been solid thus far, providing a lot of great energy. Channing Frye went down with an ankle injury; his status for the rest of summer is unkown. Balkman hasn’t been embarrassing yet, ok defense, a so-so finisher. Isiah’s other draft pick, Mardy Collins airballed a free throw. That’s not so good.
• Houston: Novak continues to impress hitting shots from all over the court. His 6’ 10” height really helps him to shoot over smaller players. Don’t be surprised to see John Lucas contribute to the Rockets this season. He’s been solidly spectacular throughout his first three games.
• Phoenix: Amare is healthy and it really isn’t fair for him to playing in these games.
• Golden State: Patrick O’Bryant is clueless.
• Clippers: Livingston has been surprisingly inconsistent. Ewing, NDong and Singleton have all looked real good. Singleton put in a strong effort vs. Golden State with the elusive triple-double: 21 points, 12 rebounds and….10 fouls. Bravo James. Korolev has added a lot of muscle and has showed glimpses of tremendous talent, but still will need some seasoning.
• Boston: Ryan Gomes has shown a plethora of offensive moves, scoring from the post, on drives and pull-ups. Al Jefferson has shown very little. Perhaps more players could use 4 years of college. Telfair and Rondo has nice debuts and played as a tandem for a part of the game. With Rondo in the game, Telfair played more off the ball, but showed scoring ability from anywhere on court. When Rondo and Telfair initiated fast-breaks, Gerald Green finished in high-flying style. When the game was more half-court based, Green had very little impact.
• Dallas: Maurice Ager is solid. He will never be a star, but will be an effective bench player in the league, possibly a starter a few years down the line. It’s looking more and more that Podkolzine never will be more than tall.
  
• Portland: Brandon Roy will be in this league for 10 years easily and will make at least 2 all-star games. He just knows the game and can contribute in every facet. Aldridge, as in college, has been inconsistent showing flashes of a face-up offensive game and solid rebounding, while other times, simply wandering around.
• Sacramento: Goodbye Bonzi, Kevin Martin is the new starting SG. He’s simply outclassing the competition with his superior athleticism and is able to get any shot he wants. Against Toronto, he got to the line 24 times. Quincy “Smoke a” Douby looks like he can come in and fill Bobby Jackson’s old role of instant offense off the bench. Louis Amundson became the first undrafted player this offseason to sign a guaranteed contract. He has very little offensive game, but hits the glass hard, defends adequately and hustles harder than anyone on the court. Yes ladies and gentleman, beware, Sacramento seems to have found their very own Mark Madsen.
• Toronto: Bargnani continues to show good scoring touch, but couldn’t find a rebound if it was handed to him. To be fair, he might have just been afraid someone was going to headbutt him. The “Big Meatball's” 10 fouls vs. Sacramento tied for the lead thus far.
• Denver: Look for John Gilchrist to get a contract. His play has been steady and exceeds anyone else on the Denver squad.