My piece about my relationship with MLB is coming on Sunday, but a few brief notes on the Cavs summer league, which wrapped up today.
*Tarence Kinsey, who I’ve been rooting for given his production in limited minutes last year and ability to move without the ball - which can be very helpful in a LeBron-centric offense - did not play particularly well. In 121 minutes, he had no assists, shot 39.5% from the field and 20% from three. Reports sugget he was hogging the ball - and the fact that he went to the line 18 times in the game against Dallas would seem to support that. He also led the team in turnovers with 15.
*Darnell Jackson played 145 minutes, mostly out of position at the 5, but shot only 38.5% which is just awful for a big man. He also only had 27 rebounds - .19 per minute and 5.4 per game. He led the Cavs in rebounds per game, but really, 5.4 is not getting it done.
*Danny Green didn’t shoot very well either in 20.4 minutes per game - 36.4% from two and 29.4% from three - although he was perfect from the line (12-12). 2.6 rebounds per game, .6 assists, .2 steals, 2.2 turnovers…I wouldn’t normally use per game stats, but you get the idea, pretty bad.
*Christian Eyenga and Jawad Williams shot the ball better than anyone else at 47.2% and 47.9% respectively. Eyenga’s number is particularly impressive given his background, i.e. not speaking English and playing in Spain on essentially a JV team. He did however go 0-4 from three and only shot 67% from the line. Rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks were all marginal (2.4 - .4 - .4 - .2) with 1.8 turnovers per game. Still, Cavs should feel pretty good about his performance.
*Jawad, meanwhile, was the best Cavs player on the floor - he also shot a crazy 50% from three on 8-16, averaged 5 rebounds per game, 1 assist, 1.2 steals, .2 blocks and 1.6 turnovers. At the same time, he played 23.8 minutes per game - fifth highest on the team. So, good productivity from Williams.
Having said all that, ultimately, none of this really means jack shit.
Aren’t you glad you just read these notes?
Playing well in summer league isn’t meaningless, but there’s no evidence to suggest productivity displayed here carries over into the regular season. If you’ve read other articles on this site, you know why - 5 games doesn’t prove anything.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out with some of these guys heading into the season as neither Jackson, Williams, Green, nor Kinsey have guaranteed contracts (Green doesn’t have anything at all). Eyenga could go back to Europe, although there are at least some signs that he may be playing his way on to the 15 man roster. Cavs coaches were impressed with how quickly he learned and how gifted athletically he is - both traits that could make him impactful on the defensive end. And if he’s learning fast and he doesn’t speak English, well, it’s hard to be mad about that.
Drink something alcoholic tonight if you’re over the age of 21. I’ll be back Sunday.
