Waiters

[goodroc]

putting on a show tonight-- cannot be guarded going to the basket - has 13 points and atleast 5 assists almost half time--

not shooting well though

 

[Jake]

It would be nice if he'd actually guard someone. He's losing his man nearly every time down court.

 

[dasher]

It would be nice if he'd actually guard someone. He's losing his man nearly every time down court.

I heard he played a lot of zone in college.

 

[albanycuse]

Who plays defense in the nba? He will fit right in.

 

[mountaincuse]

Who plays defense in the nba? He will fit right in.

Exactly- let's see what he does in the fourth quarter

 

[Jake]

Getting posted up now.

 

[Solitude]

He is very lazy when he doesn't have the ball

 

[goodroc]

His body language sucks as well. But gets to rim at elite level. Passing very well too

 

[NineOneSeven]

Got owned by his man in the post. To be fair, his man was 6'6" 225.

 

[albanycuse]

Thank you FBI profilers.

 

[Melancer46]

He's looked AWFUL in the summer league. Has to be one of the most disappointing to watch so far considering where he was drafted.

 

[Orangezoo]

He's looked AWFUL in the summer league. Has to be one of the most disappointing to watch so far considering where he was drafted.

thats a bit strong of a statement.. wouldnt say awful.. he just needs to get back in shape.. it will take him time to adjust defensively

 

[SoBeCuse]

Got owned by his man in the post. To be fair, his man was 6'6" 225.

Yeah, PJ Tucker. Boy he was a diesel 6'6 at Texas. Looked pudgy now. Dion looked pretty good to me. Distributing well and the drives were pretty great. Hopefully he works on his shot. Sounded very mature in the post game interview with the NBA TV guys. On the Cavs website. That Calabro/Brent Barry combo is solid, imo.

 

[Gabjon]

Please listen to dion's interview...its Dion 101...funny stuff
Dion

 

[SoBeCuse]

He's looked AWFUL in the summer league. Has to be one of the most disappointing to watch so far considering where he was drafted.

He was good tonight. If he works on his shot, sheds a few lbs, and listens to BScott then he will be a terror along with Kyrie. Kendall Marshall looked stupid trying to guard him tonight.

 

[4evaOrange]

Final stat line?

 

[Melancer46]

thats a bit strong of a statement.. wouldnt say awful.. he just needs to get back in shape.. it will take him time to adjust defensively

Do you agree or disagree that he's looked like the biggest disappointment so far? I can't think of anyone else in the draft that's looked as bad as him.

I don't think he'll be a bad player in the NBA, but he's been that one guy every year that gets drafted and shows up out of shape, and on top of that, it looks like he doesn't really care whenever he doesn't have the ball, looks about as good as Steve Nash defensively, and his shot has been off in every game. He's been missing pretty horribly too.

 

[Melancer46]

Final stat line?

5/15, 0/1 from 3, 6/7 from the FT line, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers

 

[texascpa]

It's Summer League. It's not like he's fighting for a spot on the roster.

 

[Melancer46]

It's Summer League. It's not like he's fighting for a spot on the roster.

No, but the other rookies at least look like they give a damn/didn't show up flabby. It would be one thing if he was playing hard and just making some rookie mistakes, but he's half-assing it.

 

[4evaOrange]

5/15, 0/1 from 3, 6/7 from the FT line, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers

Thanks.

 

[Orangezoo]

honestly he hasnt been bad other than slow on d. he has been moving the ball well and within the flow.. he is just getting accustomed to the nba.. you can see him learning every game. he is far from a dissapointment even as the 4th pick.. you honestly are expecting 20 and 7 a game in his first summer league?

 

[Melancer46]

honestly he hasnt been bad other than slow on d. he has been moving the ball well and within the flow.. he is just getting accustomed to the nba.. you can see him learning every game. he is far from a dissapointment even as the 4th pick.. you honestly are expecting 20 and 7 a game in his first summer league?

I'm not saying he's going to be a disappointment. I'm saying so far, he's been probably the biggest disappointment in the summer league. There's a big difference between expecting 20 and 7 and expecting effort.

 

[kjb120]

I know he only had 2 assists but he was setting up his teammates all night. He got to the basket at will, like others have said his shot will come around, and when he's actually focused on defense he's been defending well. Also kendall Marshall looked terrible last night so that's one pick worse then Dion.

 

[moqui]

here is what Cavs beat reporter Michael Curry wrote after Dion's Game 2 performance:

- Yes, it is still only two meaningless Summer League games, but Dion Waiters has made just 7 of his 25 shots in those two games, most of them poorly-balanced jump shots from beyond 20 feet. Waiters took another 6 long jump shots last night, bringing his total to 14 of his 25 shots taken from long range. Waiters will never be a dangerous scorer if he relies on jump shots, and so far that is what he is settling for in Summer League.
- Waiters did do a better job of attacking the rim on Monday night, taking seven shots insider the paint compared to just three on Sunday night. The problem is that Waiters made only two of those shots, and one was an unchallenged fast break dunk. Right now the #4 overall pick can't score inside or out.
- The jump-shooting problem falls on bad mechanics and bad shot selection, but Waiters' troubles near the rim are just as problematic. He is starting his gather - the point where he picks up the ball and tries to power his way to the hoop - too far away from the basket. This leaves him having to use his momentum laterally just to get to the hoop, rather than using it to raise up above the defense for an easier finish at the rim. Waiters did show a little creativity in getting his shot up around the defense, but things would be much easier for him if he could penetrate deeper into the lane before picking the ball up for the shot.
- Which illustrates another problem: Waiters isn't showing the speed to get around the corner on his defender. This could be a matter of Waiters adjusting to the pace of the game and having the ball in his hands so much, but the lack of speed in Waiters' dribble game is a bit concerning. He does a good job of splitting defenders with the dribble, but hasn't been able to burst to the rim very often.
- Finally, Waiters' defense has been generally terrible in both games. He isn't sticking with his man, he is not hustling on close outs, and he is providing almost no help to his teammates. His effort level on the defensive end has not been there, and could be more evidence that his conditioning coming into Summer League was not NBA-ready. Coach Byron Scott talked about Waiters' conditioning after the game Monday night, and I think the coach's first priority is getting Waiters ready to run with the big boys come November.
- While that is a big list of problems with the performance of the Cavaliers' new shooting guard, it remains the results of two Summer League games. Waiters can and will improve. But that doesn't meant that his performance in these two games was remotely impressive, or even satisfactory. Of the players selected in the Top 10 in last month's draft (excluding #1 pick Anthony Davis who is playing with Team USA), Waiters is next-to-last in scoring at 10.5 points per game, ahead of only Andre Drummond (7.4 ppg). Michael Kidd-Gichrist (18 ppg), Bradley Beal (18.7 ppg), Thomas Robinson (14.3 ppg), Damian Lillard (25 ppg), Harrison Barnes (18 ppg), Terrance Ross (15.3 ppg) and Austin Rivers (14 ppg) are all averaging more points per game, as are #11 overall pick Meyers Leonard (14 ppg) and #12 overall pick Jeremy Lamb (20.3 ppg). I look forward to watching Dion Waiters get over this hump and progress the way the Cavs front office hopes, but he has a long way to go at the moment.

And this is what he wrote this morning:

Waiters finished with 16 points after coming off the bench due to what the announcing crew called a "uniform issue." It didn't seem to hurt his production, as this was Waiters' highest scoring game of the Summer.
Waiters' shot is broken. Waiters shot just 5-for-15 from the field, bringing his overall Summer League shooting up to a miserable 30%. He missed all four of his shots outside of the paint. Badly.
But Waiters is starting to make his shots inside the paint, converting on 5 of 11 attempts near the hoop. Anything short of 50% is mediocre, but it is progress after his 2-for-7 performance in the paint on Monday. Waiters attacked the basket much more effectively on Tuesday night, using quality spin moves to create space and get to the basket. Waiters got further into the lane before going up with the ball, and that helped redeem an otherwise poor performance.
Waiters did look more comfortable on Tuesday night. Summer League remains a growing experience for Waiters, and the game against the Suns could be the first productive step towards Waiters becoming the player the Cavs want him to be. Baby steps.