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(Photo Credit: nba.si.com)

Record: 1-1

Game 1 vs. San Antonio Spurs: L, 69-68

Game 2 vs. Dallas Mavericks: W, 86-80

Grading the Players (who matter)

Michael Kidd Gilchrist:

Vs. Spurs: 12pts, 4reb, 2ast, 6-12 FGM-A, 0-2 3PM-A

Vs. Mavericks: 11pts, 3reb, 1ast, 4-4 FGM-A

With one year in the pros under his belt, MKG was expected to come into the summer league and be a man amongst boys.  He hasn’t exactly dominated like many Bobcats fans were hoping he would, but he’s still been pretty good so far.  He’s continuing to play with a lot of energy and playing very good defense.  Today against the Mavericks he had a sick block in transition then went down on the other end of the floor and hit a jumper from about 20 feet.  That was easily his best stretch so far in summer league action.  What MKG is really working on right now is his outside jumpshot.  Through two games it still looks ugly but I do believe he’s getting it off quicker.  He made two attempts from the outside against San Antonio and made both his attempts from the outside today against Dallas so the shot is showing flashes.  For someone who works as hard as MKG it should only continue to improve from here on out.

Player Grade: B-

Jeff Taylor:

Vs. Spurs: 24pts, 2reb, 0ast, 9-17 FGM-A, 2-5 3PM-A

Vs. Mavericks: 19pts, 5reb, 1ast, 6-13 FGM-A, 2-5 3PM-A

Jeff Taylor is another player who’s already played one year in the league, so he too was expected to be one of the better players in the summer league.  So far he’s been that and then some.  Jeff Taylor has without a doubt been Charlotte’s best player so far.  He carried the team vs. the Spurs and hit a clutch three pointer to give Charlotte the lead with 12 seconds in the first game, only to watch one of his teammates give up an easy basket on the other end to lose the game.  He just seems so much more polished then the rest, but he should be.  Keep in mind he played four years of college ball, so he’s 24.  Taylor is showing signs that the Bobcats really got a steal when they selected him in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft.

Player Grade: A

Bismack Biyombo:

Vs. Spurs: 3pts, 11reb, 1ast, 2blks, 1-3 FGM-A

Vs. Mavericks: 8pts, 7reb, 0ast, 1blk, 2-3 FGM-A

Oh, Bizz.  It’s hard not to be rooting for Biyombo.  He’s a gym rat who has an awesome personality and seems to be a lockerroom favorite.  He’s also still very much a project and it continues to show.  I tweeted this earlier, and I’m going to say it again.  Biyombo has the worst hands I’ve ever seen.  He simply can’t hold onto the ball, he turned it over four times against the Mavericks today.  He still looks good on D, he’s blocked a few shots and he’s snagging rebounds but he’s so weak offensively.  He did hit a nice hook shot in the game against the Spurs and looked better offensively in the second half today against the Mavs, but I’m still starting to get concerned about him.  He’s only 20, but I was really hoping he would have “improved” more than this by now.

Player Grade: C-

Cody Zeller:

Vs. Spurs: 8pts, 5reb, 2ast, 1blk, 4-9 FGM-A

Vs. Mavericks: 21pts, 13reb, 1ast, 6-12 FGM-A

Charlotte drafted Cody Zeller to be a stretch four.  When he air balled his first two jump shots against the Spurs I think we all began to shake our heads a little bit.  After the rough start he began to show some flashes though and ended up having a decent outing.  Today against the Mavericks he absolutely dominated and was the best player on the floor.  It was beautiful.  Zeller was scoring from everywhere on the floor.  He was knocking down outside jumpers, and taking it the hoop.  A man of his size simply should not be as athletic as he is.  He was great on drives today and drew fouls, where he proceeded to go 9-9 from the charity stripe.  He also snagged 13 rebounds.  I can’t get over how well he moves off the ball, both offensively and defensively.  It’s really early, and I don’t want to overreact, but we could have a special talent on our hands.

Player Grade: A-

What’s been Bad:

  • PG Play: PG play was one of the main reasons Charlotte lost the Spurs game, this team seriously misses Kemba.  Jerome Dyson jacked up way too many unnecessary shots and Cody Zeller didn’t get near enough touches.  PG play was better today against the Mavs.  Dyson didn’t take as many bad shots and Brandon Triche also did some nice things.  Hopefully it continues to improve so Charlotte can have a shot to win the whole Summer League.
  • Free Throw Shooting: this was the main reason the Bobcats lost to the Spurs.  The Bobcats shot an atrocious 8-18 (44.8%) from the charity stripe in this one.  It wasn’t much better against the Mavericks either 26-39 (66.7%).  There’s no excuse in this, it has to come up.
  • Three Point Shooting: Jeff Taylor has been Charlotte’s only consistent threat from beyond the arch, and he’s only 4-10 there through both games.  Troy Daniels has been a disappoint so far, as he only shot 1-3 on three pointers in both games.  The Bobcats shot 4-16 (25%) from downtown against the Spurs and 4-11 (36.4%) today against the Mavericks.