It’s Summer League, and it’s Friday, so let’s not go overboard here.

But today was a fun watch despite the sloppy ending, and the Sixers are rolling an incredibly athletic squad in Vegas this year. Here are some things that jumped out to me from today’s Bucks win, starting with the first round draft pick:

Matisse Thybulle

Some good, some bad for the 1st round pick in his Summer League debut.

You saw those defensive instincts on a lot of plays, and right off the bat this possession jumped out to me, a quick close out and rotation to challenge what normally would be an open corner three pointer:

One of things we need to look for with Thybulle is how he handles ball screens and big bodies in his transition from college 2-3 zone defense to a man-to-man scheme.


Here he leaves his feet too easily and takes himself out of the play, after the jump:


That’s the thing with defense-first guys coming out of college; sometimes you can be a little overzealous, which can bite you in the rear end. You saw that at the end of the game when he fouled Daulton Hommes on the three pointer.

One more clip, this time showing off those Robert Covington-esque lane jumping instincts, with a poor decision on the other end:


Thybulle had a 2-6 shooting game, hitting 1-4 from deep. The one he did hit from three was a really smooth catch and shoot look, coming off the ole’ JJ Redick double-staggered screen.

Room to grow, for sure, but Matisse did some nice things in his debut.

Zhaire Smith

Some crazy athletic moments from him in this game on both ends of the floor. He had several dunks worth showing on here, but I’ll give you a defensive play instead:

Not the best pick and roll of all time, but really nice job by Zhaire to keep his feet, put the arms straight up, and slide with the ball-handler. He did not shoot a three today, but finished 5-8 from the floor with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, a steal, and a block.

Other notes:

  • The entire team did a good job getting out into transition early. Haywood Highsmith hit a nice run out pull-up three about midway through the first quarter, then Marial Shayok had a nice catch and shoot three a few minutes later.
  • Shake Milton had a couple of shots blocked. He’s not tall enough to shoot over guys, and I wonder if he’s quick enough to get some of his looks off at the NBA level.
  • Shake did, however, have some solid point guard moments. The alley oop he threw for Zhaire Smith right before halftime was a thing of beauty, and the Kyle Lowry/James Harden-esque foul he drew on the next possession was a savvy, veteran type of play.
  • Jalen Jones didn’t look interested in doing much else besides driving to the rack. He got himself to the line a bunch and hit 7-8 free throws.
  • Christ Koumadje looked much better offensively than defensively. Guys his size just do not move well enough to defend at the NBA level, and unfortunately he’ll be stretched into oblivion by good teams.
  • I like Marial Shayok’s quick release. He finished with a team-high 19 points on 7-13 shooting.
  • I always appreciate Norvel Pelle’s violent dunking tendencies.
  • They showed Brett Brown in the crowd; looks like he put on 10 pounds of muscle.
  • Nice to see Ariel Helwani on the broadcast, one of the best MMA writers/journos out there. Vince Carter was good, too.
  • That’s it. Less than 700 words. It’s Summer League y’all, have a nice weekend.