What to watch for in Summer League

Agbaji is one of several Jazz rotation hopefuls playing in this year’s Summer League. (Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune)

For the first time in three months, we were able to watch the Utah Jazz play basketball. Yeah, it was just the Summer League and I had to Google half the players that were on the court, but still, feels good to see those yellow highlighter jerseys on the court again! The atmosphere in the newly rechristened Delta Center was electric during the first game on Monday. When the Jazz made a late run to get the score within eight points, the crowd was just as loud and rowdy as any regular season game I’ve attended.

When watching the Summer League, the difficult part is figuring out what really matters. Does a players good or bad performance really mean much in the large scheme of things? Fans and media tend to overreact to a players performance without remembering that these players have really never played together on this team. Whether drafted or undrafted, Summer League practices start a week after the NBA Draft for players, and then the first game is only days afterwards. The players don’t have much of a history playing with one another, and they certainly don’t have an advanced understanding of the offense to run. With that in mind, it’s understandable that things don’t always look great. The hope would be that the team and it’s players will grow from game to game as they grow more comfortable together and learn their role.

As a reminder, some great players have had some real stinkers in the Summer League. Aaron Gordon, Karl-Anthony Towns, and maybe most notably Trae Young, who started his Summer League off by shooting 25 percent overall and just 18 percent from three. All had Summer League outtings that left fan bases wondering if they had bust on their hands. On the flip side, we’ve had players like Jahlil Okafor, back-to-back Summer League scoring champ Cam Thomas, and now Jazzman Kris Dunn (who averaged 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assist), who dominated the Summer League but never really found solid footing in the NBA. We all remember the Knicks’ excitement after seeing future superstar Kevin Knox II drop 21.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assist per game as a rookie in the Summer League…

So with that in mind, what should you really be watching for in these Utah Jazz Summer League games? 

In my opinion, there are five players on this Jazz summer roster that we are going to want to pay attention to, because they have a chance to have a real role in the upcoming season: Ochai Agbaji, Luka Samanic, and the three first-round rookies, Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh. We’ll go through each of them and determine what we should be looking to see from each of them.

Can Ochai Agbaji dominate?

If you have the ability to be a starter in the NBA as a second-year player, you should look like the best player on the court in the Summer League. Maybe that’s just my opinion, because like I mentioned, some really good players have looked poor in Summer League, but typically those performances have been from rookies, not sophomores. If you are a second- or third-year player and expect to have a solid role in the NBA, shouldn’t you clearly look comfortable and like one of the best players on the court in the Summer League setting? That is what I am wanting to see from Agbaji. 

Down the stretch of last season, Ochai really came into his own when given the chance to have a more consistent role. In the final 23 games, 21 in which he started, he averaged 13.7 points. In the first game of Summer League, he dropped 13 points in the first half, and along with Jalen(?) Williams of OKC, looked like the best player on the court.

At the break the @utahjazz trail the @okcthunder
59-43.

Strong half from Ochai Agbaji who has 13 points on 3-5 shooting from downtown.

Keyonte George has 5 points on 1-4 shooting and 3-6 from the free-throw line. #TakeNotepic.twitter.com/BDz4eWbzfd

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 4, 2023

When talking to reporters after the game, Ochai had this to say about his approach to the game:

“I feel like every single day when I’m going to practice I have something to prove, not so much to everyone else, but to myself. I’m just trying to get better and better myself as a player every single day.”

He struggled with his shot in the second half, and he finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds, on just 7-of-19 shooting. The numbers are what they are, but what we saw with the eye test is a player who is ready to contribute on the Jazz this next season. With the way the roster is currently set up, it will be interesting to see if he gets playing time as a starter or a reserve. As the Summer League moves forward, keep an eye on Ochai and how he handles being the first option. He hasn’t been asked to be a shot creator with the Jazz. Either for himself or for others. Look to see how comfortable he is in that role as he leads this Summer League roster.

Can Luka Samanic be a SF?

I keep seeing Jazz fans wishing and praying for the team to get Luka Doncic, but we already have a Luka on the team! I am a big fan of Luka Samanic in general, but I also wonder how he find minutes with the Jazz who are now loaded in the frontcourt. Between Walker Kessler, John Collins, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Kelly Olynyk, and Hendricks, where is he going to find playing time? So the question is how versatile is Samanic? At 6’10”, he has exclusively played the majority of his NBA minutes as a power forward, but do we think he can be similar to Markkanen and to play more on the wing as a small forward? That might be the key to him finding a role on this Jazz team. 

He only played seven games with the Jazz last season, but he was very impressive during that time. He averaged 10 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assist during 23 minutes a game, and he played 60% of his minutes with the team playing small forward, according to basketball-references play-by-play breakdown.

My major early summer league overreaction is that I would permanently put Luka Samanic in my rotation as Lauri Markkanen's primary small forward backup….I truly think he can play

— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) July 4, 2023

The Jazz have a lot of bigs and a lot of guards, but they are missing the in-between. I know Markkanen is capable of playing SF, but let’s be honest, it’s not his natural position. Which means we are left with Simone Fontecchio as being the only true SF on the roster. I’m not sure who I prefer more as our backup SF, but the 6’8″ Fontecchio will turn 28 early this next season, while the 6’10” Samanic will turn 24. 

If Samanic is capable of playing the SF position, then what to watch for is how comfortable he is both offensively and defensively on the wing. Offensively, is he a capable enough ball handler to not slow down the offensive when the ball is swung to him outside the arc? He only shot 26 percent from three in his short stint with the Jazz last season, but as a rookie with the Spurs he did shoot 37.5 persent, showing he is more than capable. With his height, he can shoot over shorter players trying to contest, or, he can post them up to take advantage of the size mismatch. If his ball handling can get good enough, he may be able to attack bigs off the dribble who aren’t as comfortable guarding on the perimeter. Defensively, the biggest question will be if he has the footspeed to stay in front of wings and guards on the perimeter.

If he can, then he and Fontecchio are going to have a fun pre-season battle to see who can lock up those backup small forward minutes for the Jazz next regular season.

How versatile is Taylor Hendricks?

Hendricks is going to step into the league and immediately be a rare player in the NBA. The term “3-and-D” was creating typically for wings and guards who were capable three-point shooters who could also play lockdown defense on the other side. In the history of the NBA though, we haven’t seen many 3-and-D big men. In fact, if you take Hendricks college numbers of blocking over 1.5 shots per game while also shooting over 39 percent from three on high volume in a single season, and you are left with just 9 players. Dirk Nowitzki, KAT, Kevin Durant, Donyell Marshall, Chris Webber, Serge Ibaka, the newly acquired Collins (that’s interesting), Jaren Jackson Jr., and Kristaps Porzingis. No player has acheived that in multiple seasons to-date.

One of the reasons I am high on Hendricks is because of his floor. I understand the desire to swing for the fences with some picks, but if you are selecting in the lottery, there is something to be said about a sure thing. Hendricks floor is a high-level, versatile defender, who will almost certainly be a solid spot up three-point shooter. That alone makes him an extremely valuable player. Just picture Jarred Vanderbilt with a reliable three-point shot, and you have essentially landed on Hendricks.

The question is can he be more than just a cutter and spot-up three-point shooter on offense? Early on as a rookie, I wouldn’t expect much more from him because it’s just not going to be asked from him. Especially with the other talented players on the Jazz roster. In the Summer League though? Prime opportunity to show the team if he is capable of doing more offensively with a higher usage. I want to see if he can create shot opportunities for himself off the dribble. He is an elite athlete, who should be able to to take advantage of other bigs trying to defend him on the wing. I think Hendricks has the ability to play small forward, power forward and center. Depending on the position he is asked to play, I’d love to see how he adapts his game to take advantage of his versatility. We haven’t been able to see him yet as he is recovering from a right hamstring strain, but he has been practicing and is only listed as day-to-day, which makes me believe he will at least be able to play in the Vegas Summer League. 

Can Keyonte George be more than a scorer?

George is the only rookie we have seen play so far, and he definitely had a tale of two halves. In the first half, he shot just 1 of 4 from the field and only 3 for 6 from the line. He also had 4 fouls, including 3 fouls in the first quarter alone. He was relatively quiet in the 3rd quarter, but then exploded in the 4th, scoring 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting, while also adding 2 assist and 2 steals. Somehow he finished the game as Utah’s leading scorer, tied for the team lead in assist, and added 3 steals. 

He is clearly an explosive athlete with a wide array of offensive scoring talent. He can create his own shot from anywhere on the court, and despite getting blocked a few times by Chet Holmgren, he continued to attack the basket. My favorite thing about Key (is that what we’re going to call him?), was his ability to overcome that slow start. He had a few similar games at Baylor, specifically one against Arkansas and Anthony Black that comes to mind. Key seems to have a knock for rising to the occassion in the fourth quarter and late in games, regardless of how the rest of the game has gone for him.

Keyonte George turned in a well-rounded effort in his summer league debut with 18 PTS (7/16 FG) to go with 5 REBS, 4 ASTS (1 TO) + 3 STLS in a team-high 31 MINS of action in a Jazz loss to the Thunder in Salt Lake City. Utah swiped the Baylor one-and-done 16th in the 2023 draft pic.twitter.com/mPZ1Ho7rMS

— DraftExpressContent (@DXContent) July 4, 2023

After the game, here is what he has to say about what he hopes to learn about himself and accomplish in Summer League:

“Just going out there and finding my niche. What’s my role today for the team? If my shot’s not falling, what else am I gonna do? Each and every day, learning what it takes to win in a pro setting.”

“If my shot’s not falling, what else am I gonna do?” That is exactly the question I have about Key, and what I think we need to watch for during the Summer League. While playing at Baylor, he was asked to play out of position, in my opinion. With two other guards smaller than him, at 6’4″ he was asked to play small forward and tacked on an additional 15 pounds to play that position. He ended up getting hurt, and the extra weight may have contributed to the injury and poorer play to close out his college season. 

“I was a little bit heavier. That’s no excuse at the end of the day, but you see the change, and now I feel great,” George said. “I definitely like it. I feel lighter, I’ll be able to cut faster, be faster downhill. Those are the main differences I see, but also being able to play above the rim, get higher now. The change in weight has been good for me.”

If Key is going to be asked to play more Point Guard, we need to know if he can run an offense as a fascilitator and creator for others, rather than just for himself. We know he is going to be able to score, but in college he had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. He finished with 95 turnovers to just 91 assist. Now, some of that may have been positioning. If he had been given the reigns as the point guard of Baylor, maybe he is in a position where he naturally creates more for others. During the Summer League, he should be the starting point guard for the Jazz. This will give us a great opportunity to see if he is capable of running an offense and creating shots for others. 

If this absolute dime to Samanic is any indication, then all signs point to yes.

Keyonte George with the DIME 👀

pic.twitter.com/uVs3drrxpB

— No Ceilings (@NoCeilingsNBA) July 4, 2023

Can Sensabaugh contribute on lower usage?

This should be a common question for many college players stepping into the NBA, and a big reason why a lot of high level scorers in college never make it. How do you transition from be the go-to guy at every level you have ever played basketball at, to being a role player?

Sensabaugh may be the best overall shooter in this years draft. What I mean by that, is he is not just a high-level three-point shooter, but the guys can shoot from anywhere on the court. He is not overly athletic, but he uses his size and strength to get to his spots on the floor and to create space to shoot. He averaged 16.3 points as a Freshman and shot 40.5 percent from three on 4.5 attempts per game, and he had a usage rate of 34 percent. As a Freshman!

If you watch the video above, you’ll see a lot of impressive off the dribble shot making, but those type of shots are not really common in the NBA unless you are a star who has been given the green light to take difficult shots like that. So the biggest question for Sensabaugh is going to be if he can transition from being “The Guy” who had the ultimate green light, to being a role player.

Sensabaugh is actually the type of player who historically has done extremely well in the Summer League, because the role they are asked to perform is more similar to what they were tasked with in college. That makes it much harder to evaluate him during these upcoming games. What I would look for is how he performs off the ball. Is he going to be consistently moving and cutting, or just standing around waiting to get the ball back so he can isolate and try and score one-on-one? If he does move around the perimeter and free himself up for open catch-and-shoot three-point opportunities, how well does he shoot on those shots verses his normal off-the-dribble shooting? In college, he made just over 45% of his catch-and-shoot attempts, but on low volume. Those are the attempts he is going to thrive off of early in the NBA. If he has a shot to make the rotation as a rookie with the Jazz, he has to move off-ball as a way to make himself available for open threes off of guard dribble penetration. 

With both Ochai and Key likely to be our lead ball-handlers and creaters throughout the Summer League, hopefully we get to see how Sensabaugh can adjust to that lower-usage role.