Howls And Growls: Summer League Game Three And Four
The Summer Wolves continue their Vegas trip.
It’s hot in Las Vegas, and that goes for the nightlife, the networking, and, of course, the weather. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go for the Minnesota Timberwolves Summer League outfit. Wins are hardly topping the priority list for the coaching staff and organizational leaders, but it’s hard graft for both the paltry talent littering the periphery of the Summer Wolves roster and those of us following along at home.
After two more falters, the team now sits with a single win and three losses. Fortunately, among all the muck and grime and stinky bits that come make up the bulk of the tournament, there have been some glimmers to analyze.
Howl: Miller Time 3.0
Leonard Miller remains a fun follow. There isn’t much more to say about him other than that right now. In his third unofficially official Wolves appearance, he kept doing that fun shit. Game three was just … more fun, with his 18-point, 6-rebound, 2-assist and 3-block performance continuing to exemplify his multifaceted skillset.
He motors around like he is desperate to impact every possession, he finds himself in every quadrant of the floor throughout the night and has an offensive move to go to from each of them, and he flashes something different each time he steps on the floor.
And he still does freaky shit.
The kid still has plenty of growth areas. His jumper is going in at a respectable rate, which is all that matters at the end of the day, but it looks like a frog in a blender and that is a worry. He was exceptional as a rotation defender at the rim in the Atlanta game, too, but he has some serious learning to do as a perimeter and overall team defender.
Still, three of his Summer League outings have ended with his stock on the rise.
Growl: Miller Time 4.0
Unfortunately, the Miller train couldn’t keep chugging along at breakneck pace forever. Perhaps it was because back-to-backs in a Summer League tournament are dumb as fuck or perhaps the big man was always due for a down game, but Miller mostly laid eggs in game four against Sacramento’s Summer Kings.
After playing just 22 minutes in a game that teetered on the precipice of a blowout loss for most of the evening, Miller finished with just 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting to go along with three turnovers compared to just a single assist. Additionally, he looked sluggish defensively and drained of energy compared to his past three outings.
That’ll happen throughout his rookie year, be it in the G-League or with the big boys. He is still so raw and he hasn’t quite found his niche. Miller does a lot of things in a really intriguing way, but as with any other young player he needs to nail down what his specialty is.
He did still suck in 11 rebounds, a testament to his intrinsic ability to find pockets around the rim to snatch boards from, and he still did the freaky shit — the stuff that players his size rarely do. That seems to be a constant with him.
Miller is fun. Fun and freaky. But ultimately still learning and certainly not immune to stumbles no matter the competition level.
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