Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
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1. Jazz starters outworked by Suns starters
The biggest example of this is the 14 rebounds that Alex Len picked up in just under 23 minutes. Part of that success was Len's size: the Jazz don't have a traditional center on this summer league roster, and so they're not well-equipped to deal with real 7-footers.
But another real part of it was the effort thing again. Without a center, the onus is on the guards to gang-rebound to secure the ball for their team. Jazz guards didn't do that.
The result was 12 more field goal attempts and a 26-8 advantage for the Suns in second-chance points, an advantage that explains the entirety of the Jazz's loss.
Look, that's not that worrying for the regular season; no one thinks that the summer league lack of effort will translate to the actual year. But Trey Lyles, in particular, really should work on establishing position early when on defense: right now, he's getting beaten to too many rebounds.
2. Alex Jensen leaves summer league
Alex Jensen is leaving the Vegas summer league for the German national team, having been selected as an assistant to that squad as it prepares for the FIBA Eurobasket Tournament as it fights for a spot in the 2016 Olympics.
Jensen's been a head coach before, at the D-League level, but he was still grateful for the chance to be the head coach for the Jazz's summer league roster. He remarked multiple times on the difference between being an assistant and head coach during this process, but I thought the most notable thing he said was this:
"It's easy to identify the problems, that's not the hard thing," Jensen said. "But to have suggestions to go on and make a decision to choose that or not to choose that, that's harder."
That's something to keep in mind. The Jazz's problems last year were readily identifiable: a lack of shooting and an excess of turnovers are two large ones. But what's to be done to fix them? Replacing Dante Exum isn't a good idea after just one year, and the Jazz have good production on the defensive end from every member of their preferred starting 5. Finding a solution that also doesn't cause problems is difficult.
Mike Wells will take over for the rest of summer league as coach.
3. Dennis Lindsey's thoughts on Tibor Pleiss and Raul Neto
Dennis Lindsey addressed the media Tuesday about his two most recent signings: Tibor Pleiss and Raul Neto. Both are somewhat international men of mystery for Jazz fans who don't spend time watching the ACB, and so Lindsey wanted to give a scouting report for both players.
About Pleiss, "He's big. He's big and can shoot the ball. He's an excellent finisher around the rim," Lindsey said. "Fans will relate to him really well. Like Rudy, his care factor is really high. He plays naturally hard."
Lindsey said he has much work to do on the defensive end, though. "Tibor's going to be a presence. Will he ever be a shot blocker like Rudy or Derrick, that's of argument." Still, Pleiss' standing reach approximates that of Rudy Gobert, and so they think he can make a difference in the paint, if not a shot-blocking one.
Lindsey compared Pleiss' pick and roll game to that of former Spurs, now Hawks, big man Tiago Splitter. If Pleiss can have an impact like Splitter's, they'll be extremely happy with the signing.
Pleiss also apparently has a excellent jump shot, though he didn't display it hardly at all at Barcelona. Pleiss made 66 of 90 3-point shots in a workout last week in Salt Lake City, according to Lindsey. The Jazz want to give him that green light.
With regards to Raul Neto, Lindsey said, "What he'll bring to us is that Raul has very good quickness and speed. He's electric with the ball in his hands. His first and second inclination is to pass the ball, and so we can imagine him getting his teammates open layups and open threes."
Neto shot just 20 percent of his 3-pointers last year in the ACB, but Lindsey says "there's nothing technically wrong with his shooting," just a matter of repetition and training with his shot."
About Neto's defense, Lindsey said, "While his stature is not the best by NBA standards, he's got a very good build. So we think he'll be able to physically handle the matchups and defend the position the way we want it defended."
We'll see. It's unfortunate summer league isn't a little bit later on in the NBA schedule, as the first time Jazz fans will be able to see these new additions play is in preseason.
