Jul 18, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Tony Snell is greeted back to the Chicago bench by assistant coach Adrian Griffinn during an NBA Summer League game against the Miami Heat at Cox Pavillion. The Heat won the game 68-62. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
(Editor’s Note: Friend of the site Brian Schroeder is in Las Vegas this week for the Las Vegas Summer League and has been kind enough to contribute his thoughts on the Chicago Bulls squad in Vegas.)
The Chicago Bulls finished up Las Vegas Summer League action with a 94-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The defense was again bad, but the Bulls were delivered to victory without their two best players so far on the wings of their new wing defender, Tony Snell, and a return to form from Andrew Goudelock.
Andrew Goudelock: B (22, 5, 2, 8-15, 2-3)
Goudelock was night and day compared to last night’s performance. Given the point guard reigns since Marquis Teague was inactive, Goudelock dominated the ball but only took 15 shots, most of them in the paint. He connected on two of his three attempts from deep, and generally ran the offense well, even if that offense was primarily through himself. If you shoot 8-15 from the field, you can shoot as much as you want.
Tony Snell: B+ (20, 7, 3, 6-13, 5-8)
Snell showed the same game he did last night, just with more aggressiveness, which translated to more opportunities to score, which he generally capitalized on. He was lethal from outside, even converting a four point play after a defender gambled that his arms weren’t as long as they seem. He was mistaken. There’s nothing Tony Snell does on a basketball court in Summer League that won’t look better when it’s in the NBA and he has better teammates.
Andy Rautins: D (1, 4, 2, 0-8, 0-5)
Andy Rautins is known as a shooter. He did not shoot well tonight. Like with Goudelock last night, he just didn’t have it. He moved the ball well and did everything else he was supposed to, it just didn’t translate. He still played pretty well here, though, and a camp invite wouldn’t be a shock.
Erik Murphy: B+ (19, 13, 2, 7-10, 3-5)
For whatever reason, be it a bigger opportunity, playing his actual position, or being guarded by Christian Watford, Murphy was a bit of a force tonight, scoring inside and out and grabbing a lot more rebounds than he seemed he might have. Many of these were loose balls on the floor, but you have to get them somehow. He shot very well tonight, too, and generally seemed a lot more like an NBA player.
Deon Thompson: B- (14, 9, 1, 7-11, 0-0)
Deon Thompson is probably not big enough or a good enough athlete to be an NBA player, but he knows what he’s doing. Positioning himself under every rebound and boxing out everyone he was matched up against, he again acquitted himself well on this stage. He was a role player at North Carolina, and he’s a role player as a pro, but no one can say he doesn’t know what that role is and doesn’t fulfill it to the best of his ability.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning: C+ (9, 3, 0, 3-5, 0-0)
For a sequence in the fourth quarter, Bryan-Amaning completely dominated the game. He blocked a shot, dunked two or three times, and looked like the only guy in the gym who had anything left. Granted, this was in the waning minutes of the last quarter of an especially meaningless Summer League game against guys who had barely played to that point, but it was impressive nonetheless.
Matt Janning: C- (5, 1, 2, 2-5, 1-3)
Janning looked like he’s always looked on Friday night: adequate, intelligent, and neither fast enough of strong enough to have much of an impact in this league. That being said, he helped calm down the Bulls’ bench unit a few times by just making a simple pass or calling out a rotation, and for that, he’s alright in my book.
Kyle Gibson: D+ (2, 1, 0, 1-3, 0-0)
This grade does not feel entirely fair since Gibson played only a few scant minutes in tonight’s game. I could have just called it incomplete, but I felt like he tried hard enough to warrant at least some sort of mention.
Ryan Allen: C- (0, 1, 3, 0-1, 0-0)
Allen similarly played few minutes, but did a little more with his, with a few very nice passes directly to open players, who finished, giving him three assists, a titanic amount for a summer league in which he barely played.
Charles Boozer: D+ (0, 2, 1, 0-1, 0-1)
Charles Boozer was aggressive, confident, and not all that effective, three hallmarks of the Boozer name he seems proud to uphold. That being said, he too barely played, and snagged a couple defensive rebounds he didn’t need to get, while also going after a great many offensive rebounds he could never have gotten, another Boozer trademark.
Champ Oguchi: D (2, 0, 0, 1-4, 0-3)
See Gibson, Kyle. I consider myself a fan of Champ, so I was glad to see him get some burn in Vegas, even if he shot a little hastily. Have to make an impact somehow, I suppose.