We’ll get our first glimpse of the new Clippers tonight as the Summer League squad takes on the Washington Wizards in Las Vegas tonight at 7p PT. Let’s take a look at some of the storylines going into tonight’s game.
Big Debuts
Four Clippers will make their pro debuts tonight — Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe, Willie Warren, and after seven years of anticipation, Sofoklis Schortsanitis. Although it’s expected for the three youngsters to be up and down with their play, Big Sofo should come in and dominate right away. With that size and the experience playing at such a high level overseas, Sofo should make a joke out of the Summer League competition, provided he gets the touches and the minutes.
Who can make this team?
There’s two guys to really keep an eye on this Summer.
Last year’s unexpected star of the Summer Nik Caner-Medley is back looking to prove that his performance wasn’t a fluke. Clippers management likes the athletic forward, and there looks like there may be a spot for a third small forward on the roster.
Jeremy Richardson out of Delta State will likely give him a run for his money however. The guys at Ridiculousupside.com cover the D-League nearly exclusively, and they’ve given Richardson their stamp of approval. Richardson is a big time scorer who can buckets from anywhere on the court, but if we’re following the trend, it’s his proficient outside shooting that will matter most to General Manager Neil Olshey.
Two matchups to watch:
John Wall vs Eric Bledsoe (Mon, 7p PT): Want to show you’re a capable on-ball defender? How about staying in front of the lightning fast John Wall in a Summer League setting that’s sure to see lots of run and gun play? That’s the task Eric Bledsoe will be charged with, and we’ll see if his familiarity with Wall will help him out. Bledsoe projects as a Ty Lawson type scorer off the bench, but it will be his defense that will be under the microscope tonight.
DeAndre Jordan vs Javale McGee (Mon, 7pPT): Jordan and McGee are scary similar. Both are big time athletes with insane amounts of potential, but both are still projects. If DeAndre dominates guys like Paul Davis this Summer, it’s not a big deal. But if he can get the better of a guy who can match him step-for-step in raw ability like McGee can? Then we’re talking.
We’ll have plenty of analysis after tonight’s game here on Clipperblog, but make sure to add a couple of accounts to your twitter feed for little updates throughout the rest of Summer League: @Clipperblog, @kevinarnovitz and @fosterdj.
