Чикаго Буллз багийн шинэ тоглогч Калеб Уилсон Лас Вегасын зуны лигт гайхалтай тоглолтоороо олон хүний эргэлзээг үгүй хийлээ.
Драфтын дөрөв дэх сонголтоор багтаа элссэн Калеб Уилсон зуны лигт өөрийгөө жинхэнэ од гэдгээ нотлов. Тэрээр Кэмерон Бүүзерийн эсрэг тоглолтод 35 оноо авч, өрсөлдөгчөө буулган авсан нь түүний ирээдүйтэй тоглогч болохыг харуулсан юм. Түүний эрч хүчтэй тоглолт болон хамгаалалтад үзүүлж буй гайхалтай хаалтууд нь мэргэжилтнүүдийн анхаарлыг татаж, Кэвин Гарнетт хүртэл түүнийг дэмжиж буйгаа илэрхийлжээ.
Уилсон зуны лигийн тоглолтуудад оролцох хүсэл эрмэлзэл дүүрэн байгаагаа илэрхийлж, бэртэл гэмтэлгүй л бол тоглолт бүрт оролцох болно гэдгээ мэдэгдсэн юм. Тэрээр өөрийгөө бусад шинэ тоглогчдоос ялгаатай нь сагсан бөмбөгийг чин сэтгэлээсээ хайрладаг хэмээн онцолсон байна. Чикаго Буллз түүнийг сонгосон нь зөв шийдвэр байсныг тэрээр талбай дээрх үйлдлээрээ баталсаар байна.
Нөгөөтэйгүүр, Лэйкерс болон Буллз багуудын тоглолтын үеэр Уилсон хэд хэдэн гайхалтай dunk болон хаалт хийсэн нь түүнийг ур чадварын өндөр түвшинд байгааг харууллаа. Ялангуяа бөмбөг таслалтын дараах хаалт нь түүний хурд, хүчийг илтгэж байв. Эдгээр гүйцэтгэл нь түүнийг зөвхөн довтлогч төдийгүй хамгаалалтын тал дээр ч шилдэг нь байж чадахаа харуулсан байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
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Mea culpa, Caleb
The No. 4 pick looks like a star
I want to make sure it’s clear. I wasn’t against Caleb Wilson at any point in the draft process. But I definitely didn’t take him as seriously as I should have. To the point that I questioned multiple times if Wilson should have been the No. 4 pick to the Chicago Bulls. I thought maybe they’d benefit more by grabbing one of the dynamic point guards from a loaded group.
With the show he’s put on at Las Vegas Summer League, Wilson has proved he’s one of those elite guys. There is no denying it now. The 6-foot-10 forward from North Carolina has been electric, including his 35-point effort against No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer in his opening Vegas matchup. As you dig deeper into who he is, what he’s about and how he’s played, it’s so clear that Wilson is an incredible competitor.
Kevin Garnett has already co-signed him and shown up to support Wilson. And while the numbers can be one thing in a summer league environment, it’s the energy that comes through like a punch in the face. (Sorry, Tyler Herro! Too soon.)
In yesterday’s showdown between the Summer Bulls and the Summer Lakers, Wilson had a couple of massive plays. This first one was him hanging back in transition, catching a pass and then dunking all over Cameron Carr, the 24th pick in the draft:
That probably wasn’t even the best highlight of this game. Wilson also had this massive block, after a turnover at half court. Adiou Thiero quickly took the ball the other way and went up for a shot at the rim. I have no idea if Thiero was going up for a dunk or a layup. Nobody knows. Because Wilson recovered so quickly and blocked the ball so hard out of Thiero’s hands that we never saw it get close to the rim.
I need you to hear the noise that happens on the block. That doesn’t sound like a normal blocked shot would. It sounded like he slapped multiple basketballs as hard as he could. Or maybe it was even like a pronounced glottal-stop type of noise.
Also, that dunk we saw above isn’t even his best dunk of the past week.
In a game against the Summer Jazz, he drove right past Matt Cleveland and threw one down, literally, against Jonas Aidoo.
Watch This: No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson posterizes defender
The Bulls were right to take Wilson at No. 4. Not that many people were doubting that. Some of us stragglers just needed to watch a bit more of him. Not to mention, when Wilson was asked about other star rookies like AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson sitting out some summer league games, he said this:
“I feel like I’m different than all of them. I can’t say they don’t enjoy basketball. But I enjoy basketball. I love this s—. I’m going to play as much as I can. As much as my team will let me. I’m not the type to go away from a game because I don’t feel like I feel good. As long as I don’t have an injury, I’m going to play every time. People come from all over the world to come see me play, so I don’t want to let them down too.”
Hell yeah, Caleb.
The last 24
🤔 Still nothing? LeBron James did a live pod with the NBA awaiting his decision. He … said nothing.
🔥 Heat rising? Miami introduced Giannis Antetokounmpo. And the Heat want to sign LeBron.
🔎 Another investigation. The Bucks announced the re-signing of Gary Trent Jr. And now the league is investigating it.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!)and catch out-of-market games onLeague Pass.
Silver speaks
The commish had some frustrating words
The NBA’s Board of Governors met in Las Vegas this past week with everybody convening for summer league. And whenever the BoG gets together, the NBA commissioner usually addresses the state of the league in a news conference. Adam Silver did just that on Tuesday, and I’d argue the biggest takeaways were mostly concerning or frustrating.
Let’s dive into three of the issues brought up:
The Clippers-Kawhi investigation
Remember the NBA’s investigation into alleged cap circumvention by the LA Clippers to get Kawhi Leonard some extra money? Well, that investigation is still ongoing. And the potential outcome of it could be so severe that it causes the league to rip up Leonard’s final season of his contract, worth $50 million.
That’s a big reason the Toronto Raptors and Clippers decided to pause their trade of Kawhi back to Canada in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and draft compensation. The Raptors don’t want to give up something for Leonard and then lose him due to a voided deal. Silver was asked about the timing of the investigation and had this frustrating answer.
“Yes, I would say this can be wrapped up — and needs to be wrapped up — before next season.”
Before next season?! This thing started in September. We have a trade on hold. We were told recently it would be done in the coming weeks. Yeah, I’d say this should be completed before next season.
The Blazers’ future in Portland
Ever since Tom Dundon purchased and took over the Trail Blazers, it’s been one circus show after another. His frugality has been well-documented, and his refusal to treat Blazers operations like an NBA team rather than an NHL one is concerning. Even more concerning is that Dundon doesn’t appear to be thrilled with having a team in Portland. Even though he … you know … purchased a team that’s resided in Portland since 1970.
There are some disputes about funding in Portland for arena renovations, with Dundon currently refusing to put any money in. This is what Silver said about the situation:
“What we are most focused on right now, in the league office, is the deal that we discussed when we were in Portland in March. I was hoping more progress would have been made by now on that agreement. It seems to have gone off track in various ways … but we’re working with both sides to ensure that the Trail Blazers can have a long-term future in Portland. But several open issues still need to be resolved.”
Yes, Silver works for the owners, but at some point you probably should protect one of the best fanbases in the NBA and assure them their team won’t be ripped from them. The NBA allowing the Blazers to move would be embarrassing for the league.
When will we know about expansion?
There appear to be a lot of groups — both reported or otherwise — interested in purchasing expansion teams. And the NBA is feeling good about being on track for a decision and vote happening by the end of 2026. Hopefully, we get Seattle to bring back the Sonics and Las Vegas to further that sports city
Potato, potato
What’s the best way to eat a spud?
We were on a monthly call the other day to organize some of the plans around The Bounce for the rest of the offseason. At one point, one of our editors mentioned a discussion about the best form of potatoes. Immediately, I stopped paying attention to the rest of the call. My brain was locked into this, and frankly, I may have missed some important planning for this space.
When the conversation came back to me, I didn’t know what was asked of me. I just know I had my answer. I’m going to give my ranking, and then we’re going to have you vote for your top answer in a poll. Participation is highly encouraged.
10. Shoestring fries: Probably the most garbage way to consume a potato. If this is on your menu, you hate your customers and you hate money. It’s probably a drug front.
9. Baked potato: Don’t hit me with a twice-baked potato either. Grow up.
8. Au gratin/scalloped: I thought these would be higher, but they just kept getting knocked down. Yes, one is cheesy, and the other is buttery/creamy. I’m lumping them together to keep us at 10.
7. Pierogies: It’s a potato pocket! Sometimes filled with other forms of potatoes not yet mentioned on this list. The “Pimp My Ride” of potato delivery systems.
6. Nearly all other fries: We’re lumping in regular fries, curly fries and waffle fries here. We’re not including sweet potato fries. That’s a whole other category. But one style of fries will be ranked above this.
5. Latkes: It’s a potato pancake. A delicious potato pancake.
4. Mashed: Sometimes, I’m a traditionalist. I once tried to recreate the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain on a Thanksgiving plate with mashed potatoes, gravy and other stuff.
3. Crinkle-cut fries: It’s the best fry, and I will not argue this with you.
2. Tater tots: In many places, you can get rid of fries, exchange them with tots and you’re going to have a better side. You can even replace a lot of nacho concepts with tots.
1. Hash browns: You’re not doing better than a shredded hash brown anywhere. You can load them up with toppings. You can have them by themselves. You can make them into any form or shape. This is the most elite form of the potato.
We’ll keep it simple for the poll, though. What is your favorite form of potatoes? Sound off in the comments.
