Summer League In-Review + A FIBA sicko's guide to the Olympics Men's Basketball Tournament
Erik talks about what we saw from Donovan Clingan, what we didn't see from Scoot Henderson and what may come when the Olympic Men's Basketball tournament begins in Paris.
Donovan Clingan was as advertised in the Las Vegas Summer League. Scoot Henderson was noticeably absent. Kris Murray showed flashes of improvement but far too many stretches of blending in with the crowd. And those were just a couple of the takeaways from watching the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League.
While I did watch a few games of the Utah Summer League and a few non-Blazers games, my Summer League enthusiasm waned quickly as it was up against WNBA games, Olympic Basketball Qualifiers (which we will get to later) and also other forms of entertainment like movies, the occasional baseball game, scrolling, doing my Duolingo, you get it. Summer League isn’t exactly appointment viewing, but it is worthwhile enough that it convinced ESPN to ditch the World Series of Poker last decade for the Vegas Summer League.
How about that for a tagline? NBA SUMMER LEAGUE: BETTER TV THAN POKER.
Anyway, I did have some FOMO about not making it to Vegas for Summer League, for it is one of my favorite places to be, surrounded by the fellow NBA-sickos who just know what the hell you’re saying when you’re talking about how much you think Corey Kispert could be a guy on a good team.
But enough about that, let’s talk Blazers.
CLING KONG
Donovan Clingan was absolutely dominant, with his SL record 4.3 blocks per game not telling the full story of his impact. There were countless times when would-be scorers pump-faked or passed up on shots just because Clingan was in the vicinity. He is truly a gifted rim protector and while the real games need to be played, some of the stuff that showed up in Summer League make me believe he will be a monster when the games count and the checks get paid. He also had timely blocks on 3-point shots in 2 of the 4 games he played in when switched onto quicker smaller guards in Jared McCain and Bub Carrington.
In addition to scaring offensive players in a Gobert-type fashion, Clingan showed excellent passing ability from the perimeter to set up everyone on a team where good guard play was hard to come by. Recent two-way contract signee Bryce McGowans looked like Portland’s best guard for the duration of their stay.
With Clingan showing he could set up guys that aren’t on the same level as his regular squad teammates, it should give Chauncey Billups more options to run offense through Clingan and encourage his team to move more off the ball. The way Clingan uses his height to deny chances defensively and also create them with his screening and passing were on display, which is ultimately a W for Cronin and Co.
Scoot not playing was a bummer
You know what wasn’t a W? Scoot Henderson not playing in Summer League! We still don’t really know why he didn’t play, but when you see Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez and basically every other rookie playing, excluding Wemby, it becomes even more confusing why Portland didn’t suit him up for any games this summer.
Rupert showed some flashes as he does but also didn’t stand out consistently. In addition to McGowens, Kennedy Chandler probably was Portland’s 2nd best guard in Vegas. All of those are more reasons why it was a bummer not to watch Scoot.
Scoot finished the regular season on a high-note and it was good to see that. He also got hurt last Summer League and maybe that was why he didn’t play. But that could happen at any time if you’re playing basketball. Regardless of what the unknown reasons are, it would have been nice for Clingan to have a guard to give him some NBA-quality creation.
I still struggle to see any downsides of him playing and still don’t really understand why he didn’t. Ultimately, it is only something that only the most dedicated basketball sickos will remember in the long run. But it remains a weird choice, and worth saying out loud, that they didn’t have their Lottery Pick point guard get live reps with their Lottery Pick center.
A FIBA sicko’s Olympics Men’s Basketball Preview
I love FIBA. It’s physical. Flopping is generally ignored and archetypes like the Jacked Power Forward still matter. So of course, I had to give you my Olympics preview, since this might be the only time that you, reader and subscriber of BlazerBanter, will care about FIBA. This is my team-by-team preview, ranked by me in terms of whether I think they can win the Gold Medal.
USA (-500 on DraftKings)
This is the most famous group of players we’ve seen on the Olympic team since 2012. And even though the United States squeaked out games against South Sudan and Germany, their Gold medal odds remain strong. But their competition is stronger than you think and I don’t think the odds are really reflective of how much better they are than everyone else.
While I’m not advising you to bet against USA to win the Gold, what I am telling you is that this is a single-elimination tournament after the first three games. And they could even lose one of their first three games, specifically their opener against Serbia. USA has been struggling with half-court offense, giving up offensive rebounds and being careless with the ball. Their Game 1 line against Serbia is -16 and I can tell you I already took the points.
Joel Embiid finally showed some flashes of great play in USA’s friendly against Germany, particularly a great dunk and recovery block sequence, but overall the USA has been a much better team when Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo are playing instead. Will the insistence on starting Embiid be Steve Kerr and the USA’s downfall in Paris? Or will Embiid find his form and make all of this moot?
Even at nearly 40 years old, LeBron is still the most important guy on this team. While I think Curry is a great bet to lead USA in scoring during the tournament, LeBron is going to be the guy late in games and he will be the trigger man for many of Curry’s actions. It’s an incredible story, but also a little concerning that the most important players on this team are 39 and 35.
This is USA’s gold to lose. But their competition is better than you think and the odds don’t tell the whole story.
Serbia (+1600)
Serbia, if their top players can stay healthy, have the best chance to knock off the USA and win the Gold. Nikola Jokic played poorly in their friendly game but I don’t know if I’ve seen that dude have two bad games in a row. He also looks to have lost some considerable weight since losing to the Wolves in the playoffs. To steal a line from Bill Simmons, we could be in Eff You Jokic territory.
But this is about more than Jokic. Serbia’s B-squad took home the Silver at last year’s Basketball World Cup, losing out to Germany in the Final. But Serbia did that with Bogdan Bogdanovic as their best player and a much weaker supporting cast than they have in Paris. Germany BARELY beat their B-squad. Germany desperately needed Dennis Schröder to take over in the last two minutes to win.
This is not a B-Squad. They’re adding Jokic, who still has a claim to World’s Best Player. And they also added Vasilie Micic, the 2022 EuroLeague MVP, who had a decent enough finish to the season for the Hornets that they decided to keep him around. Marko Guduric had a cup of coffee with the Grizzlies but played an important role for Fenerbache in their EuroLeague Final Four run. And Bogdanovic is just another dude when he plays for the national team.
They’re also just a team of grown men. Most of these dudes start in the EuroLeague and they’re all very familiar with FIBA’s physical nature. Strength at the point of attack defensively is a commonality across the board for Serbia and while their friendly against USA (without Bogdanovic) ended in a blowout, the game was very close early on before Curry’s 4-point play flipped the game in USA’s favor and the game got out of hand.
It’s probably for the best the USA starts the tournament with them. I think they will be USA’s toughest test.
Greece (+2000)
This is definitely my hottest take. Greece is not really expected to win the Gold or even medal in Paris. Canada, France and Serbia all are taken more seriously by the oddsmakers. But if I’m Greece, I love that the spotlight is off of us. It will make things that much better when teams don’t expect you coming.
Just like Jokic for Serbia, Giannis still very much has a claim to the title of World’s Best Player. And just like Serbia, the Greeks are a squad chocked full of dudes you might not know but are badasses. Their two starting guards, Thomas Walkup and Nick Calathes, might be the best defensive backcourt in the tournament. Calathes’ job on Mike James sent Fenerbache to the Final 4 and earned him a new contract with James’ squad in Monaco, just so Calathes wouldn’t defend him anymore. Walkup is more comfortable than he’s ever been shooting 3s. If their guards can make shots and stay out of foul trouble, they have the make-up to make a real run.
While they lost Giannis’ brother Kostas, who is actually a very good EuroLeague player, they have some good vets who still have good basketball left like Blazers legends Kostas Papanikolaou and Georgios Papagiannis, as well as Kostas Mitoglu from the EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos.
Maybe I’m too much of a EuroLeague sicko. But if Giannis turns in a legendary performance, I think his supporting cast is good enough to make a run at a medal, maybe even the Gold, if they get lucky.
Canada (+1100)
According to the board, Canada has the 2nd best odds to win the Gold behind USA. Last year, they beat the United States in the 3rd place game of the 2023. And while the World Cup team wasn’t on the same level of star power, they weren’t some slouch, with Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton all playing major roles.
Shai Gilegous-Alexander was No. 2 in MVP voting and Dillon Brooks is a World Class pest. Andrew Nembhard had some huge games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jamal Murray’s clutch gene has been proven. And Lu Dort is an elite defender. However, where this team loses me is their bigs.
This team really needed Zach Edey to join them in Paris and he opted to prep for his first year in the NBA, which is hard to fault him for. Kelly Olynyk is still good, but can’t carry all of the minutes. I really don’t think Dwight Powell is much better than bigs on the Greek team, especially in the more physical FIBA game. Khem Birch and Melvin Ejim both play in Europe, but don’t play for EuroLeague squads.
But as much as their bigs have me low on their potential, their guard play is such that they have to be considered a contender. With the 3-point shot and a very good coach in Brooklyn’s new HC Jordi Fernandez, they could easily pull of an upset against USA like they did last year in the Philippines behind an all-time shooting performance from Brooks. It is a single-elimination tournament and they have the talent to beat anyone. But I like the Greeks more! Don’t hate me, Canadian friends!
France (+1200)
While the bigs scare me for Canada, I have the opposite problem with France. Their bigs are the reason to believe, but their guard play and coaching leave me highly doubtful they can reach their full potential.
Without the defensive 3-second violation in FIBA, the combo of Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert is absolutely lethal. Mathias Lessort, one of the EuroLeague’s best energy guys, also will bring a punch off the bench. Guershon Yabusele has become a reliable contributor for Real Madrid will similarly help in bench minutes. The French are loaded in the frontcourt. But their biggest weakness is what is outside of them.
Even at 35 years old, Nicolas Batum might be this team’s best perimeter player. Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly, Wemby’s teammate in France and a lottery pick last year, is a little too green for this level of basketball. Evan Fournier is a monster in FIBA but has completely faded from NBA relevance.
This team really lacks a quick on-ball creator, something they could have addressed by sliding Mike James a French passport, or bringing in the lightning quick, yet undersized Sylvain Francisco from Bayern Munich.
Vincent Collet chose 37-year old Nando De Colo instead. And Collet is another reason I don’t really believe in this French team. The big men and the possibility that all of a sudden WEMBY ARRIVES before we expect it have them on my radar as potential upset pick. But the supporting cast on the perimeter outside of Batum, as well as the coaching, has me lower on them than the consensus.
Germany (+3000)
I will always have a soft spot for this Germany team after winning a bet on them at 22-1 to win the World Cup. Dennis Schröder’s quickness will allow him to get to the rim until he’s old and grey. And outside of him and Andreas Øbst, the Germans boast a strong and athletic group that has the size to match-up with anyone. Their size and strength is why they were able to keep things close against USA in Monday’s friendly.
But I just don’t think they have enough high-end talent to win outside of Schröder’s ageless ability to beat his man, unless Franz Wagner goes up a level in the tournament. He had a horrific Game 7 against Cleveland to end this past season and if this is the opportunity to get redemption, maybe Germany can make a surprising medal run. But they’re definitely a long-shot.
Honorable Mentions
I’m very bummed that the Bahamas didn’t make it. Not just because Deandre Ayton would have been in the Olympics, but 2025 Guard VJ Edgecombe, Buddy Hield and Eric Gordon brought legit NBA firepower to the table. Unfortunately, they lost to a Spain team that is pretty washed but had homecourt advantage in Valencia. Despite their history and a No. 2 FIBA World Ranking, Spain is not a real contender.
If you were to get behind a team that I didn’t discuss above, South Sudan is an incredible story. Khaman Maluach, only 17 years old, is projected to be a top-5 pick next year and is already getting minutes for them. Carlik Jones was awesome in the World Cup and got a triple-double against USA. Of all of the rest of the teams, I think they would be the most fun team to get behind for the tournament.