Summer League Report: Westbrook surprises, White disappoints

Note: This summer I am going to be evaluating the Summer League performances turned in by the prospects I analyzed in the runup to this year's NBA Draft. This post involves an Orlando League game between OKC and the Indiana Pacers.

Ouch. I looked so good in the previous game. Here I got it backwards.

Going into the draft, I hated everything about Russell Westbrook except for his outstanding standing reach (at 8'4'' his reach is almost that of an average shooting guard). But he was spectacular in his debut, albeit against a Pacer team consisting of nobody (he was matched against someone named Eric Calloway). But he can't control who's in front of him. All he can do is produce, and he did. Westbrook recorded a terrific Win Score of +5.5 for a projected Win Contribution of +0.710, the best so far for the summer.

Westbrook put up those nice numbers primarily by: shooting efficiently from the field, not turning the ball over, piling up some assists, and using his length to get a few rebounds. Nice Work.

Meanwhile, my boy, DJ White, whom I was very high on going into the draft... stunk. He had a Win Score of -12.0, for a worst-so-far-this-summer Win Contribution of -1.300. How'd he do it?

First, he grabbed rebounds at a rate (0.153 per minute) befitting a small forward, not a power forward (0.259 per). Second, he shot inefficiently. Finally, he committed five fouls and turned the ball over twice.

Gotta see some more from DJ, or he may not even make the team.