Written by Demetri Inembolidis

---

The Summer League rendition of the Cleveland Cavaliers is overall performing at a disappointing level.  Wins and losses do not matter.  The issue lies in the fact that none of the individual players are performing at a high level.  At the conclusion of the game against the Timberwolves on Thursday night, there is only one Cavalier in the top 50 in points per game in the Summer League.  That player is Samardo Samuels and he is 47th with 13 points per game.  The rebounding stats are a little better.  Tyler Zeller (17th) and Samardo Samuels (50th) are in the top 50 with 7.8 and 5.3 rebounds per game. 

Because of how limited the sample size is, it would be nice to be able to see the Cavs play at full strength.  Once again, a marquee player for the Cavs was held out of the game.  Fourth overall pick Dion Waiters did not play and sat on the bench with a brace on his left knee.  Evidently he sustained an injury against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.  Jumping to conclusions is not prudent, but Cavs fans are left with no option but to question if his injury is a result of his poor conditioning. 

The Star player for the Cavaliers was Tristan Thompson.  He finished with 16 points and 5 rebounds.  The fact that he scored as many points as he did on only 10 shots is a promising sign.  Thompson tends to look awkward when operating in the post.  He likes to take wide angles to the basket out of post ups.  In addition, he tends to dribble the ball far from his body which makes him susceptible to turning the ball over.  Regardless of these flaws in his offensive game, he was able to score in the post on Thursday night.  It wasn't always pretty, but Thompson pulled it off and played efficiently. 

Speaking of efficiency (or a lack thereof), Tyler Zeller had his worst showing in the Summer League.  Zeller only scored two points on 1-7 shooting.  He has made a habit of getting to the free throw line at ease so far in the Summer League, but he did not take a single free throw against the Timberwolves.  He did manage to pull down 7 rebounds, but the Cavs are going to need better consistency from him on the offensive end of the court.  Additionally, rebounds should be taken with a grain of salt considering how many missed shots were in the game.  Zeller should get a pass because it is only the Summer League and he has played his fourth game in five nights. 

The game was a trademark Cavs Summer League performance.  There was not a lot of ball movement and the team only tallied 10 assists.  This led to poor shot selection and the team only converted on 37.5% of their attempts.  The Cavs Summer League shooting percentages would make Larry Hughes shake his head disapprovingly. 

Derrick Williams was the high point man for the Timberwolves.  He scored 23 points on 6-14 shooting.  Much of his damage was done at the free throw line where he converted on 11-16 attempts.  Williams also grabbed 5 rebounds and forced two Cavaliers turnovers.  Things were not all positive for Williams.  He took four three pointers and didn't make a single one.  The issue with Derrick Williams is that he believes he is a small forward but it is becoming abundantly clear that he is actually an undersized power forward who likes to take threes.  He has taken twelve three point attempts in three games and has only made one.  At some point, he needs to ditch that aspect of his game and start working on playing more physical on the offensive end and becoming a better rebounder. 

Former Ohio State Buckeye did his best Mark Titus impersonation.  He did not score in 5 minutes of playing time.  He did manage to grab a rebound and dish out an assist. 

The Cavs tip off against the New York Knicks on Friday at 4:00.