Analyzing Matas Buzelis, London Johnson, and Tyler Smith in the G-League Ignite-Rip City Remix Game
December 15th, 2023
By Alan Lu
Yesterday, I saw a very competitive basketball game that was played between the G-League Ignite and the Rip City Remix. Unfortunately, Ron Holland did not play, but fortunately, Matas Buzelis did, and he played well in that game, and Buzelis helped lead his team to get the victory. Here are my thoughts on how he and other various prospects fared on that day. Also, for those that are interested in the box score, here is the link, courtesy of the NBA G-League.
Matas Buzelis scored 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and had 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks to lead the G-League Ignite to a 110-105 over the Rip City Remix yesterday.
(Photo: Louis Grasse/NBAE via Getty Images)
Matas Buzelis had a strong showing in the G-League Ignite’s win over the Rip City Remix. He showed off a variety of skills, and he generally turned in a very good, all-around game to help get his team the victory.
Buzelis excelled at making shots in all sorts of ways. He showed a very good shooting touch when operating out of the post, and he also would score on strong, smooth drives to the hoop. He would score on solid, patient rolls to the rim, and he also used a pump fake to be able to score once.
He also shot the ball well, especially from mid-range. Buzelis showed a knack for making them, as he could do so both off the catch and dribble. Plus, he also was able to move off the ball to make an open three-pointer to show his shooting range. Every once in a while, he would take tough shots that would lead to misses, but Buzelis showed that he can operate well as a three-level scorer.
As a playmaker, he looked to be fairly average. Buzelis is an unselfish player that can throw interior passes to find the open man, and he also handles the ball well for a player his size. On the other hand, he would sometimes be careless when handling the basketball, which would lead him to commit turnovers.
He also was able to get his fair share of boards when he was on the floor. Plus, Buzelis played satisfactory defense. He was able to get a big block off of a drive, as he swatted it to a teammate, and he would contest shots both out on the perimeter and inside the paint to get stops. He also was able to jump a pass and on a loose ball to get steals for his team. On the other hand, sometimes he would struggle to defend in one-on-one situations, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores. He also would sometimes be late on his rotations, which would put his team in scramble situations.
Overall, Matas Buzelis played very well, and he had a strong all-around showing in this game. He is a very talented prospect that can do many things on the court, especially on the offensive end, and he could end up being a top 5 pick in the 2024 draft.
London Johnson also had a strong showing in his team’s win over the Rip City Remix. He is an agile, skilled playmaker that excelled as a scorer and facilitator on the court. He shot the ball well from beyond the arc, and he was especially effective at pulling up to make mid-range jumpers. He also was able to make threes both off the catch and dribble, and Johnson showed a solid dribble game. He also did a good job of making passes off the dribble to notch a wealth of assists.
He also was able to chip in to get boards on both ends of the floor. He also played satisfactory defense. He was able to rip a ball away in the post to get a steal, and he did a good job of jumping on balls to get steals for his team. He also would fight through screens, and he also was able to contest a three to force a miss. On the downside, sometimes he would get beat off the dribble, which would lead him to allow scores.
Overall, Johnson played very well in this game, and he excelled at making plays on both ends of the floor, especially on offense. He hasn’t received as much draft buzz as his other teammates, but he could be a solid find for an NBA team in the 2024 draft.
Tyler Smith had a decent showing in his team’s win over the Rip City Remix. He showed off versatile scoring skills, as he would score on hustle plays, and he also utilized a jab step to make a three-pointer. On the other hand, he didn’t shoot the ball enough and he seemed to fade into the background a bit too much on offense.
He also showcased satisfactory playmaking skills. Smith was able to throw a nice pass ahead to find a teammate on the break to notch an assist. He was able to get boards on both ends of the floor, although he didn’t quite get as many rebounds as he should have. He also looked to be fairly average defensively. Smith was able to rotate to block a shot inside. However, sometimes he would be too undisciplined on the defensive end, and he would end up committing fouls when defending opponents in the paint.
Overall, Tyler Smith is an athletic, skilled big man that can shoot the basketball, and he can make plays on both ends of the floor. He’ll need to be more assertive on offense and be a more disciplined defender in games, but he is a solid prospect that is having a solid season, and he could end up being a lottery pick in the 2024 draft.
Izan Almansa had a solid showing in his team’s win over the Rip City Remix. He generally excelled at scoring on hustle plays, as he was able to score on a dunk off of a roll, as well as by running the floor to score in transition. Almansa also was able to utilize a Euro-step move to score on the break. He also was able to throw down a dunk after running the floor to get the ball down court. However, sometimes he would take quick, rushed shots, which would lead him to get his shots blocked. He also attempted a couple of outside shots, but struggled to connect from those distances.
He also displayed adequate playmaking skills. Almansa is an unselfish player that can make the extra pass, and he was able to find a cutter from the post to set a scoring chance for a teammate. On the other hand, soemtimes he can be careless on offense, and he threw a pass out of the post once that got intercepted.
Almansa did a good job of rebounding the basketball, and he is a high-motor big man that would haul in plenty of boards on both ends of the floor. He also played solid defense in this game. Almansa would rotate to block and contest shots off of drives to help his team protect the paint, and he would get his hands on passes to get steals and deflections. He did a good job of defending in the paint to get stops for his team. On the downside, every once in a while, he would struggle to defend in space, and sometimes he would get beat off the dribble, which would lead his team to allow scores.
Overall, Izan Almansa played well, and he excelled at making plays, especially on the interior to help his team get the win. While he’ll still need to improve his outside shot and ability to defend out on the perimeter, Almansa is a mobile, high-motor big man that has been very productive in the G-League, and he could end up going in the late lottery in the 2024 draft.
Thierry Darlan had a decent showing in his team’s win over the Rip City Remix. He is an athletic, energetic swingman that was able to make some hustle plays on both ends of the floor, but he also was quite turnover prone in this game.
Darlan showed off versatile scoring skills in this game. He was able to pull up to make a three-pointer to show his range. He also scored on a strong drive to the hoop while getting fouled another time. He also ran in to score on a tip-in due to making a good hustle play.
On the downside, while he can pass and handle the basketball, he tended to commit too many careless turnovers. He would tend to throw passes that would go astray, and he would sometimes over-dribble that would lead him to get the ball poked away.
He also was able to chip in to get his fair share of boards. Darlan played satisfactory defense in this game. He did a solid job of defending opponents off the dribble, especially down the stretch, and he was able to get a clutch poke to help force a key turnover late in the game. He also would contest shots both out on the perimeter and in the paint to force misses. On the other hand, every once in a while, he would occasionally struggle to defend opponents off the dribble, which would lead his team to commit fouls and allow scores.
Overall, Darlan had his ups and downs, but he played well down the stretch to help his team get the win. He did a good job of scoring the basketball, and he defend shot ed well down the stretch, but he also committed a lot of turnovers in this game. He’ll need to take better care of the basketball, but he is an athletic, skilled swingman that could end up being a first round pick in the 2024 draft.
Babacar Sane had an okay showing in his team’s win over Rip City. He did a fairly good job of scoring off the dribble, and he also threw down a highlight-reel worthy dunk on the break. Sane was able to draw free throws on strong drives to the hoop, and he also was able to make a pull-up, mid-range jumper. On the other hand, he would sometimes miss wildly on drives to the hoop, and he did not attempt a single three-pointer in this game.
As a playmaker, he would sometimes make the extra pass to keep the ball moving, but he didn’t seem to make many noteworthy passes. On one play though, he attempted to drive to the hoop from the baseline, but was called for stepping out of bounds.
Also, Sane was able to get his fair share of boards as he was able to get rebounds on both ends of the floor. Defensively, he looked to be about average at best. For the positives, he was able to successfully defend a baseline drive as he helped force a ball-handling turnover. He also rotated to block a shot hard off of a drive. On the other hand, he had trouble defending opponents out in space in this game. He would get beat off the dribble, which would put his teammates in scramble situations. He also would tend to be late on his rotations, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.
Overall, Babacar Sane was able to make some solid plays in this game, and he was aggressive at attacking the hoop to score. On the other hand, he didn’t take enough outside shots, and there were some defensive breakdowns that shouldn’t have happened in this game. Overall though, Sane is an athletic, energetic forward that could end up being a second round pick in the 2024 draft.
All in all, those are my thoughts on how Buzelis, and other various prospects fared in this game. Thanks for reading.
