Inside the D-League (#2)

The season for the NBA's Developmental League has been under way for nearly a month now, and only 8 NBA players have been sent down as part of the new minor league system. Though this is not surprising to many people, all of the players who have been sent down have been given minutes to produce and opportunities to improve their game. Dijon Thompson of the Phoenix Suns has even been recalled after showing good scoring ability. The system still could use some tweaking yet, but it is pretty safe to say that more players will be sent down in the near future.

Hodge requests the D league

Denver Nuggets rookie guard, frustrated with his lack of playing time, has requested that he be sent to the Austin Toros, the Nugget's D league affiliate. Hodge holds the belief that by only practicing, it limits how much better he can become, and he feels that the NBADL is the best place for him to advance his game. Many players have said in the past that they would consider it an insult to be asked to play in the D league, so for a first round pick to make this request is pleasantly surprising. If the Nuggets honor Hodge's request, it would make him the 9th NBA player and only 1st round pick to be sent to the developmental league.

NBA Players Update

Pape Sow (Arkansas Rimrockers, Toronto Raptors)

Per Game Stats: 21.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, .6 assists, 1.28 blocks, 3.4 turnovers, 52% FG, 78% FT.

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Sow has been the most dominant player in the NBADL so far, posting the best game for a D-League player this season with 40 points and 14 rebounds in his second game. His rebounding fundamentals have looked great, using his body to fight off opponents before leaving the ground to get the ball. In his 40 point game, Sow went to the line 20 times and made 18 of his attempts. His free throw stroke looks worlds better than it did over the summer. Most of his points came off of face up moves to the hoop, where he showed nice touch around the basket, and good quickness in getting there. Pape's patience down low is what allowed him to earn so many trips to the free throw line. In scoring the 40 points he did not dunk the ball once, and he seems like a guy who is more of a quick athlete than an explosive athlete. Sow was able to put both Luke Schensher and Deji Akindele in foul trouble, but the smaller and quicker Brandon Robinson had some success scoring on him. Pape Sow does average 3.4 turnovers per game, a number that needs to be lowered. He does look like he understands the game better, however, and made some very nice passes both in transition and out of the paint. The biggest question surrounding Pape is his size, he seems a lot closer to 6'8" than his listed height of 6'10." Regardless, if Sow keeps playing like this, he'll be called up to a Raptors team that lacks rebounding and inside scoring sooner rather than later.