Game of the summer! RAMS VS ZION HARMON! Who won the matchup??
NEW YORK VS EVERYBODY.
Slam has had the summer on smash in NYC and last night was no exception. The Slam Showdown was in full effect, as some of the nation's best matched up with the best NYC has to offer. After a solid showing from Joe Girard, next up on the hit list was none other than Zion Harmon. The kid's been playing EYBL since seventh grade and boasts a five star ranking but our NYC guards don't check resumes. Across from him was a hood favorite, none other than the breakout player of the summer, Dashawn "Rams" Davis. What happened next will probably be argued about in barbershops and Twitter wars for the foreseeable future. Below, we'll make a case for each of the show stopping guards.
In Rams' defense
Those who weren't there last night can obsess over stats and percentages all night long. But for those who were, it wasn't tough to see that Rams wanted all the smoke. From the opening tip, he attacked whoever was in front of him (At first Zion wasn't defending him, it took some words from the crowd for him to finally make the switch.) What impressed us the most though, was his defensive efforts. He picked up Zion 94 feet for most of the night. For those who don't hoop, full court pressure against a shifty guard in front of a highlight hungry crowd takes HEART. Rams sliced his way to the lane on numerous occasions, several which resulted in bone chilling dunks which had the crowd in a frenzy. He wasn't about to get embarrassed in his own city. He brought the fight to Zion early and often.
In Zion's defense
Much respect to Zion for stepping foot in the Dyckman zoo and holding his own weight. Before we get to his performance, we gotta talk about the defensive schemes thrown at him. Full court presses and double teams robbed us of seeing him attempt to put a defender on Iso Island. Against the press, Zion often hopped the rock and didn't see it back. Nonetheless, he had a very solid game despite the whole park being against him. He hit threes, showcased a tight handle and finished at the rim with ease. He took on the challenge that Rams threw at him and finished with a respectable 13 points. He did have a chance to send the game to OT though, and missed the three. The crowd sighed collectively, as we all wanted to see more.
The verdict
Both guards showed up and did their thing. It takes a lot of heart to show up and show out on the opposition's turf and have a solid game but Zion managed to do so. We would've like to see less doubles and traps but hey, it is basketball after all. Nonetheless Rams hasn't taken too many L's this summer and last night was no different.
Next up, Julian Newman makes his way back to Dyckman and the rain won't save anyone this time. We'll be there front and center.