Thank goodness it's Friday. One week until The Dark Knight hits theaters. Without hyperbole, I can assure you I've waited my entire life to see this movie. In fact, by this time next week, I will have already seen it.

Batman rules.

• Some summer-league notes...

  • Courtney Lee impressed DraftExpress with his performance in Orlando's losing effort against the Oklahoma City Thundercats on Tuesday. From Jonathan Givony's breakdown:

    Lee was outstanding in his own right, though, doing a fantastic job all game long utilizing the pick and roll, and being incredible aggressive putting the ball on the floor and making his way to the rim. What was interesting was that he started off the game looking more to facilitate and play his role within Orlando's half-court offense, picking and choosing his spots wisely and not forcing the issue in the least bit. As the game wore on and things deteriorated for his team he started to take over much more, finishing the game was an impressive 27 points on 8/14 shooting.

    His range appears to easily extend beyond the NBA arc already, and he looked very comfortable spotting up and knocking down all 3 of the attempts he took as the ball rotated in his direction. He also drove and finished with both hands equally well (always using the glass intelligently, or sometimes with a crafty floater) and did not hesitate in the least bit to pull-up off the dribble from mid-range if his defender cheated and went underneath the screen.

    Lee seems talented, intelligent, and assertive. Nifty. Givony also praises Lee's defense in the piece.

  • Ridiculous Upside ranks Kevin Kruger as the fifth-best free agent in the entire camp. Matt likes Kruger's ability to distribute, and says the team's coaches have "respond[ed] well to his effort." I think Kruger has a shot at making the team as its third-string point guard.
  • In 22 minutes yesterday, James Augustine shot 7-of-9 from the foul line. In 156 career NBA minutes, Augustine has shot 4-of-8 from the foul line. Gotta love the summer league.
• I won't pretend to understand the first, say, 85% of this study, conducted by David Joyner of Little White Stats, but this paragraph from the concluding statements makes sense to me:

  The notably demonstrated fact is that the differential within the third quarter (that is, only in the third quarter, not through the first three quarters) is statistically the most accurate (of the four quarters) in predicting the final game differential. This serves as possible early evidence that the third quarter may be the most important quarter in an NBA game.

  Yup.

• Brian Schmitz has a wrap-up of Mickael Pietrus' introductory press conference yesterday. Check out a photo of the conference, which includes Pietrus holding his no. 20 Magic jersey, by clicking here.

While you're hangin' out, consider responding to erivera's rankings of Eastern Conference teams as they stand today.