Vegas Summer League 2012: Skills Top Rookies Must Work on to Dominate from Start

The 2012 Vegas Summer League is the perfect spot for the NBA's fresh youngsters to help transition to their new league. This league is loaded with exciting rookies, and they are going to be battling head-to-head game after game. 

The following rookies all have bright futures and talent that makes their potential stunning, but they all also have areas of their game they need to improve to make a major impact in the NBA. 

Let's take a look at three of the more high-profile rookies and what they need to work on. 

Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets 

The biggest knock on Davis is that he just is not big or strong enough to bang with other bigs down low. There is only so much bulk or strength he can add this summer, but what he can make big gains in is how he deals with stronger competitors. 

Players are going to take it right at Davis and try to out-muscle him. He can combat this with intelligent defense and his athleticism. 

The other big area Davis needs to focus on is his post game. This is something that will be a process throughout his career, and it begins with this summer league. 

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats

The only thing that would keep Kidd-Gilchrist from being unstoppable on the offensive end is consistency with his jumper. He has the range to hit threes, he just needs to drill them on a regular basis. The same goes with his mid-range game. 

This is going to force defenders to guard him tight, and that will allow him to blow past him or pull up and drain a shot. 

Another area he can improve is with his decision making, and you could say this with almost every rookie. MKG can turn the ball over when he gets overly aggressive. This will be amplified in the NBA if he doesn't start focusing on improvement in this area. 

Thomas Robinson, Sacramento Kings

Robinson is the most pro-ready player from this draft class, but that doesn't mean he is void of things to work on. Robinson will have to add consistency to his jumper to be elite, but it is good enough, in combination with his post game, that he will be able to score right off the bat. 

A bigger problem is his defense. Robinson had a tendency to get lazy on defense in college. This led to him giving up post position too easily. It also led to him landing in foul trouble. 

Robinson must break the bad defensive habits that lead to fouls. He is going to be tested by some talented forwards next season, and they will try every trick in the book to land this rookie in foul trouble.