NBA Summer League Wrap Up Day 1
Brooklyn Nets vs. Indiana Pacers
Nets 101, Pacers 81.
Mason Plumlee was the headliner here, making 8-11 from the field en route to a 23 point, 7 rebound performance. Xavier Thames was 0-3 from the field, scoring only 3 from the line, and Cory Jefferson (wearing 21 to pay tribute for his former Baylor teammate, Isaiah Austin, who was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome and would not be able to play in the NBA) was three for three on his shots, corralling 9 rebounds. For the Pacers, Donald Sloan contributed 21 points.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
Celtics 85, Heat 77.
Shabazz Napier struggled mightily vs. Marcus Smart, as Smart's shutdown defense limited Napier. Both first-round picks struggled to shoot from outside; Napier went 2-9, and Smart went 0-5. Smart garnered 5 steals, and gave up only 1 turnover, while Shabazz lost a whopping 8 turnovers and stole only 2. Phil Pressey lead both sides in assists, with 7. Kelly Olynyk scored 20 points, garnered 4 steals, but lost 6 turnovers. For Miami, watch out for James Ennis, who was sent to Australia to develop for one year, and as a result scored 22.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, and 7.3 RPG and was in contention for earning the league MVP honors. Today, he scored 18 points, dished 2 assists, and grabbed 8 rebounds, showing that those averages were not very flukey.
Orlando Magic vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Orlando 83, Philadelphia 77
In a game with many well known names, Orlando squeaked out the victory. Victor Oladipo scored 18 and grabbed 6 rebounds. Aaron Gordon struggled with only 7 points and 4 turnovers, going 3 for 11 from the field. Elfrid Payton had 4 assists, but had 4 turnovers and only 2 points, surprising for a guard that brings a significant amount of offense. Roy Devyn Marble had a solid game, stuffing the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 13 points in only 17 minutes of playing time. Seth Curry also dropped 9 points, albeit going only 3-9. Kim English went 3-5 from the field, scoring 7 points. Dewayne Dedmon struggled mightily, going 1-7 from the field.
For Philly, Nerlens Noel was the key player, going 7-7 from the charity stripe en route to 19 points. Hollis Thompson struggled big-time, going only 2-12 from the field. Casper Ware threw up 11 shots en route to a 16 point effort. Pierre Jackson put up 7 points before suffering a season ending injury. KJ McDaniels scored 9 points while blocking 2 shots, and had the teams best +/-. Jerami Grant and Aaron Craft did little, but Grant struggled a lot more, missing all three shots he took.
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Detroit Pistons vs. Houston Rockets
Detroit 95, Houston 89
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope lead the way for the Pistons, shooting 8-19 from the field but 8-9 from the free throw line en route to a 26 point effort. Peyton Siva was not far behind with 4-8 shooting, 7-9 from the free throw line to get 16 points. For the Rockets, Jabari Brown was 2-6 from the field, including 2-5 from downtown. Nick Johnson scored 18 and grabbed 5 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Grizzlies 84, Thunder 63
Grizzlies' Jarnell Stokes grabbed 5 rebounds and scored 10 with 2 blocks. Ex- Michigan State PG Kalin Lucas scored 11, while Ex-UCLA guard Jordan Adams scored 22, going 8-8 from the free throw line. Scottie Wilbekin did not score, but led the team with 5 assists. Janis Timma was 0-4.
For the Thunder, Jeremy Lamb was horrendous from outside, going 1-7 behind the 3PT-line, but managed to scrape together 14 points. Perry Jones garnered 15 points and 6 rebounds. Semaj Christon and Mitch McGary both had 8 points. Josh Huestis scored only 2 points.
Overall, it was a pretty exciting first day of the Summer League.
We'll keep you updated as the Summer League progresses.
