We’re through the first weekend of the NBA Summer League, and we’ve already seen some great basketball. With another seven games today, there are plenty of chances for players to stand out and for teams to heat up. We’ll see who rises above the rest in another busy day of games!
Reed Sheppard #15 (HOU)
Kobe Bufkin #4 (ATL)
Asa Newell #14 (ATL)
We’re into game three for both of these squads, and so far, we haven’t seen much from Houston. That was expected, though, after some major moves in the offseason—they weren’t concerned about Summer League. They only sent one active roster player, Reed Sheppard, so Houston’s core group doesn’t have the talent to compete this season. On a brighter note, Sheppard is looking better. His shot still isn’t quite there yet, but you can see the improvement. In this matchup, though, Houston will probably struggle against the Hawks.
The Hawks have some real NBA talent on their roster. Asa Newell is starting to look like a great addition to the team. He was a steal at pick 23 after a strong season in Georgia. Kobe Bufkins, on the other hand, is still struggling. His shot just refuses to go in, but this roster overall has looked good winning their first two games. I think we’ll see more of the same tonight as long as they don’t bench Newell, which I don’t expect.
Matas Buzelis #14 (CHI)
Noa Essengue #24 (CHI)
Kam Jones #7 (IND)
Johnny Furphy #12 (IND)
Moving on to another pair of teams that have struggled during Summer League. The Pacers haven’t shown us much this year; going 1-1, they’re not terrible, but the team is limited. Kam Jones is the main reason you’ll want to watch this game. His game hasn't translated well from college to the pros, but you can clearly see his talent. As an older rookie, it’s evident he has a pathway to some real NBA minutes soon. The same goes for Furphy; he’s raw, but for a guy with his size, he’s not far from becoming a role player. Shooting is the only thing currently holding back both Jones and Furphy. Still, this group is probably even better than Chicago.
With Chicago already benching Buzelis, I don’t expect to see him again in Summer League. It’s a shame too because he looked like he could use some more time out there. But it’s Summer League, so I understand teams being cautious with their young talent. We will likely see their rookie again tonight, Essengue, who, as more of a project player, is looking a little rough so far. He has NBA size and athleticism, but until he can improve his shot and get his rotations down, he’s a long way from being a rotation player. Still, it’s only been a few weeks since he was drafted, and these Summer League games are the first step in the NBA. Overall, looking through the rest of Chicago’s roster, it’s hard to find anyone notable, but I still think their squad is a little better than Indy.
Cooper Flagg #32 (DAL)
Ryan Nembhard #9 (DAL)
Sion James #4 (CHA)
Kon Knueppel #7 (CHA)
Ryan Kalkbrenner #11 (CHA)
Tidjane Salaun #31 (CHA)
Liam McNeeley #33 (CHA)
This Hornets group is undoubtedly one of the best teams at Summer League in terms of talent. They brought in some high-quality rookie talent from this year and last year’s draft, which has supercharged this team. Most of their Summer League roster will likely see NBA minutes this year, which is encouraging for a team still trying to find a winning season. However, this group is a winning one, and they’ve won both of their games so far. I expect McNeeley to step up his role against the Mavericks tonight, following his replacement of Knueppel in the starting lineup in game two. Pairing him alongside Kalkbrenner and Sion James should make for an exciting offensive rotation with plenty of size. This is a game they should win tonight, with Flagg finished in Summer League.
Without Flagg, the Mavericks Summer League team is thin. I still like Nembhard; he’s an electric guard who can at least put on a show. But losing Flagg basically takes this team off the radar entirely. I don’t think this team is going to do much against such a stacked Charlotte Summer League roster. I expect this one to be a blowout.
Hugo Gonzalez #28 (BOS)
Baylor Scheierman #55 (BOS)
Kel’el Ware #7 (MIA)
Kasparas Jakucionis #25 (MIA)
I can say I had higher hopes for the Heat in Summer League. They’ve lost both games so far, even with Ware. I expected Ware to come out dominant, which he was in game two, but the rest of this roster seems to be allergic to scoring or something. Jakucionis was a hit in game one and a dud in game two. The rest of this group, which has some NBA experience, has just been underwhelming. Larsson hasn’t done much, and Kira Lewis Jr. hasn’t shown much growth. Playing against Boston could be tough, especially if they pull or limit either Ware or Jakucionis tonight, which is a possibility.
Boston, on the other hand, has surprised me. They beat the Grizzlies in their first game, even with the Grizzlies having a fairly stacked team. Then they took down a much weaker Knicks team. Regardless, this team is pretty feisty. They’ve found a couple of promising Summer League players in Charles Bassey and Jalen Bridges. Even their rostered players have been decent. I could see Boston winning this game reasonably easily. I think these guys are all eager to prove themselves, and this is their best stage to do it. Expect to see Bassey getting a lot of minutes tonight against Miami.
Cody Williams #5 (UTA)
Isaiah Collier #8 (UTA)
Ace Bailey #19 (UTA)
Kyle Filipowski #22 (UTA)
Dylan Harper #2 (SAS)
Carter Bryant #11 (SAS)
This should be a decent game if the Spurs keep playing their rookies. The Spurs have done well so far, winning both of their games, but I have a feeling Harper might be going to the bench tonight. After a solid outing against Flagg in their second game, I’m assuming they’ve seen enough and are going to shut him down. I expect to see Bryant, though, who has been as advertised. Tons of great defensive potential, without much offense at all. He should match up well against this long Jazz squad.
This Jazz group looked like the most stacked team in the Summer League Tournament. However, it hasn’t translated to the court like I thought it would. They’ve lost both games so far, and continue to sit players. With Ace Bailey already done, I expect Williams, Filipowski, and Collier to keep going. That group can score, but defensively, they’re not stopping much. The Warriors ran them out of the area last night, even with less talent. I still think Utah can take this game, though. The team has enough talent to make it work, even though it hasn’t yet.
Nique Clifford #5 (SAC)
Devin Carter #22 (SAC)
Ryan Dunn #0 (PHO)
Khaman Maluach #10 (PHO)
Rasheer Fleming #20 (PHO)
The Kings have looked solid so far, winning both of their games. Devin Carter has been the standout player, which is great to see. Missing most of his rookie season last year, he struggled to find meaningful minutes. However, he scored 30 points against Chicago in their second game, while the Kings' rookie, Nique Clifford, had 19 points himself. These two are built for Summer League, tough older players who can do a little bit of everything. They’re just hoopers. Assuming we see both of them playing full minutes tonight, which feels likely but is never certain, this team should beat Phoenix.
Phoenix would have been competitive in this game if they hadn’t already pulled Maluach and Fleming. With Maluach, Dunn, and Ighodaro, that defense was tough. Now, the team is thin again, and doesn’t really have a true primary scorer to make up for it. I understand why Phoenix pulled them; they’re going to need those players heavily this season. But I still feel a little robbed. Hopefully, we still get a competitive game, but I think the Kings are going to run away with this one.
Yanic Konan Niederhäuser #14 (LAC)
Kobe Brown #21 (LAC)
Patrick Baldwin Jr. #23 (LAC)
Dalton Knecht #4 (LAL)
Bronny James #9 (LAL)
Wrapping up the day for Summer League, we have the Lakers and Clippers. This should be a fairly interesting game even though there aren’t many NBA players involved. With the Lakers already resting Knecht, Bronny is the last notable player on the team. Still, the team has been doing okay. They’ve discovered some talented players like Christian Koloko, Cole Swider, and Darius Bazley, who’ve all been in and out of the NBA but have been solid on this team. Even Bronny has shown moments; he’s not a top scorer, but he’s been an effective two-way player. Sitting at 1-1 in Summer League, this team could go either way tonight.
The Clippers have been punching way above their weight in my opinion. They’ve won both their games, and Patrick Baldwin Jr. looked great in the second one. There might not be an elite Summer League roster, but even guys on that team are fighting for a spot. When everyone plays with maximum effort, you can sometimes find teams like this that just click. I don’t know how far it will take them in the tournament, but tonight, it could give the Lakers some trouble.