As Summer League comes to a close, we have a few games left before everything is wrapped up. Even though these games won’t count toward the tournament this Sunday, it will be the last chance we get to see these players before the fall.
Ryan Nembhard #9 (DAL)
Jase Richardson #11 (ORL)
Tristan da Silva #23 (ORL)
Noah Penda #93 (ORL)
This game probably won't be exciting with both teams struggling during Summer League. Dallas has only won once in Vegas, with Cooper Flagg dominating in that game. Now that he’s been benched for the rest of Summer League, the Mavs have a very thin roster. Maxwell Lewis is likely the only player still making a difference. He kept their last game competitive against the 76ers, but shooting remains a problem. They are shooting below 40% from the field, which isn't enough to succeed. Still, they have a chance against the tough Magic team.
Orlando has been very disappointing in my eyes. They brought in what looked like a competitive team to Vegas, but they haven’t won a single game. Yes, Jase Richardson is a project player, same with Penda, but da Silva is the player I expect to keep this team competitive; that just didn’t happen. Now that they’re in their last game, it looks like Penda is the only guy still playing. However, in their last game, he did have a solid performance, shooting 7-11, so there is still some hope for this team. It’s hard to say how these two will match up, but my gut is leaning toward the Mavericks.
Johni Broome #22 (PHI)
Danny Wolf #18 (BKL)
Egor Demin #8 (BKL)
This is Summer League right here, folks. A game with maybe 3 NBA players on the court, and the rest trying to make their mark. These games often get weird, and sometimes we find a G-League star. Either way, it should be entertaining. Since both teams are shutting down most of their drafted players, it’s going to be a tough game to call. At the very least, it looks like the Nets will keep a couple guys going. Danny Wolf and Egor Demin played against the Magic on Wednesday, and if they’re playing, they’ll challenge the 6ers.
Philly has essentially shut this team down. They still have Johni Broome on the court, and I’ve been waiting for him to have a breakout performance all Summer League. The reigning SEC Player of the Year did some damage against the Mavs in their last game, finishing with 22 points, which could be a problem for Brooklyn. Along with that, there was a solid game from Mark Armstrong, the former Villanova guard. So, the 6ers still seem to have a slight talent edge even with the Nets playing some of their first-round guys. This is a toss-up game, but I think Philly wins it.
Kasparas Jakucionis #25 (MIA)
Tyler Smith #21 (MIL)
On to yet another pair of struggling teams. For Milwaukee, it makes sense, though. They have absolutely zero draft capital left, so their Summer League roster was more about deep diving for players. They brought in everyone trying to find a diamond in the rough, which I don’t think yielded much. Christ Livingston might be the closest they’ve come to finding someone, though. They did end up signing him to the team after a series of solid outings. Tyler Smith is the other name here; he’s solid but still a project. Overall, this team feels more like a tryout squad than a real basketball team, and it shows. They can’t shoot, they foul a ton, and they haven’t shown much cohesion. Taking on the Heat, it might not matter.
Miami has been surprisingly poor in the Summer League. When I saw that Kel’el Ware was back on the Summer League roster, I thought he was going to win every game. Pairing him with a solid big guard like Jakucionis seemed like a winning combo, but it hasn’t worked out. Now that we’re so deep in, it looks like Ware is benched, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Jakucionis is out too. With so little talent to judge this team on, I have to go with Milwaukee on this one.
Isaiah Collier #8 (UTA)
Cody Williams #5 (UTA)
While not the most successful, both of these teams have been fun to watch in Summer League. The Bulls did well with Buzelis and Essengue, but with both of them gone, this team looks bleak. The one bright spot is Jamir Young, who led the Bulls to a win over the Bucks with 40 points. He’ll likely be the biggest factor in tonight’s game, but Javon Freeman-Liberty could be another player to watch out for. The guard out of DePaul, who played decently with the Raptors last season, was a good complement beside Young. Assuming both of them see a full workload again today, they’re going to be a challenge for the Jazz to slow down.
Utah, even though their record doesn’t show it, was one of the most fun teams this Summer League. The combination of Filipowski, Cody Williams, and Isaiah Collier produced some iconic games. Filipowski, in particular, was the standout of the entire Summer League, averaging nearly 30 points per game. Cody Williams also had some moments, like his 23 points against the Wizards. With Filipowski already benched, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Williams sit as well, but if he ends up playing, this game is going to be razor-close.
Kam Jones #7 (IND)
Jeremiah Fears #0 (NOP)
I really don’t know what happened with the Pelicans Summer League team. They had all the pieces to be pretty good, but it just didn’t work out. Derik Queen was the player I expected to dominate, and even though he played well, it wasn’t enough. The real problem was their shooting, which held the team back. They finished dead last in field goal percentage at 38%. Even for Summer League, that’s just not acceptable. Fears is probably the main reason for that. Shooting 39% from the field and taking nearly 15 attempts a game, he could have found his rhythm. Now that Queen and Missi are benched, I’m not very optimistic about what I’ve seen from the rest of this squad.
The Pacers, on the other hand, are sitting just below the Kings for the best shooting percentage in Summer League. Their time in Vegas hasn’t gone perfectly, but overall I’d call it a success. They let Kam Jones go, and he’s shown us he can still score even at the professional level. It would have been nice to see a little more from Johnny Furphy, but he has shown some improvement. This team, in general, is pretty decent. I don’t think they’ll have much trouble with the Pels tonight.
DaRon Holmes #14 (DEN)
Spencer Jones #21 (DEN)
EJ Liddell #31 (DEN)
Christian Koloko #10 (LAL)
Dalton Knecht #4 (LAL)
Bronny James #9 (LAL)
On to our final game of the night, we’ve got the Lakers and Nuggets clashing. With both teams sitting at 1-3, neither has shown much, but they still have some interesting talent. Of course, the Lakers have Bronny, who has actually been decent this Summer League. We’ve seen him take a big leap offensively, averaging 14 points a game on 48% shooting. Not bad compared to where he was last year. Dalton Knecht has been the other name to watch. I thought he was going to run Summer League as a second-year guy, but nope. He’s been fairly lackluster, and his shot is just not falling, which has really held back the team. This group of guys needed Knecht to hit his shots, and without him, their three-point percentage has dropped to 31%. Not the worst in the Summer League, but certainly not winning many games either. If that lack of shooting holds up against the Nuggets, they’re going to struggle tonight.
It’s not like the Nuggets are shooting any better, but with a player like DaRon Holmes, the three-point shot isn’t as crucial. The second-year big man has been contributing on both ends of the court. In his last game, he grabbed 17 rebounds in 30 minutes. With him in the post and Spencer Jones, the second-year forward out of Stanford, the team looks solid. I think the sheer size advantage of the Nuggets will give them a significant edge tonight.