NBA Summer League Day 3 Recap: Second-Year Players Step Up
While Day 2 of the 2022 NBA Las Vegas Summer League on Friday featured seven games dominated by the 2022 rookie class, Day 3 of Summer League on Saturday featured eight games that were mostly controlled by the 2021 draft class and players heading into their second season in the league.
Action began in Cox Pavilion with a matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors, two teams that faced off in the first-round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs this past season, and the main event of the day was the first game in Thomas & Mack Center between the Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings.
This game seemed like a clear runaway for the Magic, as they led by as many as 18 points with just over four minutes to go, but the Kings forged a massive comeback, forcing overtime and then forcing double overtime where the first team to score won.
The day continued with plenty of names sticking out over others, yet injuries continued to find their way into the headlines at Summer League.
Portland Trail Blazers’ first-round pick Shaedon Sharpe suffered a small labral tear in his left shoulder on Thursday and on Saturday, two more rookies suffered some injuries.
The No. 5 overall pick for the Detroit Pistons from this year’s draft in Jaden Ivey rolled his ankle after landing on the foot of his opponent on a shot attempt and then in the final game of the day, the No. 8 overall pick for the New Orleans Pelicans in Dyson Daniels rolled his ankle after landing awkwardly on a layup attempt.
Both players left the game and both rookies could very well be held out of the rest of Summer League for precautionary reasons.
Here is a game-by-game breakdown of what occurred during Day 3 of Las Vegas Summer League, as well as who the “big winner” of the day was.
Toronto Raptors 97, Philadelphia 76ers 77
The Toronto Raptors looked very comfortable in their first Summer League game out in Las Vegas, as they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 97-77 behind Armoni Brooks’ 25 points off-the-bench.
Brooks was signed by Toronto near the end of the 2021-22 season and was featured in 13 games for them after being waived by the Houston Rockets.
Going 5-12 from three-point range and also racking up 7 rebounds, Armoni Brooks proved that he can impact the game being a 6-foot-3 guard.
The Raptors also got good minutes from Christian Koloko, their second-round pick in this year’s draft. Koloko finished the game with 12 points on 4-11 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. The 2022 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year showcased his defensive abilities from anywhere on the floor in his first game with Toronto and he should see minutes early on in his career in Nick Nurse’s system.
As for the Philadelphia 76ers, they struggled to shoot all game long and it seemed like Isaiah Joe was the only player who was ready to go. Joe went 8-14 from the floor, 7-9 from three-point range and ended up with a team-high 24 points for the game.
Heading into his third season with the 76ers, Joe could very well see an uptick in minutes because of his pure scoring abilities, especially from the perimeter. The team has kept Isaiah Joe all of these years because of his “score-first” mentality and with the 76ers investing everything into winning a championship immediately, they could very well get Joe minutes in their second-unit.
Orlando Magic 94, Sacramento Kings 92 F/2OT
This game between the Orlando Magic and the Sacramento Kings was one of the greatest Summer League games I think I have ever seen and the first overall pick in Paolo Banchero had a lot to do with this.
Banchero scored a game-high 23 points on 6-15 shooting and the rest of his numbers were impressive. He ended the game with 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, one of which was one of the most impressive blocks ever.
The first team to score in double overtime wins in Summer League and after Banchero turned the ball over on the first possession of double overtime, the Kings called a timeout.
Drawing up the perfect play coming out of the timeout, Sacramento had a perfect lob to Neemias Queta, an alley-oop that would end the game, but Paolo Banchero came out of nowhere and blocked Queta’s dunk attempt from behind.
This was such a tremendous play by the rookie and following this play, Banchero found himself dishing out the game-winning assist to his teammate Emanuel Terry.
Everything about this game was crazy and it may have very well been the best game in Las Vegas Summer League history due to the Kings’ comeback, the thrilling overtime period and then the drama that ensued in double overtime.
For the Kings, second-year center Neemias Queta finished with 23 points and 8 rebounds, as rookie Keegan Murray finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds, hitting the game-tying three-pointer with less than a second left in regulation.
Miami Heat 88, Boston Celtics 78
A rematch from this past season’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat took down the Boston Celtics thanks to their defensive effort and Mychal Mulder’s game-high 18 points.
After being with the Golden State Warriors earlier in his career and being with the Orlando Magic at the start of the 2021-22 season, Mulder ended up on the Heat at the end of the season after signing a two-way contract.
A solid three-point shooting threat and capable ball-handler, Mychal Mulder impressed off-the-bench on Saturday, shooting 5-7 from three-point range. Max Strus was a breakout performer for the Heat at last year’s Summer League due to his three-point shooting and this year, Mulder could follow in Strus’ footsteps.
Not much stood out for the Celtics in this game, as they really struggled to get anything going offensively. Second-round pick JD Davison looked solid though in his first Summer League game, finishing with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Looking to find more depth on their bench, the Boston Celtics will continue to look to develop their Summer League roster over their next three games.
Detroit Pistons 105, Wizards 99
The Detroit Pistons won their first Summer League game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night and they took care of business once again on Saturday, defeating the Washington Wizards 105-99.
Seven different players for the Pistons scored in double figures and their leading scorer was second-year wing Isaiah Livers. Putting together some solid performances at the end of the 2021-22 season, Livers picked up in Summer League where he left off, scoring 20 points on 4-5 shooting from three-point range.
First-round pick Jalen Duren continued to impress with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, but there was a bit of concern in this game for Detroit, as the No. 5 overall pick in Jaden Ivey appeared to roll his ankle while coming down on a three-point attempt.
Ivey was in a considerable amount of pain initially and while he wanted to stay in the game, the Pistons quicked pulled the plug on the rookie guard, likely leading to an end of his Summer League campaign.
Wizards first-round pick Johnny Davis struggled in his first game out in Las Vegas, going just 1-11 from the floor and finishing with just 6 points. Jordan Schakel carried the load for Washington, scoring 24 points in the loss.
Utah Jazz 72, Atlanta Hawks 66
In a very low scoring affair, the Utah Jazz edged out the Atlanta Hawks 72-66.
Second-year guard Jared Butler led the charge for the Jazz, scoring 15 points and looking very comfortable with the ball in his hands. Butler went 6-11 from the floor and dished out a total of 7 assists, proving that he can be another capable ball-handler in Utah’s backcourt heading into the new year.
Undrafted rookie big man Kofi Cockburn continued to prove his worth in terms of rebounding for Utah, racking up a total of 13 rebounds against the Hawks, 4 of which came on the offensive-end of the floor.
First-round pick AJ Griffin did not play in this game for Atlanta, as he is dealing with right foot discomfort, but second-round pick Tyrese Martin did. In his first action in a Hawks’ uniform, Martin finished the game with 5 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Both the Hawks and Jazz will look to try and find some “diamonds in the rough” this Summer League.
Houston Rockets 90, Oklahoma City Thunder 88
A battle between the No. 2 and No. 3 overall picks from this year’s draft in Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Jabari Smith Jr. (Houston Rockets), respectively, the Houston Rockets barely came away with a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Another thrilled in Thomas & Mack Center, Holmgren ended up with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Thunder, but it was fellow first-round pick Jalen Williams that led the way for them with a team-high 15 points on 7-12 shooting.
Ousmane Dieng, the No. 11 overall pick, ended the game with 10 points and 6 rebounds off-the-bench for Oklahoma City, as Josh Giddey finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists.
For Houston, Jabari Smith Jr. continued to struggle shooting the basketball, going 5-19 from the floor on Saturday, but he did have 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Tari Eason, the No. 17 pick in this year’s draft, continued to impress with 14 points and 11 rebounds, as Josh Christopher continued to prove that Year 2 in the league could be a breakout year for him, scoring 19 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists.
There is a lot to like if you are a fan of either team here, as both the Thunder and Rockets have some impressive looking young cores.
Los Angeles Clippers 94, Memphis Grizzlies 76
Entering the 2022-23 season as a true championship contender, the Los Angeles Clippers are utilizing Summer League this year as a means to develop a young core behind the scenes.
Last year’s draftees in Jason Preston and B.J. Boston were both in action, as was this year’s second-round pick in Moussa Diabate.
A young, raw big man coming out of Michigan, Diabate still has a lot of work to do in order to make an impact at the NBA-level, but he looked solid in his debut with Los Angeles.
Scoring 10 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, Moussa Diabate had a solid outing and will look to build off of his success the rest of this Summer League event. B.J. Boston was the Clippers’ leading scorer with 15 points on 3-5 shooting from deep.
For the Memphis Grizzlies, rookies Jake LaRavia, David Roddy and Kennedy Chandler struggled to get anything going offensively. However, undrafted rookie Kenny Lofton Jr., who has agreed to a two-way deal with the team, continued to impress after his recent performances in the Salt Lake City Summer League.
Lofton had 18 points off-the-bench for Memphis on Saturday, going 8-9 from the floor and converting on all of his opportunities at the rim and in the paint.
He may have been undrafted, but Kenny Lofton Jr. could very well end up as an impact bench player from this year’s draft class given his size and high basketball IQ.
Portland Trail Blazers 85, New Orleans Pelicans 68
In the final game of the night, the Portland Trail Blazers handled the New Orleans Pelicans fairly easily. Rookie Shaedon Sharpe did not play for Portland due to a small labral tear in his left shoulder, but two second year talents in Trendon Watford and Keon Johnson showed up to play.
Watford impressed near the end of this past year for the Trail Blazers and he looked solid in this game for Portland, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Keon Johnson went 5-11 from the floor and had 12 points for the Blazers.
On the other side of things, Trey Murphy III had a game-high 23 points on 7-16 shooting, 8-8 from the free-throw line. He also finished the game with 8 rebounds for New Orleans.
Playing in his first Summer League game for the Pelicans, Dyson Daniels did not get anything going early on and to make matters worse, he suffered an ankle injury that forced him out of the game. Daniels’ status for the rest of Summer League is definitely in question now.
With CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram all healthy and having a solid group of depth, the New Orleans Pelicans could possibly be a Top-4 team in the Western Conference during the 2022-23 season.
Day 3’s Biggest Winner: Paolo Banchero - Orlando Magic
Between leading his team to a double overtime victory to having an amazing game-saving block on an alley-oop attempt, Paolo Banchero definitely takes the honors for being the star of Day 3 at Summer League.
As mentioned earlier, Banchero finished with a game-high 23 points on 6-15 shooting and the rest of his numbers were impressive. He did have 8 turnovers, but the first overall pick had 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
No matter where he was on the floor, Banchero made a positive impact for the Orlando Magic, adding more fuel to the fire for why he is very deserving of being the top pick from this year’s draft.
