Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League Squad Looking for Rebound Win Today Against Pistons

In the first look at some potential future Cleveland Cavaliers, they were unsuccessful in pulling out a debut win as they lost to Indiana 99-93.

A few players looked great in the first game. With current Cavalier Nae’Qwan Tomlin finishing the night with a team high 20 points alongside Meleek Thomas. His defense was a highlight of his performance as he applied a ton of pressure and secured three steals along with a block.

Thomas showed his playing style to the fans for the first time. An energetic guard who is not afraid of taking a shot. Thomas would go on to score 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as he tried to bring the team back from a deficit.

His game will develop in the G-League this season certainly, but if he gets opportunities on the main team, he could almost guarantee to make an immediate impact when Dononvan Mitchell or James Harden are off the floor.

These Cavaliers struggled with what the main team did as well. Allowing more three pointers and also giving up 25 free throws compared to Cleveland's 13. With the Summer Leagues free throw rule, allowing too many free throws can destroy momentum.

Ernest Udeh, Jr. who has one of Cleveland's two-way roster spots, was not the most impactful player in the game. His defensive ability and presence was there, but it was not enough to make a difference at the basket.

Other two-way players Tristan Enaruma and Riley Minix struggled with their shots. Enaruma shot 1-7 and Minix took 15 shots with six of them being from three. He did not make any of those three pointers but finished the day with 10 points.

Cavaliers vs. Pistons

Now this afternoon they will be looking to move on from the Pacers loss as they take on the Pistons who also lost their first Vegas Summer League game.

Detroit gave up 16 three pointers in their opening game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Looking for Meleek Thomas to take more shots from beyond the arc this afternoon could help the team out.

Coach Andrew Olson is the team's shooting coach, after one game he will have a better understanding of the teams shot and how to improve and build off of it. His development of these young players will be important if they want to come out of the Summer League looking good.

Malaki Branham made the Cavs Summer League roster. He is the “veteran” of this team even though he is just 23 years old. Branham was a top 20 pick in the 2022 draft and was signed by the Cleveland Charge in March which is how he ended up on this roster.

Trusting Branham when the rest of the team is struggling can also help out if they want to win these games.

Today at 4 p.m. EST you can watch the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Detroit Pistons on Amazon Prime Video.

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