Thunder Summer League Journal: Tre Mann Part 1
In the Oklahoma City Thunder's opening game of the NBA Summer League, they took on No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons. For the Thunder, all eyes were on their two first-round picks in Josh Giddey and Tre Mann.
With Giddey going down just minutes into the game with an ankle injury, even more pressure was put on the shoulders of Mann who also started in his first ever NBA game.
While it wasn't the perfect night for Mann, he showed flashes of the elite scorer he could be at the next level and helped Oklahoma City pull out the 76-72 win on Sunday night.
Box Score
In his first ever NBA game, Mann took a bit to get going. However, as most scorers do, he got the team a bucket when they needed him most. Hitting a couple of clutch shots in the second half, Mann finished with six points on 3-for-14 shooting.
It was one of those nights where Mann got the looks he wanted, but shots weren't falling. He created shots that he normally converts on, stepping back for 3-point shots and getting into the mid-range with ease.
While he wasn't efficient in this opening contest, it was a really positive showcase for the rookie guard overall. Mann also contributed three rebounds, one assist and one block on the night.
Play of the Game
A walking highlight reel, Mann had a handful of plays that had fans in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on their feet. From crossing defenders over to stepping back and creating a ton of separation, it's clear that he has a flashy style of play. With the shiftiness to create good looks, Mann will score a ton of points in the NBA.
The play of the game for him was an extremely tough layup. Mann drove the lane from the left side of the paint and was an acrobat in the air, finishing with high difficulty at the rim.
Thunder fans should probably get used to plays like this, as the Thunder rookie has shown the ability to be an elite shot maker from all three levels.
Room For Improvement
While Mann's shooting numbers weren't good in this opening game of NBA Summer League, that will correct itself. Over half of his misses nearly went down, meaning there's no need to be concerned with his shooting quite yet.
Rather, Mann could improve on his ball handling and defense. Multiple times against the Pistons, he was loose with the ball and either got it stolen or deflected. Additionally, when going into the lane, Mann showed the need to be stronger with the ball in his hands.
Defensively, he was tasked with guarding Cunningham quite a bit. While he didn't necessarily allow a ton of points to be scored on him, his footwork and communication on switches could have been much better. If he's going to get rotation minutes in the NBA, he'll need to be effective on both ends of the floor.
On the bright side, this was the first 26 minutes of the young rookie's career. Most, if not all of these things will be drastically improved on over the course of the 2021-22 season.
