The NBA Summer League is already through four days of basketball, leaving those around the world clamoring for non-Team USA basketball just six more days of games until the annual extravaganza is complete. There’s already been one player that has received a confirmed NBA training camp invite (congratulations, Chris Copeland!), but plenty more players are hoping for a similar opportunity.
There were plenty of players that took a step closer to that opportunity on Monday, too, which we’ve handily decided to list below.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers ended the D-League Select team’s hopes of an undefeated season with a 94-88 victory on Monday night. They did it with their other first round pick and a former D-Leaguer, though, as Tyler Zeller looked great on his way to 19 points and seven rebounds while call-up Donald Sloan had 10 points himself starting beside Dion Waiters on the Summer League roster. Dion Waiters struggled again, however, looking a bit out of shape on his way to 11 points on 14 shots … with a nice dunk to ease the pain a bit, however.
- The D-League Select team didn’t play bad, however, as Jerry Smith scored 21 points and shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc as he single-handedly helped keep the D-League squad in contention. Mardy Collins also looked like the NBA player he used to be on his way to an efficient 12 points and six rebounds as he tries to make it back to the league as a former first round pick.
- The first game of the day featured a very solid outing from Jae Crowder, but since we’ve already highlighted him earlier in the day, the player we’ll highlight is Dominique Jones. Jones is too good to play in Summer League, but not quite good enough to get minutes in the NBA so it’s a bit interesting to watch him play in this setting. He had 21 points on 12 shots and turned the ball over just once, but it’s tough to tell how well he translates. Bernard James also performed admirably as the rookie scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a win.
- On the other end of the floor, Ed Davis was in the same predicament as Jones … except Davis has shown to be a decent player in the NBA already. The young power forward needs to add some weight to his frame, but it wasn’t a problem on Monday afternoon as he scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Bobby Brown was also able to put together his typical solid Summer League performance with 19 points and five assists.
- The Boston Celtics began their Vegas Summer League entry with a victory after playing last week in Orlando and, surprisingly, it wasn’t because Jared Sullinger played out of his mind. Sullinger had a solid 14 points, but fellow rookie Kris Joseph had 14 as well while Dionte Christmas’s impressive play carried over from Orlando as he scored 11 points to go with five rebounds and two assists in a solid defensive effort.
- While watching the game it seemed that Paul Carter was a bright spot for the Atlanta Hawks, but the D-League wing finished with just five points and three rebounds off of the bench. The players that did produce in the box score did so pretty inefficiently, however. Mike Scott and John Jenkins both needed 14 shots apiece to make 12 points while undrafted rookie Jordan Taylor struggled to just four points on 2-of-12 shooting — though at least he contributed in other areas, picking up six rebounds and five assists.
- The Miami Heat made the Los Angeles Lakers’ Summer League squad look worse than it already has with a 106-56 victory. It was an all-around effort from the Heat, to, as all five starters — and Mickell Gladness off the bench — scored in double figures. Norris Cole deserves some individual praise, though, considering his 13 points came on just four shots … and he had nine assists to boot.
- There wasn’t a bright spot for the Lakers squad as they shot just 26.5 percent from the field and turned the ball over 22 times. Yucky.
- Minnesota made its first foray in Vegas on Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers in a game they won with relative ease. Wes Johnson struggled his way to being the leading scorer with 16 points on 17 shots while Derrick Williams scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but it was a pretty solid team effort all-around. Coby Karl looked particularly impressive with nine points as he knocked down three 3-pointers.
- The Clippers got a nice performance out of former Detroit Pistons draft pick Terrico White as he came off the bench to score 16 points off the bench in a loss. Eric Bledsoe was far and away the team’s best player, though, racking up 11 points, five rebounds and four assists — though he seemed to have a bit of an over-passing problem.
- k
The midway point happens Tuesday and, with that, the Chicago Bulls also begin play as they’ll be in action five of the next six nights. Along with the Bulls, 13 other NBA teams will be in action.
