Cade and Jalen Green Duel For First Time In NBA!
There is still nothing going on in the NBA. Dennis Schroder still hasn’t signed, although it looks like he’s going to Boston. Nothing has come out about the tampering investigation as of right now. So it’s time for more Summer League coverage (I’m so creative).
Today players like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Jalen Johnson, and Davion Mitchell will be showcased from Las Vegas.
Atlanta Hawks vs Indiana Pacers
Atlanta Hawks
Sharife Cooper had himself a game. 8/14 shooting from the field, 5/8 from 3, with 21 points and 9 assists. Oh, and he he hit the game winner, so bonus points for him there. His outside shot was falling, which was one his weaknesses coming out of Auburn. Looked comfortable, really good game from him, showing his upside. I know the Hawks snagged Delon Wright via trade, but I am hoping he gets some minutes this upcoming season, I think he could be a very good backup to Trae Young.
Jalen Johnson looked good again. 18 points and 10 rebounds. Very dangerous in transition, a lob threat, and solid defense. Can’t wait to see him getting minutes with Atlanta, he fits in very well to what they’re doing there. They need a forward with Okungwu out and I think Nate McMillan knows how to use a versatile forward like Johnson because of John Collins. Really like his fit with the Hawks.
Indiana Pacers
Chris Duarte was very good again. 21 points and 7 rebounds with 5 3-pointers. He looks very NBA-ready and should make an immediate impact with the Pacers this season.
Isaiah Jackson looked much better in this game, as he finally got to practice a little bit. Of course with the Westbrook trade he couldn’t officially go to Indiana until a few days ago, which explains his poor first game. But in this game, he had 13 points and 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes. Should be a solid backup big for Indiana who desperately need his defense down low.
Cassius Stanley, a 2nd round pick last year, had 14 points. But a good showing from the two Pacers’ rookies.
Boston Celtics vs Denver Nuggets
Boston Celtics
Aaron Nesmith, oh my god. 13/18 shooting, 7/9 from 3 with 33 points and 7 rebounds. The Celtics are going to need that shooting in addition to his hustle next season. Probably his best game as a Boston Celtic as he looked really good. Maybe for once a Celtics first round pick will actually work out.
Payton Pritchard also looked really good. 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assists on 6/10 shooting. He had a +/- of +34. He should be one of the backup guards for the Celtics and he’s looked pretty good in the Summer League. This was one of his better games as a Celtic as they’re going to need him in 2022.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets dealt with Covid before the Summer League but now some of their young guys finally played.
Bol Bol, the goat, went 8/12 from the field with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Still one of the most interesting players in the league, maybe he deserves some playing time?
Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland had 16 points and 7 assists. He’s a really good shot creator and could really help Denver’s bench, especially with Murray out to miss the season.
(Zeke Nnaji was 0/9 from the field. A game to forget, for sure).
Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs
Chicago Bulls
Patrick Williams looked good, better than his first game in Vegas. Pretty good shooting for 30 points and 7 rebounds. He’s going to be a very good complimentary piece for the Bulls this upcoming season.
San Antonio Spurs
They didn’t play Josh Primo. Nice. Tre Jones was good I guess, but I don’t know why Primo didn’t play.
Getting him reps is incredibly important with him being so young at just 18 years old, so I wonder why he didn’t play.
Detroit Pistons vs Houston Rockets
Detroit Pistons
Cade was better in this game. Looked more assertive a times, didn’t let the defense dictate what he was doing, something that he did in the first game. 8/18 shooting with 20 points. Pretty good night, guarded Jalen Green at times and did a good job. The scoring was on display but we didn’t really see the rebounding/passing just yet. Something that I’m hoping we’ll see later on the in the Summer League, but he looked a lot better in this game.
Saddiq Bey was good, saw some off the dribble creation from him, which is going to the next level offensively for him. Saben Lee was quite good, Luka Garza hit some more shots and hustled very well down low. Apparently he lost 25 pounds and it’s showing, he’s been really good in Vegas so far.
{RANT ALERT}
To all the people saying Cade is bad, it’s his 2nd game. Let’s wait before we decide how good/bad a player is going to be. Just because he’s the #1 overall pick, he doesn’t have to be amazing from the jump. Really don’t like it when people act like somebody’s career is defined by two summer league games. Let’s wait a little bit longer before we truly evaluate Cade.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets’ rookies are looking really good so far. Their 3 first round picks have looked really solid and Houston’s rebuild should be off to a good start with these 3 guys.
Josh Christopher had 15 points and 7 assists. Got out in transition and hit some shots off the dribble. Not known as anything other than a scorer in college, so the 7 assists is enticing for his development.
Alperen Sengun is looking really, really nice. 8/14 shooting, 21 points and 8 rebounds. He hit a logo 3-pointer, worked well in the post, had some good passes and great defense. He looks so polished already at such a young age, obviously playing with grown men in Turkey helped him out there. I liked Sengun before the draft, but he’s looking like he’s going to turn out to be very good.
Jalen Green was solid. 10/11 free throw shooting, got to the line. Efficient game, 6/10 overall from the field with 25 points and 5 rebounds. Went to the rim more in this game and got to the line a lot more. Struggled a bit with turnovers to start the game, but once he settled in? Green is likely going to be one of the best scorers in the league at one point in his career and he’s made me a believer after these first two games in Vegas.
Kenyon Martin Jr. also had 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. He’s looked good. The Rockets’ young core has looked incredibly impressive thus far as they should be a very fun team to watch during the season.
Sacramento Kings vs Washington Wizards
Sacramento Kings
I love Davion Mitchell more and more as the days go by. He had another solid, efficient game tonight with 12 points and elite defense. I really like what he’s going to bring to the table for the Kings. They need his defense so bad and he can fit with Fox/Haliburton really well. The fit is still interesting, but the talent is there and I hope Luke Walton finds a way to use his effectively, because he can wreck havoc at times if put in the right spots.
Nobody else on the Kings means that much to me, but hey, Davion Mitchell is pretty good at basketball.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards dealt with Covid, so their squad is probably messed up. They haven’t gotten to practice as much, so this game or it’s performances doesn’t really matter to me in that context.
Corey Kispert had 8 points, he was ok. But again, these guys weren’t given the best deck of cards, so I’m just going to forget this game happened for them and move on.
What Are Your Thoughts From Day 3 of the Summer League? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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