Shabazz Napier gets crossed over at Miami Heat Summer League (Video)
By Josh Hill
Shabazz Napier and other rookies from this year’s NBA Draft class are starting to make their debut with the teams who took them or trade for them and so far the results have been mixed. Not everyone has made their summer league debut, but those that have are trying to avoid rookie mistakes that will make them the laughing stock of the basketball world.
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Miami Heat rookie guard Shabazz Napier didn’t avoid this partcular situation and is getting trolled by fans who were upset to see him go to the Miami Heat. In his Summer League debut against the Boston Celtics, Napier got deked bad and crossed over by Phil Pressey.
Rookie mistake, right?
Napier is under intense pressure in Miami thanks to the fact he was traded for as part of the first steps Pat Riley was taking to convince the Big 3 to return to South Beach next season. The steps that have followed have been more like drunken stumbles as the Heat are quickly letting the Big 3 slip through their fingers and Napier’s career might start off with more pressure to succeed and carry the team than we thought.
He’s not the only player who can help the Heat and not having the national spotlight on Miami might actually help, but Napier is clearly still growing as a player and Heat fans can take solace in the fact that this is just a Summer League mistake and nothing more.