With a total of eight teams in action, Summer League opening night brought us a look at some of the big name rookies selected in the 2018 NBA Draft a few weeks ago.
There’s nothing quite like summer basketball. With the weather taking a turn for the better, people across the country are packing hardwoods and blacktops to shoot their shot.
It’s no different in the NBA; yesterday was opening night for both the Utah Summer League and the Sacramento Kings’ aptly named California Classic Summer League.
Three of the top-five picks from the NBA Draft — Marvin Bagley III (second overall pick), Jaren Jackson Jr. (fourth overall pick), and Trae Young (fifth overall pick) — played their first professional games. There was good and bad on display from the newcomers (as is to be expected with rookies), however some of the better performances came from NCAA veterans like Grayson Allen (11 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists) and Moritz Wagner (23 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block).
It’s only Game 1 for these players, so let’s keep ourselves from jumping to reckless assumptions just yet. Nevertheless, here’s a recap of what we’ve seen so far.
Young misfires
Trae Young made a name for himself at Oklahoma by taking and making three-pointers from ridiculous distances. His perimeter ability helped him become the first player in NCAA history to lead all of Division 1 in points per game and assists per game over the course of a season. Night 1 showed that Young isn’t playing against Kansas anymore.
Matched up against familiar Big 12 foe Jevon Carter, Young finished the game shooting 4-20 from the field and 1-11 from three. He opened his NBA career with back-to-back three-point air balls. Carter didn’t particularly hound Young like he did when the two faced off in college, Young had multiple good and or open looks from behind the arc, but just couldn’t get them to drop last night.
The real eye-opener from this game was that the Atlanta Hawks seem to be completely bought-in on the Trae Young Experience. There were questions in the build up to the draft and even after he was traded on draft night about whether or not an NBA team would allow Young to play anything close to what he was afforded as a Sooner under Lon Kruger. Atlanta’s summer league team is being coached by first-time head coach Lloyd Pierce, so it seems that Young’s light will remain green in the NBA too.
Ultimately, Young’s performance was a reminder that basketball is truly a make-or-miss league. In the first half he connected on none of his nine attempts, including missing on six three-pointers. The second half saw him hit four of his final 11 attempts and going one-for-five on three-pointers. We’ve seen shooters put up clunkers before, this won’t be the last time Young can’t buy a basket, but it certainly isn’t the first impression he wanted to make on the NBA.
Going forward, Young needs to bring his ability as a facilitator to the forefront. Second-team All-Rookie center, John Collins attempted just seven shots in this game; that’s nowhere near enough. Collins is here to build chemistry with Young as they are the two big pieces of the Hawks future. Young’s skill as a shot maker will allow his teammates to forgive nights like this, but only having three assists will not be.
Jaren Jackson Jr., superstar
While Young couldn’t get his shot to fall, Memphis Grizzlies rookie, Jaren Jackson Jr., couldn’t miss. Just take a look at this buzzer-beating halfcourt-heave he sank to end the first half. Jackson Jr. finished the night with 29 points and hit eight of his 13 three-point attempts — to put it in perspective, the points and made threes were more than he had in any game during his lone season at Michigan State.
Playing alongside another one-and-done former Spartan, Deyonta Davis, Jackson Jr. lived on the perimeter all game (he finished 1/2 on non three-pointers). Jackson Jr.’s ability to space the floor as a big is something that all teams have been searching for to counter the current smallball era the modern NBA finds itself in. Jackson Jr. and Marc Gasol can both stretch the floor for Memphis, and after years of Grit-N-Grind, bullying interior-oriented offense, the Grizzlies find themselves with two bigs that are tailor-made to play in today’s game.
Another area of Jackson Jr.’s game that helped prop him to the top of the draft was his defense. The Grizzlies had him matched up with John Collins and he held his own. He notched two blocks in his first game and while he has the ability to protect the rim, it’s the fact that he combines that with being able to switch onto smaller players. In the long run, the hope is that Jackson Jr. would be able to guard all five positions on the floor.
As the youngest player drafted in this class, he won’t turn 19 until September 15, the sky is the limit for this young man. The potential is is there for everyone to see and it is on Memphis and Jackson Jr. to make sure that they are able to maximize it.
Sacramento is fun again
In the early 2000s, the Sacramento Kings put together a roster — highlighted by Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac — that was the biggest threat to the Shaq and Kobe Lakers teams that dominated the early aughts.
Long playoff runs and cowbells became a staple of California’s capital. However, ever since that team disbanded things haven’t been the same for the Kings. The team brought Divac back as the general manager and vice president of basketball operations hoping some of that mojo would rub off on the franchise once more.
After 12 years of nothing to root for — aside from the occasional DeMarcus Cousins explosion — the Kings are on their way to a franchise rejuvenation spearheaded by the front court duo of Marvin Bagley III and Harry Giles. Both making their NBA debuts (Giles sat out all of the 2017-18 season to rehabilitate knee issues that have plagued him since high school), the tandem combined to score 31 points, grab nine rebounds, four blocks and shot 12/21 from the floor and 2/4 on three-pointers.
The Golden 1 Center was filled to capacity and an early Bagley III poster slam over Moritz Wagner got the crowd out of their seats. Bagley III and Giles complement each other well, both former Blue Devils possess inside-out games. Bagley III is the better interior scorer, while Giles has developed his outside shot in his “redshirt” season in the NBA last year. Sacramento used a variety of “Horns” — where post players begin sets at the elbows — and ran their offense through their bigs. Yet, the real attraction is this team’s uptempo pace. With De’Aaron Fox blazing up and down the floor, the ability of Bagley III and Giles to get out in transition and make plays can give this team advantages and easy points.
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With another summer influx of talent changing conferences (see: James, LeBron) it is highly unlikely that the Kings will put an end to their NBA-high 12 season playoff drought this year, but the young talent on this team will certainly be the most entertaining Kings team since Divac was suiting up in purple and black.