Crossover Chronicles' Philip Rossman-Reich will be at the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League all week. He will provide his thoughts on the day's action in this running post throughout the day.
Three Up, Three Down
UP — Kelly Olynyk, Celtics: This was not his best performance this week by any means. Olynyk has been more efficient and more impressive in earlier games. Still, there is no denying the consistency that Olynyk is coming through with. Even if he missed a key basket late in this game that would have prevented the need for some clutch moments. Olynyk scored 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds.
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DOWN — Trey Burke, Jazz: Trey Burke had a day to think about his poor performance in Utah's opener against Miami on Sunday and prepare to face Patrick Beverley and Houston. He may need more time to figure out what to do next. Burke struggled again shooting 5 for 15 from the floor. He had three assists and five turnovers. Burke had a couple of nice moves, but overall he has been a net negative for the Jazz.
UP — James Ennis, Heat: The Heat's second round pick has shown that he could be another shooter to add to the Heat's staple of shooters. Making the roster will be tough, but Ennis seems capable. He scored a game-high 19 points in Miami's easy win over Orlando, making 5 of 11 shots and draining two 3-pointers too.
DOWN — Justin Harper, Pacers: Two years ago, the Magic traded two second-round picks to draft Justin Harper 30th overall. Magic management changed and they let him go. Now Harper is trying to find a way to stick in the league. It is really tough to see him doing that. He struggled again Tuesday, making only one of his seven shots and both of his 3-pointers. Harper seems to be a stretch-4 that does not stretch the defense.
UP — Reggie Jackson, Thunder: The start of the day was undoubtedly Reggie Jackson who scored an Orlando Summer League record 35 points including 23 in the fourth quarter. All that charged a come-from-behind victory for Oklahoma City for the second straight day. Jackson just clearly looked like the best player all game long and he simply took over and caught fire in the final 10 minutes. No one was stopping him.
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DOWN — Kyle O'Quinn, Magic: It was a pretty poor effort from the Magic in their game against the Heat and things just seemed to compound with each passing moment. O'Quinn really struggled, making only four of his 11 shots and committing seven fouls. Every time it seemed the Magic had a stop, someon on their defensive back line seemed to come back in with a foul to bail the Heat out. It was not pretty.
Summer League Power Rankings
1. Rockets (2-0, 12 points)
2. Thunder (3-0, 14 points)
3. Celtics (2-1, 12 points)
4. Heat (2-1, 14 points)
5. Pacers (1-2, 11 points)
6. Magic (1-2, 8 points)
7. Pistons (1-2, 9 points)
8. Nets (0-2, 2 points)
9. Jazz (1-1, 7 points)
10. Sixers (0-2, 2 points)
Miami Heat 94, Orlando Magic 80
The Heat defense swarmed and pressured the Magic into submission. They took the lead early and recorded the first seven-point sweep of the Orlando Summer League. Using their athleticism around the basket, Miami just thoroughly dominated the Orlando squad full of players on Orlando's regular roster. James Ennis scored 19 points for the Heat and Victor Oladipo had 22 to lead the Magic.
–James Ennis has a really nice-looking shot. I believe that was his m.o. coming out of college, but this is a guy you cannot give daylight to. He drained a couple shots off of ball reversals and made the Magic pay early on. If you are looking for something the Heat might like, it is that ability to make and take open 3-pointers. He would get a lot of them in Miami.
–Victor Oladipo's experiment at point guard is certainly still a work in progress. At times, it seems like he can get into the paint at will and create for others. Other times he comes off a screen and dribbles right into a trap. It is pretty clear it is not natural for him yet.
–The Heat really have established their identity from the top down in the organization. Miami's Summer League team is pretty much running what the main team would run. Lots of pressing and fastbreaking with motion. When any team runs that well, iti s going to be tough for a Summer League team to defend.
Houston Rockets 85, Utah Jazz 71
The Rockets have the best point guard in Summer League right now and it does not even feel close. It might only feel close because the Rockets are winning so easily. Patrick Beverley scored 11 points in 24 minutes, shooting 3 for 6 from the floor and dishing out three assists. He also helped send Trey Burke to his second straight game with a poor shooting percentage. Burke had only 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting and 1-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Alec Burks matched that for the Jazz in shooting 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Utah was out of the game in the middle two quarters and nearly became the first team to get swept in all four quarters before garbage time saved them.
–Trey Burke struggled once again in the first half. He made some puzzling turnovers and did not have the most efficient first half. I am sure he will find his footing with better players around him, but not a good two-game start for the Jazz's new point guard.
–Patrick Beverly should not be in Orlando this week. He is way too good to be here. Just abusing whoever is guarding him on both ends of the floor. He is the point guard you measure everyone against this week.
Oklahoma City Thunder 79, Detroit Pistons 75
For the second straight day, the Thunder found themselves down double digits in the second half. For the second straight day, they caught fire and picked up the win. And they did so in incredibly impressive fashion. Well, at least Reggie Jackson did. Jackson set an Orlando Summer League record with 35 points, including 23 in the fourth quarter alone, to charge the comeback and give Oklahoma City the win. Jackson got where he wanted and made shots with ease, going 12 for 19 from the floor. He was truly a one-man wrecking crew. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 19 for the Pistons.
–Peyton Seva is exactly as advertised. He does all of the things he did in college. He can get into the lane, is a good leader, but he does not do any of it spectacularly. A real possibility he could end up being a fringe player in the NBA. Detroit is probably a good opportunity for him.
–Having watched the Thunder the last two days, it just seems like Reggie Jackson can take over a game any time he wants. The Thunder made another fourth-quarter comeback with an offensive explosion that seemingly came out of nowhere to tie the game against Detroit midway through the fourth quarter. It did not seem like Jackson could miss a shot and that he could get anywhere he wanted against Detroit's interior defense.
–Oklahoma City has an interesting collection of bigs on their Summer League roster. Daniel Orton still has a lot of promise despite seemingly two lost years in Orlando and Oklahoma City. Steven Adams is a promising center whom the Thunder picked up in the Draft. And then there is Grant Jerrett. Jerrett is a big guy who can hit the 3-pointer when left open. He can bang around too with his size. Defensively, he cannot do much right now but that may come if he gets a chance.
Boston Celtics 76, Indiana Pacers 74
Indiana ended the game on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 74 after a late 3-pointer. The Pacers had the strong play they needed from the roster players in Solomon Hill (15 points), Orlando Johnson (13 points) and Donald Sloan (11 points). What the Pacers did not have was the will to sit through a 3-minute overtime period. Indiana elected to foul Phil Pressey in the dying moments to get the last shot. Down two, Sloan missed and the Celtics held on for the win. Kelly Olynyk continued to turn heads with 21 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics.
–It is hard not to be impressed with Kelly Olynyk through three games. He just seems to have all the fundamentals of his game down. His footwork in the post is solid and he has a wide array of moves. He can obviously step out and shoot it making him the perfect versatile piece for a rebuilding Boston team. Defensively and on the glass, he seems to be improving too as he grows in confidence. The regular season will be a different matter, but I like what I see.
