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 — Ian Clark, Heat: The Heat featured a ton of athletic players and put that athleticism on display throughout the week. Clark is not one of those crazy good athletes, but proved to be an adept player and a really smart point guard. If the Heat are looking for another point guard, this rookie could be their guy. Clark scored 18 points, dished out seven assists and recorded six steals (one off the Orlando Summer League record set later in the day). There was no reason to be upset with his play all week and he did everything the coaches asked of him.
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DOWN — Trey Burke, Jazz: It was another forgettable end to a forgettable week for Burke. The rookie point guard continued to struggle with his shot, making just 4 of 12 shots. That actually might have improved his field goal percentage for the week. Burke still dished out five assists and was more in control. But he did not execute with the game on the line down the stretch and it was just not a good week for the Michigan rookie.
UP — Khalif Wyatt, 76ers: Wyatt has been an interesting prospect throughout the week. He has shown a knack for scoring and an ability to put the ball in the basket at a high rate. He will not get the ball that much in the regular season. Still, it is hard to ignore 27 points on 6-for-9 shooting in his Summer League finale. Add in 12 of 14 free throw shooting and you have a guy doing everything he could to get his team its first win of the summer.
DOWN — Korie Lucious, Pistons: Lucious' week was a mixed bag throughout the week. He scored fine and he did a decent job at point but probably did not do enough to earn a roster spot or training camp invite. Lucious had 12 points and six assists, but shot 4 for 15 from the floor. He was not an efficient offensive option today.
UP — Orlando Johnson, Pacers: Johnson is a guy with some NBA experience and he had a very even week. Nothing spectacular from him, but it was not an awful week by any stretch. Johnson had his best performance on the final day, scoring 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting. If scoring was all that was asked of him, he did it.
DOWN — Tyler Honeycutt, Rockets: All week, Honeycutt was up and down and probably did not do enough to earn a roster invite. His shooting has improved some and he played with confidence, but he did not do enough to alleviate fears that he has completed his game and rounded into form. He scored four points on 2-for-9 shooting as the Thunder walked away with the league championship.
Summer League Power Rankings
1. Thunder (5-0)
2. Rockets (5-0)
3. Celtics (3-2)
4. Heat (3-2)
5. Pacers (3-2)
6. Pistons (2-3)
7. Magic (2-3)
8. Jazz (2-3)
9. Sixers (1-4)
10. Nets (0-5)
Crossover Chronicles All-Summer League Team
G – Reggie Jackson, Thunder
G – Victor Oladipo, Magic
C – Andre Drummond, Pistons
F – Jeremy Lamb, Thunder — MVP
F – Kelly Olynyk, Celtics
Philadelphia 76ers 89, Brooklyn Nets 86
The Orlando Summer League closed with the Sixers finally getting their first win. Khalif Wyatt continued his superb Summer League with 27 points on six-for-nine shooting as Philadelphia took the lead on the Nets in this close encounter. Brooklyn, which only had six players available to it with the Las Vegas Summer League starting up, fought back continually. Mason Plumlee scored 23 points and Kris Benson had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Nets.
Boston Celtics 102, Orlando Magic 83
The Magic rested their key players from earlier in the week and the new crew struggled to find their footing. The Celtics took as much as a 29 point lead and never trailed in a 102-83 blowout. Boston got 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting and seven rebounds from kelly Olynyk in 15 minutes. Seven players scored in double figures. A.J. Slaughter had 25 points, nine assists and seven steals for the Magic. DeQuan Jones scored 15 points in 18 minutes for Orlando.
Oklahoma City Thunder 88, Houston Rockets 75
The Oklahoma City Thunder won the Orlando Pro Summer League championship with a stellar 40-minute performance against the Rockets in the championship game. Except for giving up a 19-2 run to bring the lead to three points in the fourth quarter, the Thunder dominated this game throughout. Granted, the Rockets sate Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones for this one. The Thunder got 18 points from Jeremy Lamb and 12 points from Daniel Orton off the bench. Robert Covington scored 21 for the Rockets in what was ultimately a comeback gone short.
Indiana Pacers 73, Utah Jazz 70
Trey Burke had two opportunities to put a good taste in his mouth leaving a forgettable week in Orlando. The Jazz rookie played slightly better as a distributor and playmaker but did little more in the way of scoring. With a chance to win the game, Burke overdribbled and had to heave a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. He got another chance with the Jazz down three to make a buzzer beater from the corner, but that too was no good. Burke scored eight points on 4-for-12 shooting. Orlando Johnson had 18 points to lead Indiana.
–The more Rudy Gobert I see, the more he looks like JaVale McGee. The length, defensive presence and physical awkwardness of McGee are all there. Hopefully he has a better mental makeup. But Gobert is definitely a prospect worth developing and exploring in the coming years.
–Trey Burke playing much more composed today. Not hitting his shot still, but taking fewer of them and trying to create for others. Still a very forgettable week for him. He did not hurt as much Friday, but he still did not help much either.
–The Pacers' Solomon Hill has really impressed me throughout the week. Maybe my expectations were just low. I thought the Pacers took a real flyer in taking him in the first round in this Draft. But HIll showed an incredible amount of versatility and a much better shooting stroke than I thought. His ideal role is as a defender and not a scorer, but Pacers have to feel good about the find if he was their guy all along.
Miami Heat 90, Detroit Pistons 85
The Heat and Pistons went down to the wire again for the second straight day as the Heat outscored the Pistons 30-17 in the final quarter. The game was not clinched though until Kentavious Caldwell-Pope turned the ball over on an inbounds pass, missing Korie Lucious and seeing the ball bound its way down the court untouched. It was a damper to what was a solid game from both teams. Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points and Andre Drummond had 15 points and 14 rebounds for Detroit. Ian Clark scored 18 and James Nunnally had 17 for the Heat.
–Andre Drummond completed a dominant Summer League around the rim today with another strong scoring and rebounding performance. I am not sure that his offensive game has expanded much from last year, but after the back injury last year, it was good to see him moving around well and being active. Drummond was certainly the best center in Orlando this week.
–Hard not to be impressed with how Miami's players played this week. A lot of athleticism is presenton that roster that would fit what the Heat would want to do. Guys like Ian Clark, Michael Dunigan, D.J. Kennedy and D.J. Stephens showed enough to get a training camp invite somewhere and the chance to earn a roster spot. I do not think that place will be Miami because of the numbers crunch with that team. They deserve a shot somewhere.
