NBA Summer League roundup: Trail Blazers go with veterans

Thursday’s results

San Antonio 106, Charlotte 105

Minnesota 78, Chicago 59

Brooklyn 84, Washington 81 (2 OT)

Indiana 97, Portland 64

Boston 108, Orlando 71

Toronto 92, Houston 76

Philadelphia 96, Atlanta 88 (OT)

Phoenix 90, Denver 84

Friday’s schedule

1 p.m.: Minnesota vs. Milwaukee, NBA TV (T&M)

2 p.m.: Miami vs. Utah, ESPNU (COX)

3 p.m.: New Orleans vs. Cleveland, NBA TV (T&M)

4 p.m.: Golden State vs. Oklahoma City , ESPN2 (COX)

5 p.m.: New York vs. Detroit, NBA TV (T&M)

6 p.m.: Memphis vs. Sacramento, ESPNU (COX)

7 p.m.: L.A. Lakers vs. L.A. Clippers, NBA TV (T&M)

Spotted

Former UNLV subordinate Derrick Jones Jr. watched his Trail Blazers play the Pacers astatine the Thomas & Mack Center. Despite going undrafted successful 2016, he’s go a item reel, which is nary astonishment for Rebels fans. Jones won the NBA Slam Dunk contention successful 2020.

Reigning WNBA MVP and Aces prima A’ja Wilson took successful the action. She didn’t look to person her Olympic golden medal connected her, bucking a caller trend.

Paige Bueckers, past season’s nationalist assemblage subordinate of the year, besides was successful attendance. According to the Wall Street Journal, the UConn sophomore could marque $1 cardinal a twelvemonth acknowledgment the NCAA standards regarding name, representation and likeness being changed.

Actual NBA players

The Trail Blazers are arsenic adjacent to a existent NBA squad arsenic determination is astatine Summer League.

They decided to play respective veterans alternatively than enactment retired a roster afloat of first- and second-year players.

And the Blazers are playing similar a seasoned team. At slightest they were earlier losing by 33 points connected Thursday to the Pacers, which near Portland Summer League manager Roy Rogers wondering if the prima really would travel up the adjacent morning.

The question is wherefore the Blazers went with this approach.

“What happens sometimes successful Summer League is young guys thin to property a small spot and instrumentality ill-advised shots,” Rogers said. “We thought we could person immoderate seasoned players truthful those young guys could consciousness comfy and play much into their relation successful the regular season.”

On the Summer League roster are 11-year seasoned Michael Beasley, eight-year vet Kenneth Faried and fifth-year pro Emmanuel Mudiay. Players who astir apt thought their Summer League days were acold down them, but Beasley and Faried are doing what they tin to find their mode onto an NBA roster.

Only 3 different players connected Summer League rosters are successful their 5th twelvemonth oregon aboriginal — the Nets’ Brandon Knight, the Warriors’ Gary Payton II and the Spurs’ Skal Labissiere.

“There are not batch of vets connected immoderate (other) Summer League teams,” Blazers rookie Greg Brown III said. “We’ve got the astir of them, truthful they cognize what it’s similar to beryllium successful an NBA practice, an NBA game, an NBA locker room. So I effort to consciousness what they’re talking about.”

Cox is rocking

The marquee matchups typically spell to the Thomas & Mack, but easy the champion games the past 2 days were astatine Cox Pavilion.

Thursday’s opener betwixt the Spurs and Hornets was decided with little than a 2nd remaining connected an acrobatic shot. That was followed by a double-overtime crippled betwixt the Wizards and Nets, which meant a sudden-death ending. The Nets won it connected Cam Thomas’ 28-foot 3-pointer. The last crippled of the nighttime determination went to overtime, with the 76ers defeating the Hawks.

Two of the 3 games astatine Cox connected Wednesday went into treble overtime.

Player of the day

Spurs constituent defender Tre Jones drove the lane, hung successful the aerial and double-clutched earlier making the winning layup with 0.4 seconds near to bushed the Hornets. It was the capper of an outstanding crippled for Jones, who had 34 points and 9 assists.

Thomas of the Nets deserves astatine slightest an honorable mention. Not lone did helium marque the game-winner from deep, helium besides scored 31 points.