2012 NBA Summer League: Day 2By:

New York 77 (0-1) Memphis 93 (1-0)
Boxscore

Day 2 tipped off with the Memphis Grizzlies making a strong start to 2012 Summer League with a 93-77 win over the New York Knicks. Memphis was led by 2nd year player Josh Selby who shot the ball well from long range, finishing with 20 Points (5/7 3fg). He was well supported by 25th Pick Tony Wroten who was impressive in his pro debut.

The Grizzlies got off to a strong start on the back of some pressure defense led by Selby & Jeremy Pargo (8pts 4assists). The Knicks substituted all five players within the first 5 minutes of the game after the Grizzlies opened up a small lead. Selby’s early steal and dunk started the run that built the first quarter lead of 36-15.

Wroten & Deon Thompson (7pts 4rebs) had solid games. Players like Thompson are a pleasure to watch. He does the little things well, brings the same effort every game and has improved since his last appearance in Vegas. Wroten got better as the game went on, hitting back to back three balls in the 3rd quarter. He moved well off the ball, made some good cuts and displayed his all round game. He drew reactions from the crowd with some nice handles and drives to the basket. Wroten finished with 19 points 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Matt Janning also had a solid game. He was patient with his offence and shot the ball well today finishing with 13 points 4 rebounds on 4/6 shooting.

JR Smith’s presence on the Knicks bench wasn’t enough to inspire them to a first up win. Smith would’ve been impressed with Brother Chris’ half time buzzer beater however. Chris Smith finished with 7 points, showing an ability to get into the lane and use his pull up jumper. The Knicks were led by Artsiom Parakhouski who provided the knicks with an inside presence. Parakhouski rebounded well and finished around the basket most of the game. He did miss a point blank lay in he should’ve made and finished with 13 points & 8 rebounds.

Although not entirely reflected in the box score, Chris Copeland & James White also impressed for New York. Copeland has good length and brought energy to the Knicks line up. He showed some solid post defense and has some range on his shot. Copeland ended the game with 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. James White has good size and athleticism, can handles the ball in the open court and create for himself and his team mates. His shot has room for improvement however. He finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds & 7 assists.

New York to their credit did well to stay in the game. After being down 25 at one stage, the game could’ve easily turned into another Summer League blowout. The Knicks return to Cox Pavilion tomorrow to face the Phoenix Suns. The Grizzlies have a couple of days off to prepare for the Wizards on Tuesday.

Golden State (2-0) 95 Denver 74 (0-1)
Boxscore

The Golden State Warriors defeated Denver Nuggets in the 2nd game of day 2. In a tightly contested game for the most part, the Warriors, led by Charles Jenkins, pulled away in the final quarter to post a 95-74 victory. Harrison Barnes & Klay Thompson did their best to replicate yesterday’s shooting performance & for a while it looked like it was going to be matched if not exceed, with Thompson stroking 4 three’s in the first five minutes of the game.

Barnes however struggled early, putting up an air ball in the first minute and taking questionable shots for most of the first half. His selection improved but despite his below average shooting game, he was still making hustle plays and having an impact on the game. He played good defense on Hamilton & finished the game with 17 points (5/17 FG) 7 rebounds & 4 steals.

Teammate Jenkins exercised excellent shot selection however, knocking down 9 of his 12 field goal attempts. He scored six consecutive points to end the 3rd and give the Warriors a small lead.

Denver’s Jordan Hamilton played a confident game & led Denver with 18 points 5 rebounds and 2 assists. He was clearly one of, if not the best player on the floor. Kenneth Faried put up forgetable shooting numbers but was a handful all game. He shot some ugly foul shots that weren’t even close. He had an easier time when defended by Jeremy Tyler (0pts 2rebs 1blk) & finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds & 3 assists.

Derwin Kitchen was fairly impressive controlling Denver’s offense and looked a little similar to Andre Miller with the ball in his hands. Unfortunately, like Miller, he doesn’t have the most reliable of outside shots but did show his ability to penetrate and hit a mid range shot. He ended the game with 10 points 4 rebounds 2 assists & 3 steals.

Denver’s 20th pick, Frenchman Evan Fournier had a decent game in his debut. He had a steal & dunk in the first quarter and his defense on Thompson tightened up as the game progressed, forcing a Warriors timeout on one occasion.

2nd round picks Quincy Miller (6pts 8rebs) & Izzet Turkyilmaz (4pts 5 rebs) showed flashes of the talents that got them drafted. Miller is long & athletic and did some good things on both ends of the floor. His best play came from an offensive rebound and dunk. Turkyilmaz didn’t bother the scorers table a great deal but played his role fairly well & drew a healthy applause after a sequence where he bothered a Barnes dunk, ran the floor, then threw a pass behind his head to Gani Lawal (5pts 3rebs) who went to the line. His 15 footer from the elbow didn’t quite receive as much reaction from the crowd.

Los Angeles Lakers (0-2) 72 Sacramento (1-1) 84
Boxscore

In a game where both teams struggled shooting the ball, the Kings pulled away in the 4th to take a 84-72 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 3rd game today at Cox Pavilion. After a 15 point game yesterday, Kings guard Josh Akognon was hot from outside throughout game connecting on 4 three pointers on his way to a game high 25 points. Akognon was also strong in the open court where he finished a couple of transition baskets.

Although Thomas Robinson shot only 3/13 from the floor he got to the line and recorded his first double-double of this year’s Summer League, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Crowd favorite Jimmer Fredette had a better start to today’s game but again shot poorly from the field in the end, going 3/11 tonight. He missed some good looks and finished the game with 15 points 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

Tony Mitchell had a solid all round game finishing with 8 points 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. He saved his best play for last when he woke the crowd up with a thunderous dunk in the last minutes. A play which is sure to make the Sportscenter highlight reel.

The Lakers once again had an awful shooting game barely reaching the 30% mark. Believe it or not that is actually a slight improvement from their first game. Andrew Goudelock (11pts 3/14fg), Christian Eyenga (8pts 4/13fg) Darius Morris (17pts 5/15fg) & Darius Johnson-Odom (9pts 3/10fg) again combined for a woeful 15/52 from the field. At least they are consistent. The play of Robert Sacre was the one bright spot for Los Angeles, posting a double-double with 11 points & 10 rebounds. Second round pick Sacre has a good motor and worked hard all game. He too missed some easy shots he should’ve finished.

Both teams have a day off and return to action in Thomas & Mack Center on Monday.

Houston (1-1) 70 Washington (1-1) 76
Boxscore

[img_assist|nid=56234|title=Jeremy Lamb|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=300|height=451]The Washington Wizards recorded their first win of the 2012 Summer League with a 76-70 win over the Houston Rockets to conclude action on day 2.

Wizards first round pick Bradley Beal led Washington with 14 points on 4/10 from the field. His movement off the ball was again impressive and also collected 5 rebounds & 4 assists. Shelvin Mack led the team well from the point & gave defending guard problems with his upper body strength. He and Scott Machado had a nice little battle during the 3rd quarter. He played strong on ball defense & finished with 11 points 3 rebounds & 3 assists.

Chris Singleton started the game looking to be aggressive offensively, hitting an early baseline jumpshot & finished off with 10 points 2 rebounds & 2 blocks. Jan Vesely (8pts 5rebs) is looking more comfortable but did have a rough time when match up on the more physical Royce White (4pts 1reb) & on one occasion was sent flying to the floor after contact with White and lost his shoe in the process. He missed most of the Rockets next possession trying to put his shoe on.

Second round pick Tomas Satoransky did some good things and tried his best to excite the crowd, firstly with a drive and left handed dunk then impressively finished off a lob from Steven Gray (6pts 4rebs 4assists & 2 stls) midway through the final quarter. He is a talented player however will likely lack the foot speed to guard the point at the NBA level. He collected 11 points & 2 boards.

Jeremy Lamb was easily the Rockets best player today. He airballed one long ball but got to the line and ended up with a game high 26 on 8/15 shooting. Donatas Motiejunas didn’t score a field goal the entire game, going 0/5 from the field, however did display his ability & willingness to look for the open man and make the right pass. He didn’t quite look the same player as yesterday & finished with an underwhelming line of 1 point 4 rebounds & 1 assist. Until the 4th quarter, Terrence Jones had a limited impact on the game and went down in the 3rd after a drive and was slow to his feet. He got going late & helped get the Rockets back within touch after trailing by 25 points at one stage. He saw 21 minutes of action and posted 16pts 5rebs.

In a physical & at times spiteful game, Marcus Morris (7pts 3rebs) & Singleton exchanged some words after the first quarter and needed to be separated. Morris was also shaken up later by a hard foul from Gray

Chandler Parsons sat out tonight’s game. There was talk of a hand injury however sources close to the Rockets say his hand isn’t an issue and was only ever going to play a game or two this summer.

The Wizards will play their 3rd game in as many days tomorrow against the D-League select team. Houston will have a day’s rest and be back to take on the Sacramento Kings on Monday

Golden State gets a few days off before returning on Wednesday to take on the Miami Heat. Denver is back tomorrow to match up against the Dallas Mavericks.