Orlando Summer League day four recap: Basketball can be ugly
By Ian Levy
The fourth day of Orlando Summer League is in the books and it was an ugly one to say the least. The most exciting game of the day may have had a sudden death victory in double overtime, but the basketball was so bleh that it wasn’t really worth the journey. Even so, there were three games today and all of them were difficult to watch. Welcome to summer league.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Orlando Magic (Blue)
The first day of the game always seems to be the ugliest. It didn’t help that Elfrid Payoton and Mario Hezonja weren’t playing, but the Grizzlies even managed to keep Orlando Summer League MVP Aaron Gordon under wraps. He still scored 22 points, but it took 19 attempts, and he only managed to pull down seven rebounds.
The real story of the game was the Grizzlies Russ Smith. 20 points on 12 shots, Smith took over late in the game and was a huge factor in leading the Grizzlies to a fourth quarter comeback along with the eventual win. He didn’t put up big numbers in any areas besides scoring, but he had a knowledge on the court that others clearly lacked. A knowledge that could get him on an NBA roster.
MVP: Russ Smith
Honorable mention: Aaron Gordon
Charlotte Hornets vs Brooklyn Nets
The first game of the day is usually the ugliest, but Hornets-Nets just couldn’t sit there and let that be fact. This one was ugly the entire way through, and any flash of offense was a pleasant surprise amongst the sea of awful summer league basketball. In other words, Troy Daniels was the savior everybody needed and oh god what am I saying right now?
Jokes aside, Daniels had a huge game with 14 rebounds and 16 points. His 4-for-6 shooting performance was the exact spark the Hornets needed to win today’s game. Which is funny cause if Daniels 3-point shooting is taken away then he only made one shot on five attempts. Not good Bob.
MVP: Troy Daniels
Honorable Mention: The rim
Los Angeles Clippers vs Oklahoma City Thunder
The Clippers and Thunder had the late game, and as a result they had the one that most people end up forgetting about. Luckily, they played a game that was entirely forgettable! The Clippers were clearly the better team for the entire game, and by the fourth quarter it didn’t look like the Thunder would be staging any comebacks. The basketball wasn’t the worst in the world, but blowouts are never fun to watch.
C.J. Wilcox had a dominant 22 point performance, but it took 17 shots to reach that point. Strangely enough, Wilcox only had seven made attempts from the field. Four of his makes were from 3-point range, and that made an otherwise poor shooting performance look good.
MVP: C.J. Wilcox
Honorable Mention: Nate Wolters
Highlight of the day
Sudden death gamewinner