The final 16 teams have been cut to eight, with a day off on Friday before Saturday’s quarterfinals in Las Vegas. Friday’s action will feature consolation games for the 16 teams no longer in the running for the highly coveted summer league trophy. Suns 106 Bucks 80 Phoenix outscored Milwaukee 56-28 in the second half en route to an easy win. The Suns’ stable of young guns all came through on Thursday. T.J. Warren scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, rookie
LAS VEGAS- At the Las Vegas Summer League, wins and losses are as important as the Sacramento’s 2014 championship banner hanging near the players’ tunnel at the Thomas & Mack Center. Summer League is more about learning, development and progression. For D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, the Los Angeles Lakers’ top two young players, Monday’s 76-66 loss to the Knicks was a struggle to say the least. The lower bowl was packed with fans clad in purple and gold, excited to
The 2014 NBA Summer League finally came to a conclusion on Monday with the Sacramento Kings coming out on top against the Houston Rockets 77-68. Ray McCallum, who is expected to see more playing time for the Kings next season with the departure of starting point guard Isaiah Thomas, scored 29 points in the contest – including this impressive game-clinching basket – to win the MVP honors. Thomas actually saw all the action and was proud to see his former teammate
LAS VEGAS- When the Atlanta Hawks sent Lou Williams to Toronto for John Salmons in a salary dump earlier this month, former first-round pick Lucas Nogueira was involved in the trade to the Raptors as well. Throw-ins in minor trades usually aren’t profiled, but what about a seven-foot 21-year-old who can block shots and fun the floor? Nogueira, born in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, was the 16th pick of the 2013 draft, taken by Boston and sent to Atlanta on draft night. Nogueira
LAS VEGAS – Writers and team officials called for a running clock or the Mercy rule Monday afternoon at the Cox Pavilion when the New York Knicks opened up a 73-33 lead over the Charlotte Hornets. The 95-72 final score pushed the Knicks to 3-0. The team’s play has been an endorsement of the triangle offense Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher are implementing in New York. Players are sharing the ball and fluidly moving the ball to the open man, which
In a rather humdrum day in the NBA, here’s what’s making news: Lamar Odom was officially charged with DUI, the Warriors tweeted that Andrew Bogut is finally 100% healthy, and Lithuanian sensation Jonas Valanciunas shining in Eurobasket ’13 games. (We have a fresh update on Eurobasket ’13 from international editor A.J. Mitnick, who reports on a bunch of Eurostash players and Euroleague stars, along with who is sitting pretty (Italy, France) and who is not (Croatia, Greece — although they
With little-to-no big name free-agents left on the board, the NBA has shifted into the dog days of summer. These next two months are when the superstar players take their time out of the limelight, relax, and hopefully improve their games for next season. Not a lot of action for the superstar players (unless you’re playing in the Drew League in L.A. or trying out for Team USA in Vegas) means a chance for the undrafted or unsigned players to put
Metta does what Metta wants. As World Peace told ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin, he does not plan on playing in the NBA next season after being released via the amnesty clause by the Lakers. “I don’t really want to play for anybody,” World Peace said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to go to China, or coach or play Arena Football.” Should anybody believe Metta? [Read more…]