This will be the final installment of our 2013 NBA Summer League: Orlando League Edition. It’s Championship Day and we will announce our All-Orlando League 2013 Draft Team at the end of this piece, but we kick things off with the Championship Game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.
Back in Day one of the Summer League, I had mentioned that both the Rockets and Thunder were the two teams with the most notable prospects coming into this league and it is extremely fitting that these two clubs would meet on this day to decide the Orlando League winner. As it turns, the Thunder proved to be the better of the two, defeating the Rockets 85-77.
- The battle between Steven Adams and Daniel Orton came to a conclusion. Orton played lesser minutes than Adams, but was the more effective player, finishing the game with 12 points, four rebounds, one steal, two blocks, and a plus/minus of +11. Adams finished with a -3, but had a solid 10 points, nine rebounds, and one block.
- Day four darling, Jeremy Lamb led the Thunder to victory with 18 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, but two turnovers finishing with a plus/minus of -2. He shot poorly from the field and could not connect on a single 3-point shot, but to his credit, he took 18 shots, leading the team in shot attempts for this game.
- The Rockets rested their best players but still managed to make a game out of it.
- Robert Covington has shown prominent improvement in his production since the start of the League. He finished strong, scoring 21 points on 8 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, five rebounds, four steals, and one block, but still got tagged with a plus/minus of -5.
- Tyler Honeycutt has been a disappointment in this Orlando League. He played the most minutes for the Rockets (33 minutes), but could only muster four points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and committed one turnover.
- B.J. Young out of Arkansas took advantage of the playing time, finishing with 20 points, but committed three turnovers, had two of his shots blocked and finished with a plus/minus -10.
The Boston Celtics’ offense exploded against the Orlando Magic, 102-83.
- Like we explained in Day five of the Summer League, Andrew Nicholson has been the model of inconsistency, having a good game in one day and following up with a bad game. In this game, he ended up with a plus/minus -18. That’s all you need to know about his performance in this game.
- It might not have been his fault as the Magic decided to rest key players Victor Oladipo and Moe Harkless.
- Second round pick, Romero Osby made the most of his extended minutes and touches scoring 14 points (6 of 12 from the field), grabbing three rebounds, and four steals, but committed four turnovers and finished at -15.
- Kelly Olynyk only played in 15 minutes, but was still effective finishing with 12 points (6 of 10 from the field), seven rebounds, and +6.
- Colton Iverson and Fab Melo combined to score 23 points and grab 11 boards. Two heads are better than one, indeed.
- Phil Pressey quietly had himself a modest Summer League. His final averages: 9.4 points, 6.4 assists, 2.2 steals, 4.0 turnovers, shooting 46% from the field and 91% from the foul line.
The Miami Heat finish off the Detroit Pistons, 90-85.
- Andre Drummond earned himself another double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds) along with two steals, but once again, committed five turnovers. Still, his performance in this league should be a real confidence booster once the Pistons break for camp.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished his Summer League strong shooting 7-for-14 on his way to scoring 20 points, getting five rebounds, dishing out four assists, and forcing one steal, but committed three turnovers of his own.
- Tony Mitchell finished on a high note as well, scoring 16 points (7 of 10 shooting) and grabbing six boards, but finished plus/minus -16.
- Ian Clark, without much fanfare, had himself a good outing in this league. His stats’ line: 18 points, three rebounds, seven assists, six steals, only one turnover and shot 6 of 13 from the field. Doesn’t look like he will be participating in the Las Vegas leg of this Summer League season.
- Eric Griffin scored 12 points, eights rebounds, three blocks and three turnovers.
The Indiana Pacers get by the Utah Jazz, 73-70.
- Solomon Hill has had a consistent showing in this league, but in his final game, statistically speaking, he did not show up, but still managed to finish with a +10. His final averages: 12 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists per game while shooting 49% from the field, 56% from the 3-point line, and 75% from the free-throw line.
- Orlando Johnson finished with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, but three turnovers. He shot 7-for-13 from the field, including 3 of 6 from the three-point line.
- Donald Sloan from Texas A&M had his best game finishing with 13 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
- Trey Burke has been a disapointment in this league. His shooting has been off and has not looked good running the point for Utah. He finished this game with eight points, but shot 4 of 12 from the field and did not connect on any of his four 3-point shots.
- Rudy Gobert came on strong in these last two games. In this particular game, he scored six points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks. This might sound crazy, but he reminds me a bit of JaVale McGee, but without the comedic relief.
- Chris Roberts finished up another good, scoring effort, edging out Alec Burks for the team scoring title, 14.8 to 14 points per game.
Finally, in a battle of futility, the Philadelphia 76ers earned their first win over the hapless Brooklyn Nets, 89-86.
- Mason Plumlee shot terribly from the field, but made up for it by making 9 of 11 from the foul line and finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists, but also had four turnovers and finished with a plus/minus -5.
- Chris Wright gets one more mention here as he had a fantastic game: 23 points (8 of 16 from the field, 6 of 8 from the charity stripe), seven rebounds (he’s the point guard!), seven assists, two steals, and four turnovers.
- Our favorite punching bag, Michael Carter-Williams had another terrible shooting game (5 of 16), but still managed to score 11 points, dish out five assists, two steals, and three turnovers.
- Khalif Wyatt, undrafted in 2013 NBA Draft, out of Temple, played in 18 minutes: 27 points (6 of 9 from the field, 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, and 12-for-14 from the free-throw line), four assists, but four turnovers.
- Arnett Moultrie gives us one more decent game: 10 points, nine rebounds, and two steals.
And now, our 2013 NBA Draft, All-Orlando Team. Only players that were drafted in this year’s NBA Draft qualify:
- Peyton Siva—He came on late in this campaign, but was probably the best “pure” point guard in this Orlando League, doing a great job protecting the ball and making plays for others. Just like MCW and Burke, Siva struggled with his shooting, but if my point guard can’t hit his shots, I want to be confident that he will limit turnovers and be able to find open teammates. He may not have been the most gifted or talented point guard, but he knows how to play the position. I didn’t like him that much before this league got started, but I’ll definitely keep my eye on him in Detroit.
- Victor Oladipo—Not a fan of him being switched to point guard, but as a primary scoring guard, he proved he can be that go-to guy by constantly driving to the basket and getting to the line. Comparisons to Russell Westbrook and Dwyane Wade ran rampant during the duration of this league and though I don’t think he possesses that skill and athletic ability, he can come pretty darn close.
- Solomon Hill—It seems that every time I was looking for a player to mention for the Indiana Pacers, Hill’s name would constantly pop out of the box score. He simply was a consistently steady player and shot the ball extremely well in this league.
- Mason Plumlee—I was skeptical at first, but seeing him run the court, move without the ball, and even showed some scoring ability around the paint and from 18 feet was an eye-opener for me. He still has those “robotic movements” that scouts were concerned about and he looked overmatched against bigger, athletic big men, but Plumlee showed that he can fit somewhere in this league.
- Kelly Olynyk—I’m still not convinced he can be that defensive presence in the middle, but he definitely showed off his offensive skills and was probably the funnest player to watch in this league. He still gets pushed around rather easily and will have to simply get tougher on the court and add more strength to his body, but he definitely is talented enough to overlook those physical deficiencies.
