Chet Holmgren has solid Vegas Summer League debut
Chet Holmgren showed flashes of his potential during his Las Vegas NBA Summer League debut Saturday night in a 90-88 loss to the Houston Rockets.
But there were also moments when the 7-foot-1 center showed there is room for improvement as he begins his NBA career.
The No. 2 overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder finished with 12 points on a 30 percent shooting performance in 29 minutes played.
At times Holmgren was outworked inside the post, including on several occasions against No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr.
On the offensive end, Holmgren showed his ability to get to the basket with a spin move for a layup and backdoor- cutting dunk in the second half. Holmgren also added eight rebounds and four blocks.
Holmgren averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds in two appearances in the Salt Lake City Summer League last week, which featured a 23-point showing in his Summer League debut July 5. Holmgren did not play in the Thunder’s final Salt Lake Summer League game July 7 (coaches’ decision, rest).
Banchero’s second act
After a 17-point performance in the Orlando Magic’s win on opening night of the Summer League, Paolo Banchero followed up his Summer League debut with a 23-point showing in the Magic’s 94-92 win over the Sacramento Kings in double overtime.
Banchero brought the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center to its feet with a 360-degree spin dunk in the first quarter.
The Kings trailed 87-81 with seven seconds remaining in regulation, but they hit back-to-back 3-pointers to send the game to overtime. Banchero came up with a huge block at the beginning of the second overtime and assisted on the game-winning basket when he found Emanuel Terry for a layup.
Ivey injured
Detroit Pistons guard and No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey sprained his right ankle during the Pistons’ 105-99 win against the Washington Wizards on Saturday afternoon. There were no updates regarding Ivey’s status following the game.
In his Las Vegas Summer League debut Thursday night, Ivey scored 20 points and added six rebounds and six assists. Ivey scored 11 points in five minutes played before leaving the game with his injury in the first quarter.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.
