Saturday, July 12, 2014

Las Vegas NBA Summer League day one. Shurna stars.

Shurna sure can shoot!
John Shurna was the most efficient player on a winning team on day one of the 2014 Las Vegas NBA Summer League. The former Northwestern star 'went off' from three point land, hitting six deep shots en route to 21 points (6-9 FG, 5-8 3-pt FG, 4-5 FT). Shurna also had three steals and two blocked shots in 24 minutes off the Toronto bench. The Raptors beat the Lakers summer squad 88-78. To learn more about Shurna - read our 2012 Draft capsule on him.

Most efficient center on a winning team: Cole Aldrich, New York. ...Aldrich scored nine points, blocked three shots and grabbed 15 rebounds in 31 minutes. His Knicks summer team beat Dallas 84-76.

Most efficient point guard on a winning team: T.J. Bray, Toronto. ...Bray came off the bench to score a dozen points (3-3 3-pt. FG, 3-4 FT), and snare three steals in 22 minutes. The 22 year-old is fresh out of the Ivy League where he starred at Princeton.

Most efficient small forward on a winning team: Josh Howard, New Orleans. ...The 34 year-old veteran, trying to make a comeback to the NBA after having his career derailed by ACL surgeries, posted 14 points (4-6 FG, 1-1 3-pt. FG, 5-5 FT), and dished three assists in the Pelicans win. The New Orleans summer team came from behind to beat the D-League Select Team 83-81. Howard played 22 minutes.

Most efficient shooting guard on a winning team: Tim Hardaway Jr., New York. ...Hardaway scored a point a minute in the Knicks win. He had 25 points (6-15 FG, 3-10 3-pt. FG, 10-12 FT) in 25 minutes of playing time. He added five rebounds.

Seven more stars: 

Davis balled Friday.
Josh Davis - Charlotte. ...The undrafted 6'8" rookie forward from San Diego State came off the Hornets bench to score 14 points, and snatch 16 rebounds in 29 minutes. Davis, 23 years old, had the highest efficiency per minute on day one of Las Vegas Summer League play (among players who played at least 20 minutes.) Unfortunately for Davis, his Charlotte summer team was beaten soundly by Golden State 70-58. 

Bernard James - Dallas. ..."The Sarge", Bernard James, was among the few bright spots for the Mavs in their loss to New York. James scored 15 points (7-9 FG, 1-1 FT), grabbed ten boards, and blocked four shots in 29 minutes. 

Nemanja Nedovic - Golden State. ...Nedovic led the Warriors team in scoring as the starting point guard. He tallied 17 points (4-6 FG, 2-3 3-pt FG, 7-11 FT), and added five rebounds in 24 minutes.  

Russ Smith - New Orleans. ...Smith scored 20 points (8-17 FG, 1-6 3-pt FG, 3-7 FT) to lead New Orleans in scoring. While Smith's shooting was nothing to 'write home about', he contributed mightily in other areas with nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. He did have six turnovers as a big negative in his 27 minutes of high energy action. 

Devin Ebanks - D League Select. ...Ebanks scored 15 points (6-14 FG, 1-3 3-pt FG, 2-3 FT), and had 13 rebounds in 29 minutes. Ebanks is now 24 years old. He still could be a guy worthy of a roster spot on an NBA team in our opinion. 

Acy is a PF, not a Center.
Quincy Acy - Sacramento. ...Acy was the brightest spot for the Kings in their 85-69 loss to San Antonio. "Q" scored 14 points (5-8 FG, 2-3 3-pt FG, 2-2 FT), and grabbed seven rebounds in 28 minutes as the starting Center Friday for the Kings summer team. He is a natural power forward as we see it. After a four year career at Baylor, and two NBA seasons for two teams, Acy seems like he's been "around forever". The truth is that Acy is just 23 years old; younger than some "rookies", and certainly not beyond improving.

Mitchell Watt - Golden State. ...Watt scored eight points (4-6 FG), and added six rebounds, and four blocked shots in 21 minutes. Watt, 24, played in the Israeli Super League last year. 

Notes: ...The Cox Pavilion was used to house the Cavs/Bucks game. WHY? We have no idea. The more accommodating Thomas & Mack Center should have been an obvious choice to play a game featuring the two top picks in the NBA Draft. The result was a dangerous overflow in the smaller Cox gym that made virtually all in attendance a bit uncomfortable. The game that received the most hype on the day was won by Cleveland 70-68. ...A handful of players were so terribly inefficient Friday, that their teams may have been better off playing 4 on 5. Among those with the usually rare, negative efficiency rating: Noah Vonleh, Ben McLemore, and Chris Goulding. ...The Las Vegas Hilton is taking bets on Summer League games.

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