Vegas, Day 3. Cotton is crucial

Cotton: 21 pts. in 16 mins.

The Atlanta Hawks improved to 2-0 with an 88-80 win over the Washington Wizards in the third day of play at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. Crucial to the Hawks success was Bryce Cotton who came off the bench to score 21 points (7-11 FG, 3-4 3pt., 4-5 FT), and grab three rebounds in just 16 minutes. Cotton was the most efficient player on a winning team Sunday. 

Joining Cotton on our daily Hoop Obsession / BasslineSpin.com All-NBA Summer League Team for Sunday July 10, 2016...

Michael Eric - Wizards. 20 points (8-10 FG, 4-6 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 steals in 24 minutes. 

Christiano Felicio - Bulls. 17 points (8-8 FG, 1-1 FT), 10 rebounds, 4 assists in 27 minutes. ...Chicago improved to 2-0 with an 83-70 victory over the Philadelphia 76'ers. 

Norman Powell - Raptors. 29 points (7-15 FG, 4-8 3-pt, 11-12 FT), 8 rebounds, 3 assists in 29 minutes. ...Toronto moved to 2-0 by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 82-80. 

Cheick Diallo - Pelicans. 12 points (5-7 FG, 2-2 FT), 11 rebounds, 4 blocked shots in 28 minutes. ...New Orleans fell to the Utah Jazz 79-72. 

Alan Williams - Suns. 15 points (6-10 FG, 3-3 FT), 12 rebounds, 2 steals in 30 minutes. ...Phoenix beat the Boston Celtics 87-74. 

Lamar Patterson - Hawks. 16 points (5-9 FG, 4-7 3-pt., 2-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals in 24 minutes. 

Spencer Dinwiddie - Bulls. 14 points (5-10 FG, 4-4 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists in 21 minutes. 

Jabril Trawick - D League Select. 15 points (3-4 FG, 1-1 3-pt., 8-10 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots in 28 minutes. ...The D-League Select team was a surprise winner over the Milwaukee Bucks 91-86. 

Thon Maker - Bucks. 17 points (7-15 FG, 1-4 3-pt., 2-4 FT), 17 rebounds, 2 blocked shots in 33 minutes. 

Kyle Anderson - Spurs. 23 points (9-17 FG, 3-6 3-pt., 2-2 FT), 4 rebounds in 29 minutes. ...The Spurs upped their record to 2-0 by pounding the Portland Trailblazers 85-69. 

Abdel Nader - Celtics. 13 points (6-13 FG, 1-4 3-pt., 0-1 FT), 6 rebounds in 22 minutes. 

NOTES: The Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 85-73. The Kings brought in David Stockton to run the point after their epic failure of Friday. Sacramento looked much better Sunday with Stockton having a solid game as well as rookie wing Malachi Richardson. ...There were four players that struggled mightily, posting efficiency ratings of "zero" or "minus." They were: Brandon Fields (again), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Ryan Arcidiacono, and Suns' lottery pick, Dragan Bender. ...On the other side of the coin, Joshua Smith played VERY well but just missed the cut to be on our "best-of" team for the day. 

Putney puts on a show. Day two of D-League Showcase

Putney scored 38 Thursday.

Raphiael Putney dazzled in the opening game of day two at the 2016 NBA D-League Showcase. In front of NBA and international scouts, and children from local elementary schools, Putney scored 38 points (14-22 FG, 6-11 3-pt., 4-5 FT), and grabbed 18 rebounds in a win for his team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The Vipers beat the Fort Wayne Mad Ants 111-99. 

Putney is a 6'10", 185 lb. forward from Massachusetts. He played a limited role on the Vipers last season but has emerged as a starter that plays heavy minutes in 2015-16. Putney went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft. He is 25 years old.  

Each day of the Showcase, we list a 12-man roster of the most efficient players. This is done mostly to help ingrain each name in my own memory and help me further my feel for the individuals' games.

The Hoop Obsession All D League Showcase Team for Day Two (Jan. 7, 2015)  

Starting Five: (Click on name to see highlights if available)

Xavier Mumford - Bakersfield 
Manny Harris - Texas 
Raphiael Putney - Rio Grande Valley
Jarnell Stokes - Sioux Falls
Michael Eric - Texas - 14 points (6-9 FG), 6 rebounds, 3 blocked shots in 24 minutes.

Reserves:

Terry Rozier - Maine
Allen Durham - Texas
Coty Clarke - Maine
Chris Walker - Rio Grande Valley
Greg Smith - 905
Brandon Ashley - Texas
Askia Booker - Bakersfield