NBA
The NBA Summer League is coming to an end. We have reached the final four of the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. The first matchup of the night is the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. The Memphis Grizzlies will be also taking on the Portland Trail Blazers.
These matchups provide us with so many storylines to get into. From LeBron James’ new squad facing his former squad and Wade Baldwin facing his former team, the storylines are there. These matchups are going to be so much more.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The stories about this matchup are all going to be be about LeBron James. The Lakers have shown all summer they have some good young talent to surround LeBron with. While the Cavs have shown that they might have a better young core going forward than some thought.
Lakers
Both of these teams’ draft picks have played very well this summer. Svi Mykhailuik and Moritz Wagner for the Lakers have been great. Wagner was taken late in the first round with the 25th pick, and he has played very well just like he did in college. Svi has been great as well, he can really shoot the ball, but he has also shown the ability to score in other ways.
Both of these guys have played like they need to. They could have some big contributions off the bench next season. The Lakers are a deep team though so it’s tough to get a good read on what to expect from the young guys.
Josh Hart has been a star this summer. One of the best players in this whole NBA Summer League. He’s a candidate to possibly steal the starting shooting guard spot. Many Lakers fans want it, and I agree with them. He’s been fantastic.
Cavs
Collin Sexton has been the stud he was expected to be, but it’s the other players’ contributions that are why they’re still playing in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. John Holland is one of those guys; he had 23 points last night on just 12 shots to lead the Cavs in scoring.
Cedi Osman has shown himself to be a good young piece going forward. He had 25 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists in a win over the Pacers on July 9th.
Scoochie Smith and Billy Preston are two guys off the bench who have given really good contributions. They both had ten points in the win last night, but they both contribute in so many different ways. Preston is signed to a two-way deal, and some think Smith should get that other two-way contract for next season.
Both these teams have a lot of young talent. It will be a great game to watch for sure. Winner plays in the championship game on Tuesday night.
Tune into ESPN2 at 8:30 EST to catch the action.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers
The Grizzlies will take on the Trail Blazers in the second semifinal matchup. Wade Baldwin gets to take on his former team for a shot to get to the title game tomorrow night.
Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies have had a very successful run in the tournament to get to this semifinal game. The rookies they drafted have played very well during the Summer. Jaren Jackson and Jevon Carter have impressed everybody.
Jaren Jackson has been a monster on both ends of the floor. He had seven blocks against the Utah Jazz on Saturday. He started off the Utah Summer League by making eight three-pointers against the Hawks.
Jevon Carter, the fan favorite who is known for his stellar defense has already shown that he can make things happen in a big way on the offensive end. He shut Trae Young down in the opener just like in college but his offense this summer is why fans are excited. He led the way vs. the Jazz on Saturday with 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Grizzlies have had some other guys step up this summer like Kobi Simmons, but those two are why fans are excited. Memphis has a couple of future studs in Jevon Carter and Jaren Jackson.
Blazers
Wade Baldwin is the storyline of this game. The Memphis Grizzlies selected him with the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. They cut him prior to last season so they could keep point guards Andrew Harrison and veteran Mario Chalmers.
He has improved a lot this summer, and he’s going to want to show the Grizzlies that tonight. Baldwin had 14 points and ten assists in their win over the Celtics last night.
The Blazers also have a couple of young big name guys inside to deal with in Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan. Both these guys were college stars, and they’re trying to make it in this league. The Grizzlies will have all they can handle inside.
Archie Goodwin became the Las Vegas NBA Summer League all-time leading scorer last night. It says more about him that he’s played that many games in this league but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a threat. The Grizzlies will have to key in on him when he’s on the floor.
John Jenkins out of Vanderbilt is a guy to keep an eye on as well. He can score the ball really well, and it has shown. He led the way last night with a 25 point game.
Tune in to ESPN2 at 10:30 EST to catch the action as these two teams square off for a trip to the title game.
Credit: Chris Kern
