Vegas Summer League Schedule: Most Enticing Exhibitions to Watch
Basketball doesn’t stop.
The Vegas Summer League schedule is approaching. With this year’s draft class being the best to enter the NBA in years, there are plenty of must-watch matchups filled with the stars of tomorrow. Here are the four exhibition contests jam-packed with the most potential.
Houston Rockets vs. Washington Wizards: Saturday, July 14th at 10 p.m. EDT
Houston hasn’t had a high draft pick in years, but their roster is stacked with promising prospects because the past two summers they've had multiple first-round picks.
Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Jones and Royce White headline this year’s class, while Chandler Parsons, Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Morris are second-year pros looking to improve. Undrafted free agent Scott Machado will also be interesting to watch.
Washington had multiple first-round picks last year as well in Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton. They’ll join Bradley Beal, Shelvin Mack and Tomas Satoransky as the players to watch for the Wiz.
Unlike the Rockets, who are still cluttered with veterans, many of the Wizards' young players will get a ton of playing time in the regular season.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Bobcats: Sunday, July 15th at 8:30 p.m. EDT
You might as well watch the Bobcats now because they’ll be difficult to stomach in the regular season.
How the extremely raw Bismack Biyombo progressed thus far will be one of the stories of the summer league. Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor are all key parts of Charlotte’s rebuilding process.
Cleveland’s summer league starting five will practically be its regular-season starting five.
Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson are back and will look to avoid sophomore slumps after strong rookie seasons. This year’s first-round picks Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller will join them to form the Cavs’ future core.
New Orleans Hornets vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Sunday, July 15th at 10:30 p.m. EDT
All eyes will be on Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers throughout the summer league, but they aren’t the only key young guns on the Hornets to pay attention to.
Darius Miller is mature enough to find playing time right away and former first-round pick Xavier Henry is a major X-factor.
Practically half of the Trail Blazers' regular-season rotation will participate in the summer league.
Wesley Matthews started 53 games last year, but will still play in Vegas. He’ll be joined by Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, Will Barton, Nolan Smith and Luke Babbitt as players that could find key roles next year.
Boston Celtics vs. Sacramento Kings: Thursday, July 19th at 6:30 p.m. EDT
The frontcourt of Boston’s second unit was absolutely pitiful last season, but it has the talent to improve significantly in the 2012-2013 campaign.
Jared Sullinger, Fab Melo and JaJuan Johnson are all first-round picks that must break into the rotation. Their ability to do so will help determine if the Celtics make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
For Sacramento, it’s all about Jimmer Fredette—well, sort of. The second-year pro’s progression will be a huge part of the Kings’ progress as a whole this season.
Thomas Robinson and Hassan Whiteside are major parts of their future frontcourt as well.
Here is a complete Vegas Summer League schedule provided by NBA.com.
Game | Date | Time (EDT) |
|---|---|---|
Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards | Friday, July 13 | 4:00 p.m. |
Houston Rockets vs. Toronto Raptors |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers |
| 8:00 p.m. |
Sacramento Kings vs. Charlotte Bobcats |
| 10:00 p.m. |
Memphis Grizzlies vs. New York Knicks | Saturday, July 14 | 4:00 p.m. |
Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings |
| 8:00 p.m. |
Houston Rockets vs. Washington Wizards |
| 10:00 p.m. |
New York Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns | Sunday, July 15 | 4:00 p.m. |
Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks |
| 6:00 p.m. |
San Antonio Spurs vs. Atlanta Hawks |
| 8:00 p.m. |
Washington Wizards vs. NBA D-League |
| 10:00 p.m. |
Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat |
| 6:30 p.m. |
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Bobcats |
| 8:30 p.m. |
New Orleans Hornets vs. Portland Trail Blazers |
| 10:30 p.m. |
Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics | Monday, July 16 | 4:00 p.m. |
Dallas Mavericks vs. Toronto Raptors |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. NBA D-League |
| 8:00 p.m. |
Los Angeles Clippers vs.Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 10:00 p.m. |
Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings |
| 6:30 p.m. |
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat |
| 8:30 p.m. |
Milwaukee Bucks vs. New Orleans Hornets |
| 10:30 p.m. |
Denver Nuggets vs. New York Knicks | Tuesday, July 17 | 4:00 p.m. |
Washington Wizards vs. Memphis Grizzlies |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets |
| 8:00 p.m. |
Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics |
| 10:00 p.m. |
San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers |
| 6:30 p.m. |
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Phoenix Suns |
| 8:30 p.m. |
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Charlotte Bobcats |
| 10:30 p.m. |
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Washington Wizards | Wednesday, July 18 | 4:00 p.m. |
Chicago Bulls vs. Houston Rockets |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Atlanta Hawks vs. Dallas Mavericks |
| 8:00 p.m. |
San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers |
| 10:00 p.m. |
Sacramento Kings vs. Toronto Raptors |
| 6:30 p.m. |
New Orleans Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns |
| 8:30 p.m. |
| Golden State Warriors vs. Miami Heat |
| 10:30 p.m. |
New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors | Thursday, July 19 | 4:00 p.m. |
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Atlanta Hawks |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 8:00 p.m. |
NBA D-League vs. Milwaukee Bucks |
| 10:00 p.m. |
Boston Celtics vs. Sacramento Kings |
| 6:30 p.m. |
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers |
| 8:30 p.m. |
Charlotte Bobcats vs. Denver Nuggets |
| 10:30 p.m. |
| New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | Friday, July 20 | 4:00 p.m. |
Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs |
| 8:00 p.m. |
NBA D-League vs. Phoenix Suns |
| 10:00 p.m. |
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Charlotte Bobcats |
| 6:30 p.m. |
Chicago Bulls vs. Golden State Warriors |
| 8:30 p.m. |
Dallas Mavericks vs. New Orleans Hornets |
| 10:30 p.m. |
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Miami Heat | Saturday, July 21 | 4:00 p.m. |
Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs |
| 6:00 p.m. |
NBA D-League vs. Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 8:00 p.m. |
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Phoenix Suns |
| 10:00 p.m. |
Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Hornets |
| 6:30 p.m. |
Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers |
| 8:30 p.m. |
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics |
| 10:30 p.m. |
Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks | Saturday, July 22 | 4:00 p.m. |
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Clippers |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 8:00 p.m. |
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
