NBA Summer League 2012: Winners and Losers from Day 4 Action in Orlando

As Roger Sterling of Mad Men once quipped, "When god closes a door, he opens a dress."

And so it is with the NBA Summer Leagues, as eight squads get in their final runs in Orlando on Friday while the other 22 (soon to be joined by the Boston Celtics) tip off another schedule chock-full of meaningless offseason basketball in Las Vegas.

The vast majority of the top picks from the 2012 NBA Draft—from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal to Thomas Robinson and Austin Rivers—will dip their toes in professional waters for the first time. Some, like Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, will have the privilege of playing alongside up-and-coming superstars (i.e. Kyrie Irving), though most will simply have to get used to the company of scrubs, just as their counterparts in Orlando have this week. 

But before we get too giddy about hoops in the Sin City or sentimental about the non-Dwight-Howard-related proceedings in central Florida, let's take a look back at some of the winners and losers from the second-to-last day of the NBA's smaller, more family-friendly Summer League.

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Winners: Daye and Knight

Kid Cudi may be a Clevelander by birth, but if Austine Daye and Brandon Knight carry over their on-court connection from the Orlando Summer League to the big club, the hip hop star may have to consider adopting the Detroit Pistons as his NBA team of choice.

Daye and Knight both played superbly in the Pistons 93-79 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Daye, a three-year veteran out of Gonzaga, put forth another solid Summer League effort, pouring in 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a whopping five blocked shots.

But even he was upstaged by Knight, the soon-to-be-second-year player who led all players on the floor with 19 points and 14 assists, along with three rebounds, two steals and a block.

If these two can show off their chemistry in Detroit, then the Pistons might finally win more than just the hearts and minds of musical personalities in the near future.

Winner: Andre Drummond

I'd be remiss, though, if I went through the Orlando Summer League talking about the Pistons without at least giving a nod of approval to Andre Drummond.

The 18-year-old rookie out of UConn hasn't put up particularly gaudy numbers through four days in Orlando—7.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.5 steals—though he has shown significant improvement from day to day and demonstrated a surprising array of skills that suggest he could be much more than a guy who's T.A.T.A. (tall and that's all). Aside from being the defensive presence that everyone figured he'd be, Drummond has demonstrated an effective mid-range game and a passable ability to put the ball on the floor.

Against the C's, Drummond came up with 10 points (on 5-of-8 shooting), eight rebounds and two blocks while flustering Boston's Fab Melo and Jared Sullinger down low.

Drummond's free-throw shooting is of significant concern—he's hit just 3-of-12 from the stripe so far—but, all things considered, the kid's shown plenty of promise, albeit against largely subpar competition. 

Loser: E'Twaun Moore

E'Twaun Moore had been enjoying a rather successful stint with the Celtics' Summer League squad.

That is, until he ran into the Pistons, who managed to fluster him into what was by far his worst performance of the summer. The 2011 draftee out of Purdue scored just six points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field, turned the ball over four times (against one assist and two steals) and had two of his shots blocked.

Luckily for Moore, his track record prior to that showing was fairly strong, and he'll have more opportunities to prove himself once the C's move their summertime operation to Sin City.

Winner: Alec Burks

Speaking of second-year guards, Alec Burks is having himself quite a time on the court in the Summer League.

The former lottery pick out of Colorado followed up games of 31 points and 15 points with a 22-point outburst in an 87-81 win for the Utah Jazz over the Indiana Pacers. The athletic wing needed only 13 shots to get his scoring in, and added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals for good measure.

Loser: Enes Kanter

In some ways, Enes Kanter, Burks' teammate and draft buddy, belongs in the same category. He piled up another man-sized double-double, with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Skill and ball control, though, remain of significant concern for the bruising big man out of Turkey. He lost the ball seven times on the afternoon, all the while showing a lack of comfort with the ball that fans in Utah saw far too often during his rookie campaign.

If Kanter doesn't learn how to play the game rather than attempt to bowl his way through it, he'll more than likely find himself on the ever-growing pile of draft busts before long.

Loser: Ben Hansbrough

On the other bench, Ben Hansbrough had himself a rather Kanter-esque game, doing plenty of good but "balancing" that out on the rest of the stat sheet.

On the one hand, the younger brother of Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough lit up the floor for a team-high 16 points, four assists and four steals. On the other hand, he missed six of his nine attempts from the field (and five from the free-throw line), turned the ball over five times and picked up five fouls.

There may come a time when Hansbrough is ready for The Association, but for now, he'll probably have to play his trade overseas.

Winner: Tyshawn Taylor

I'll be the first to admit that I've been a bit harsh on the Brooklyn Nets this week, though their players did plenty on Thursday to earn some gold stars on their respective report cards, even in yet another defeat.

The first kudos goes out to Tyshawn Taylor. The rookie guard out of Kansas scored a game-high 23 points to go along with five assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block.

Taylor's looked better and better as the week has gone on, cutting down on his turnovers and fouls from game to game. He'll need to continue to play under control if he's to sneak in some minutes behind Deron Williams and MarShon Brooks at the Barclays Center this coming season.

Winner: Al Thornton

The second Nets-related gold star goes to Al Thornton. The 2007 lottery pick out of Florida State needed just nine shots from the floor to score 19 points, with six rebounds on top for good measure.

In total, Thornton has averaged 17.7 points and seven rebounds through three Summer League games, showing off the all-around game that made him such a promising prospect nearly half a decade ago. In that regard, Thornton should be dominating the competition in Orlando, though for a guy who spent last season playing in Puerto Rico, he's shown plenty of grit and determination to get back into the NBA.

Losers: Those in Attendance for Sixers-Magic

There were plenty of losers in the building for the Orlando Magic's 77-75 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

In fact, the term "loser" might be broadly applied to everyone who was on hand for the game. After all, who in their right mind—players, coaches, scouts and casual observers alike—wants to sit around and watch rookies, D-Leaguers, overseas scrappers and journeymen of all sorts battle their way through two overtime periods?

Then again, the same could be said for all those poor souls who've endured all those full-length quarters of Summer League ball, though that's just par for the course. Double-overtime, on the other hand, seems a bit excessive, especially at the end of a long day of meaningless basketball.

Loser: Xavier Silas

The "0-fer of the Day"—and, thus, the final spot among the losers—goes to Xavier Silas. The undrafted guard out of Northern Illinois played nearly 14 minutes during that double-overtime game and didn't convert a single shot from the field in seven tries.

All told, Silas finished the day with two rebounds and three assists, with donuts filling the rest of his stat sheet.

What's worse, Silas left the Sixers' Summer League finale on Friday with a concussion and wound up in a local hospital for further evaluation. Get well soon, Xavier!