NBA Summer League 2012: Dominant Performances in Vegas to Ignore
Chill—it’s just the Summer League.
Some NBA fans may be excited about a 2012 “sleeper” that has “emerged” in Vegas.
Well, they shouldn’t be. The success won’t last.
Here are three Summer League studs that will vanish in the regular season.
3. Markieff Morris
Morris could have blown up this season, but then the Phoenix Suns claimed Luis Scola off waivers.
Good call, Lance Blanks.
As a rookie, Morris was part of a logjam at the power forward position, which included Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick. With yet another body in the mix, his numbers won’t have much of an opportunity to rise from the 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds he recorded last season in 19.5 minutes per game.
Don’t be fooled by his 21-point, nine-board effort in Vegas.
2. Josh Selby
Don’t be fooled by anything Selby does there. The Summer League is what Selby does. He’s a street baller and nothing more.
In 2012, Selby played in just 28 contests for just 8.2 minutes per. He dropped 20 points in his first game in Vegas, but don’t expect him to break into the Memphis Grizzlies’ rotation this season.
Memphis already has a crowded backcourt with Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Tony Wroten and Jerryd Bayless. If Selby couldn’t find success at Kansas, he isn’t sniffing any in the NBA for at least a couple more years.
1. Dominique Jones
Jones has had a couple years to develop in the league, but don’t expect it to translate to anything.
The former South Florida scoring machine is averaging 26.5 points through two games in Vegas. However, like Morris and Selby, he won’t even have the opportunity to do so in the regular season. The Dallas Mavericks just signed O.J. Mayo and they still have Vince Carter, Roddy Beaubois, Darren Collison and Jared Cunningham in the backcourt.
In Jones’ second season in the NBA, his minutes took a dramatic rise from 7.5 minutes per game to 8.1. Unless Beaubois gets injured again, Jones’ minutes should increase at the same rate.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
