NBA Summer League 2012 Stats: Rockets and Teams Impressing in Vegas

Some say the Summer League means nothing. Some say it means everything.

For a team like the Rockets—which, in all likelihood, will be primarily made up of rookies and young players in 2012-13—the latter is the case.

Despite the fact that the Rockets missed out on Dwight Howard (for now) and were the laughingstock of the NBA prior to the draft, they came away with three good first-round selections, landed Jeremy Lin and are playing some of the best basketball in the league in Las Vegas. 

Here's a glimpse of the Rockets and some of the other teams that are looking the most impressive during Summer League play. You can see a full list of this year's Summer League scores here via ESPN.

Houston Rockets

They may be young, but only one team has been able to beat Houston throughout the first few days of the Vegas Summer League. The Rockets have gone 3-1, dropping only a single contest to the Wizards on July 14.

In four games—including three wins versus the Raptors, Kings and Trail Blazers—UConn product and recent first-round draft pick Jeremy Lamb has been a star, totaling 84 points. His best performance came in a 76-70 loss to Washington, in which he registered 26 points and outplayed third overall pick Bradley Beal.

With Jeremy Lin headed to Houston, the young and talented Rockets will become even stronger. If Lamb keeps playing the way he's playing, he could be a nice complement to Lin in the Rockets' backcourt when the games start counting.

Charlotte Bobcats

If only Summer League games counted toward the regular season. That's certainly what the Bobcats have to be hoping after going undefeated through their first three games, decisively taking down the Kings, Cavaliers and Timberwolves.

Second overall draft pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was definitely the star in the Bobcats' first exhibition game versus Thomas Robinson and the Sacramento Kings. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. However, he's been conspicuously absent in Charlotte's last two games—both wins, but only by a combined total of seven points. 

MKG has been sitting out to rest his sore left knee as a precautionary measure, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, but it's already obvious how much of a difference he makes for this team. Better to rest him now so he can be that key player when the regular seasons begins.  

Golden State Warriors

No team has been winning as decisively as the Warriors throughout the beginning of the Summer League schedule. Granted, two games is a small sample size, but when you're blowing out your opponents by a combined score of 61 points, you deserve to be taken seriously. 

The Warriors came out with a bang in the opening game of their schedule, taking down the Lakers 90-50. The keys were a 23-point performance from recent first-rounder Harrison Barnes and 24 points from 2011 first-rounder Klay Thompson.

However, the Warriors aren't perfect. In that game, Barnes and Thompson were the only two players to score in double figures. Furthermore, Barnes registered a measly two rebounds, confirming scouts' suspicions that he needs to establish much more of a defensive presence before he's a serious threat in the NBA.

For now, though, two blowout wins isn't bad.