Orlando Summer League 2015 Schedule: Dates, Times, Points System and Format
As a flurry of movement takes a majority of the NBA's top free agents off the board, focus will begin shifting back on the court ever so slightly this weekend.
Saturday marks the beginning of Orlando Summer League, which doesn't draw nearly the amount of attention as its extravagant Vegas counterpart but is nonetheless an opportunity to see young players shine. Ten teams from nine different franchises (Magic, Clippers, Nets, Hornets, Pistons, Grizzlies, Heat, Thunder and Pacers) are making the trip, giving us a glimpse at five lottery picks.
Mario Hezonja, Frank Kaminsky, Stanley Johnson, Justise Winslow and Myles Turner were all named to their team's rosters. Cameron Payne, the No. 14 pick to Oklahoma City, will not participate due to a finger injury suffered during the pre-draft process. Memphis first-round pick Jarell Martin will also be in action.
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For those players, summer league is merely about getting their feet wet before embarking on a long NBA career. For others, it's their final life line before possibly heading overseas or scrounging for D-League dollars.
The Clippers' roster will feature troubled former first-round pick Royce White, who drew headlines for his mental health advocacy in 2013. A gifted power forward with elite passing skills, White's NBA career has lasted all of nine minutes thus far. If he plays well, White will have a legitimate shot at a training camp invite for the Clippers, who could use high-upside bench help.
“The Clippers said they wanted to understand what the issues are Royce has so they can try to help him,” White’s agent, Brian Brundage, told Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. “Hats off to the Clippers for making this guy feel welcome.”
Second-year players Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon, Shabazz Napier, P.J. Hairston and Jordan Adams will also look to start flashing signs of what made them first-round picks a year ago. Gordon, who had a forgettable rookie season after going No. 4 overall last year, will particularly need to be impressive. Per ESPN.com's Chris Broussard, Orlando's reported chase of Paul Millsap, who plays Gordon's position, wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement for his future.
Napier, Hairston and Adams each have a lot to prove after up-and-down rookie campaigns.
Among the most notable undrafted free agents hoping to open eyes are Aaron Harrison, Cliff Alexander and Quinn Cook. Each have a decent shot at making a regular-season roster with strong play in Orlando. Harrison and Alexander are former top recruits who are looking to flash the talent they never did collegiately. Cook is a steady hand who played four years at Duke and probably deserved to be drafted.
“Yeah, of course it hurt,” Harrison told reporters Wednesday. “I mean, you just have to take the lumps. That’s part of being in the NBA. After the draft is over it’s not about the draft. It’s about summer league and making a team and playing well.”
"Going through what he went through on draft night and the last five or six months were very painful," said Mark Bartelstein, Alexander's agent, in an interview with Mike Helfgot of the Chicago Tribune. "He had a perfect storm of things go wrong, a great deal of which is not on him."
As they were at Kansas and Kentucky, respectively, Alexander and Harrison have a chance to prove their worth. Here's to hoping they do a better job this time around.
On that note, here is a look at how the entire Orlando Summer League works and when you can watch top stars in action.
Game Rules
- Four 10-minute quarters
- Two full TOs, one 20-second TO per half
- Two-minute overtime
- One full TO, one 20-second TO per overtime
- Penalty foul shooting begins after seventh, not fifth, team foul
- Players can commit up to 10 personal fouls
Format
- Each team plays five games
- Fifth game opponent determined by seeding
- Seeding determined by points system
- Tiebreakers: 1. Point differential; 2. Points allowed; 3. Coin flip
Points System
- Four points for a win
- One point for being ahead at end of each quarter (0.5 points for each if tied)
- Winning teams can accrue between five and eight points per game; losing teams can accrue 0-3 points per game
Schedule
| Saturday, July 4 | Miami at Indiana | 9 a.m. |
| Saturday, July 4 | Detroit at Orlando White | 11 a.m. |
| Saturday, July 4 | Orlando Blue at Los Angeles Clippers | 1 p.m. |
| Saturday, July 4 | Charlotte at Oklahoma City | 3 p.m. |
| Saturday, July 4 | Memphis at Brooklyn | 5 p.m. |
| Sunday, July 5 | Los Angeles Clippers at Detroit | 1 p.m. |
| Sunday, July 5 | Memphis at Charlotte | 3 p.m. |
| Sunday, July 5 | Brooklyn at Miami | 5 p.m. |
| Monday, July 6 | Indiana at Orlando White | 1 p.m. |
| Monday, July 6 | Orlando Blue at Oklahoma City | 3 p.m. |
| Monday, July 6 | Detroit at Miami | 5 p.m. |
| Tuesday, July 7 | Orlando Blue at Memphis | 1 p.m. |
| Tuesday, July 7 | Brooklyn at Charlotte | 3 p.m. |
| Tuesday, July 7 | Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Clippers | 5 p.m. |
| Wednesday, July 8 | Orlando White at Charlotte | 1 p.m. |
| Wednesday, July 8 | Indiana at Detroit | 3 p.m. |
| Wednesday, July 8 | Los Angeles Clippers at Miami | 5 p.m. |
| Date | Matchup | Time (ET) |
| Thursday, July 9 | Indiana at Orlando Blue | 3 p.m. |
| Thursday, July 9 | Brooklyn at Orlando White | 5 p.m. |
| Thursday, July 9 | Oklahoma City at Memphis | 7 p.m. |
| Friday, July 10 | 6th Place vs. 5th Place | 8 a.m. |
| Friday, July 10 | 4th Place vs. 3rd Place | 10 a.m. |
| Friday, July 10 | 2nd Place vs. 1st Place | 12 p.m. |
| Friday, July 10 | 8th Place vs. 7th Place | 2 p.m. |
| Friday, July 10 | 10th Place vs. 9th Place | 4 p.m. |
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