NBA Summer League 2015: Top 5 Takeaways from Tuesday

Day 2 of the NBA pulling double duty for summer league gave way to another spate of eye-opening performances—good, bad and indifferent.

As is typically the case with this ragtag brand of offseason basketball, poor shooting was the order of the afternoon and evening. Of the 10 teams that took the floor in either Orlando or Salt Lake City, seven shot under 40 percent from the field, with two (i.e. the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics) failing to crack 30 percent.

It wasn't all bad on the hardwood Tuesday, though. A slew of sophomores seized the moment to show off how much they've grown since their shaky rookie seasons. The first and last contests of the day went down to the wire, with the Memphis Grizzlies needing double overtime to dispatch one of the Orlando Magic's resident squads.

Truth be told, summer league won't kick into high gear until the league descends on Las Vegas later this week. For now, let's take a moment to recap the most pertinent points of interest from the latest action in central Florida and the Rocky Mountains.

Aaron Gordon Goes Ga-Ga...Again

Aaron Gordon is making up for lost time (and then some) at the Orlando Summer League.

On Tuesday, Gordon, the No. 4 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, turned in his third 20-point game in as many outings for the Orlando Magic's Blue squad, albeit in a 73-71 double overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Arizona product picked up 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal while knocking down 3-of-5 from three and all three of his attempts from the line.

In truth, this was probably Gordon's worst performance of the summer league so far. He opened up the proceedings with a 22-point, 18-rebound effort to fend off the Los Angeles Clippers July 4, and he followed that up by hitting 8-of-11 from the field with 10 rebounds, three dimes and three steals against Oklahoma City.

All told, Gordon has played with far greater control and poise than he did during his injury-riddled rookie season, when he averaged 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 17 minutes per game. Substandard competition aside, Gordon's come a long way as far as harnessing his outstanding athleticism is concerned.

"I feel a lot more comfortable," Gordon told Magic reporter John Denton after his second Summer League game. "I feel like I can pretty much control what I want to do on offense. I have a lot more improvement to go and it’s just one day at a time. But it’s just have to stay focused [sic]."

That shouldn't be a problem, given the work Gordon has already put in. Since the end of the Magic's 25-win season, Gordon's split his time between working on his body in Santa Barbara, California, and honing his game in Orlando and his hometown of San Jose.

"First and foremost, he’s an unbelievable person and that goes hand-in-hand with how he works," said Magic assistant coach Monte Mathis, per Denton. "(Gordon’s) work ethic is one of the best that I’ve seen and I’ve been around (Dallas Mavericks superstar) Dirk Nowitzki for 10 years. And that (Gordon) kid puts in the time and that’s why he’s going to get better and better."

If Summer League is any indication, he already has.

Troy Daniels, Charlotte's Shooting Star

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There's no doubting Troy Daniels' bona fides as a three-point shooter.

As a rookie, he nailed a D-League record 240 threes for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before getting called up by the Houston Rockets, for whom he hit a huge tiebreaker in a playoff win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Last season, the VCU product was traded twice before landing in Charlotte, where he shot 47.2 percent from deep and scored a career-high 24 points in the season finale against Toronto.

Daniels hasn't stopped shooting since then. On Tuesday, he nailed 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the first quarter alone on the way to a 16-point, 14-rebound afternoon in an otherwise ugly 64-55 win for the Hornets over the Brooklyn Nets.

Daniels struggled somewhat in Charlotte's summer league opener, hitting just one of five threes, but followed that up with a 6-of-9 performance to help spark a Hornets rally from 19 points down against Memphis that ultimately fell short.

Charlotte could certainly use some of that shooting from Daniels in the fall. According to NBA.com, the Hornets ranked 28th in offensive efficiency last season, due in large part to the league's worst team three-point percentage (31.8 percent).

The Hornets, though, want Daniels to be more than just a gunner.

"I’d like to see a total all-around game," head coach Steve Clifford told the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell. "He can really shoot and he’s learned how to find space to get his shots off. He’s worked really hard this summer at playing off the second dribble.

"Now I want to see it all; him knowing the defense, all of what we’re doing. He’ll get plenty of opportunities (in Orlando) in pick-and-rolls and catch-and-shoot."

The Wing Is the Thing for the Clippers

In the span of two weeks, the Los Angeles Clippers have turned their situation on the wing from a glaring weakness into a possible strength.

And that's just at summer league in Orlando. C.J. Wilcox, the 28th pick in the 2014 NBA draft, has scored in double figures each time out, including a 22-point outburst in an 80-63 blowout of the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday.

Branden Dawson, whose rights L.A. acquired from New Orleans on draft day last month, turned in his second double-double in three games by way of a 14-point, 11-rebound performance. The Michigan State product also made prudent use of his first start of the summer to show off his impressive hops (see the video above).

Despite their strong play so far, Wilcox and Dawson are unlikely to see much playing time with the Clippers in 2015-16, and not just because Doc Rivers is averse to giving minutes to young guys. With Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and (for now) Jamal Crawford in tow, L.A. may not have much room for more swingmen to step in.

Then again, DeAndre Jordan's devastating departure may necessitate more small ball for L.A., as Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote:

"

...with Lance Stephenson and Paul Pierce onboard, the Clips can do damage with small-ball lineups featuring Blake Griffin at center. The Clips still have two of the league’s dozen best players, but they’re now doomed if one of them misses major time again.

"

If Rivers goes in that direction, he may need Wilcox and/or Dawson to play spot minutes, at the very least.

Celtics Lay Bricks in Salt Lake City

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

What happens when you throw a bunch of rookies, sophomores and basketball journeymen onto a squad, give them just days to practice together and stick them in the altitude of Salt Lake City?

It's not quite the next season of The Real World, but judging by the Boston Celtics' performance Thursday, it's just as gruesome, if not more so.

The C's made hitting the broad side of a barn look like a Herculean task during a 76-62 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Boston shot a brick-tactic 26.8 percent from the field, including a gag-worthy 3-of-28 from three. James Young went 1-of-7 from deep—slightly worse than his 1-of-5 showing in the Celtics' summer league opener. Rookies Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter combined to miss all six of their trey tries, with Hunter still waiting for his first hit from deep.

To be sure, the Sixers didn't shoot much better (41.2 percent from the field, 6-of-21 from three). But their superior size, with Jahlil Okafor and Furkan Aldemir up front, allowed them to dominate on the glass, 55-35. As Sixers writer Max Rappaport noted on Twitter, Aldemir had nearly as many rebounds (14) as Boston’s entire starting five and just as many threes (three) as did the Celtics.

With any luck, the real C's will fare better at the basket and on the boards now that David Lee is on his way to Beantown, per NBA.com's David Aldridge.

You Can Feel Good, Good, Good About (Rodney) Hood

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Kyle Anderson stole the show for the San Antonio Spurs, pouring in 25 points in a losing effort against the Utah Jazz. But the odds of him seeing much court time in the Alamo City, now that LaMarcus Aldridge and David West are on board, seem slim.

Rodney Hood, on the other hand, might have a real role for the Jazz next season and beyond. If nothing else, he's certainly playing like it in summer league.

Hood poured in a team-high 18 points to propel Utah to a 72-70 win over San Antonio in Salt Lake City Tuesday. The night prior, the Duke product exploded for 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals in an 18-point beatdown of the Boston Celtics.

To be sure, summer league stats are best taken with a heaping helping of salt. In Hood's case, though, there's precedent for success in a prominent role for the Jazz. Last season, he averaged 12.8 points and knocked down 38.6 percent of his threes in 21 starts in place of the injured Alec Burks.

Burks will be back in 2015-16 and, with a four-year extension set to kick in, may not move for some time. That's not good news for Hood, but with the way he's played when granted an honest-to-goodness opportunity, he may yet have a part to play in how the Jazz organize their roster through the rest of a promising rebuild.

Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

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