NBA Summer League 2015: Saturday Schedule, Latest Las Vegas Standings and Stats
With the Orlando and Utah NBA Summer Leagues now out of the way, the basketball world's attention turns to Las Vegas, where 23 franchises and a team of D-Leaguers will trot out rookies, veteran hang-ons and young up-and-comers for live-game, professional basketball action.
The rookies are the players to watch in the summer league, representing fans' great hopes for the future as well as getting their first taste of life as a professional roundballer. Friday's action saw the top two picks of the 2015 NBA draft pitted against each other. The Minnesota Timberwolves and top overall choice Karl-Anthony Towns handily defeated D'Angelo Russell and the Los Angeles Lakers by a score of 81-68.
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It was a fitting matchup for a fine start to Las Vegas Summer League play. The desert metropolis is an appropriate location for glorified scrimmage play that features tantalizing young players. Las Vegas sells all kinds of hopes and dreams, the same things that fuel summer-league scrutiny.
Here's a look at Saturday's schedule, courtesy of USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt.
| Matchup | Time (PT) |
| New Orleans vs. Dallas | 1 p.m. |
| Washington vs. Phoenix | 3 p.m. |
| Boston vs. Portland | 5 p.m. |
| Brooklyn vs. Cleveland | 7 p.m. |
| Matchup | Time (PT) |
| New York vs. San Antonio | 1:30 p.m. |
| Chicago vs. Minnesota | 3:30 p.m. |
| L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia | 5:30 p.m. |
| Miami vs. Utah | 7:30 p.m. |
Here are the standings after Friday's opening salvo in Las Vegas.
| New Orleans | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Denver | 1 | 0 | 2.5 |
| Golden State | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Houston | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Toronto | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | |
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | |
| Dallas | 0 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | |
| Milwaukee | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | |
| New York | 0 | 0 | |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | |
| Phoenix | 0 | 0 | |
| Portland | 0 | 0 | |
| Sacramento | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| San Antonio | 0 | 0 | |
| Utah | 0 | 0 | |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | |
| NBA D-League Select | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Note: Explanation of Las Vegas format and points system can be found at NBA.com.
Key Stats From Friday
One trend to keep an eye on throughout the Las Vegas Summer League is the continued development and tracking of advanced statistics. The NBA is tracking so-called "hustle" stats in America's Playground, the latest numerical fodder to bolster your barroom arguments. The Associated Press (h/t ESPN) has a rundown of what the new set of stats entails:
"All 67 games in the NBA summer league at Las Vegas will have so-called "hustle stats" officially tracked, a nod to the league's evolving reliance on analytics and all the things besides scoring that help decide the outcome of games. A trained crew will chart 2-pointers contested, 3-pointers contested, deflections, loose balls recovered and charges taken.
Those numbers will go into a formula to determine which players hustled most in any given game, and will be available through advanced box scores that will be distributed in-game to team personnel, media and broadcasters. Fans will have postgame access to the information by opening box scores posted to the NBA's website.
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It's a great time for Matthew Dellavedova fans everywhere.
As for top performers from Friday, well, Seth Curry—younger brother of league-MVP Stephen—was the top player in the desert, dropping 30 points for the New Orleans Pelicans in their 101-89 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Curry shot over 50 percent from the floor and added four assists and two steals to pad his explosive scoring night. The game also marks the first look at new Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry's fast-paced offensive system. Curry hinted this was only the beginning for New Orleans' offense under Gentry, relayed by Jim Eichenhofer of the team's official site:
Young forward Victor Rudd also flourished for the Pellies, pouring in 17 points.
Houston Rockets fans will be pleased with rookie forward Alan Williams, who shone on his debut with the team after spending the earlier portion of summer play with the Charlotte Hornets. The UC Santa Barbara alum put up a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in the Rockets' 111-104 win over the D-League Select squad.
Williams was the NCAA's best rebounder this past season, but is a bit of an ill fit for the NBA, per KPRC-TV's Adam Wexler:
Showing off his preternatural rebounding instincts and developing a mid-range shot will be key to Williams' NBA survival.
Towns and Russell hardly stuffed the box score on Friday, but both played very well—albeit tentatively—in a low-scoring affair.
| Towns | 31:51 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Russell | 26:58 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
The NBA's official Twitter account provided a look at a slick post pass from Towns:
Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding provided an assessment of Russell's debut half:
Still, it was a pair of second-year players who put on the best performances for both teams. The Timberwolves saw Zach LaVine explode for 24 points, six boards and three assists, while Russell's expected backcourt mate Jordan Clarkson finished the night with 23 points, two assists and no turnovers.
The extra bit of intrigue rookies have as fresh—and in some senses, unknown—commodities can often make them the crux of many a recap's storyline.
However, summer-league play can also serve as a chance for younger players with a year or two under their belts to assert themselves as veterans and offer glimpses of the next evolution in their games. LaVine and Clarkson did just that on Friday, providing plenty of excitement for fans of two struggling, rebuilding franchises.
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