The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Las Vegas Summer League Day 4

LAS VEGAS — Even in Sin City, there's only so much anyone can do to spice up summer-league basketball. To its credit, the NBA found a way.

The Association branded Monday as Noche Latina at the Las Vegas Summer League. NBA staffers were all adorned in bright green shirts emblazoned with the evening's logo. Dancers in flowing dresses and a full-on mariachi band paraded through the concourses and entertained fans at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion.

There wasn't any change in the fare on offer at the concession stands, but at least fans saw some more compelling contests than usual. Ten points or fewer decided seven of the night's eight matchups—which is practically an anomaly for summer league.

What isn't an anomaly? A wide swath of good, bad and ugly, the most prominent of each are featured below.

Good: Drew II Passes to You

John Locher/Associated Press

Alvin Gentry's uptempo, ball-sharing offense is getting quite the workout from the New Orleans Pelicans' summer-league squad. The team put up 89 points on a sizzling 48.4 percent shooting (41.7 percent from three) to secure both a six-point win over the Brooklyn Nets, 89-83, and a first-round bye in the summer-league playoffs.

Bryce Dejean-Jones (26 points, 8-of-12 shooting) and Seth Curry (20 points, 8-of-17 shooting) carried the scoring load, but neither would've been nearly so prolific without Larry Drew II's pass-happiness. The UCLA product finished with just eight points of his own, but as Pelicans reporter Jim Eichenhofer relayed, his sharing exploits bordered on historic:

"

Larry Drew II produced one of the best passing games in Vegas you’ll see, finishing one assist shy of the league’s all-time single-game record (set by Marcus Williams). Drew, the son of former NBA head coach and point guard Larry Drew, handed out 16 assists, flashing the floor vision and anticipation of a player who made a cameo in the regular season for Philadelphia in 2014-15.

"

As it happens, Drew II was in close to complete control of the passing lanes on both ends, picking off five of Brooklyn's attempts. It should come as no surprise, then, that Drew II led all participants with a plus-20 on-court rating for the game.

Neither should it shock anyone if Drew II finds his way back into the Association next season. He played 12 games with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014-15, and if Philly's flat-out dearth of point guards persists into the fall, perhaps Drew II will get another go-round in the City of Brotherly Love.

Unless, of course, New Orleans finds room and a need for him behind Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon.

Bad: Young Lakers Look Lackluster

It's not often that fans feel strongly enough about anything at summer league to do much more than offer the occasional cheer or jeer, let alone send down a shower of boos. But that didn't stop the legions of Los Angeles Lakers faithful that packed the Thomas & Mack Center from doing just that.

And not without reason, either.

The Lakers, with three-fifths of their likely regular-season starting lineup (i.e., D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle) at the helm, managed just five points on 2-of-17 shooting in the first quarter of what turned out to be a 76-66 loss to the New York Knicks.

"I didn't hear them," Russell said afterward, when asked about the negative feedback from his team's partisans.

Russell's ignorance to the noise is probably for the best. The No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft is bound to suffer through his fair share of struggles while both orchestrating the Lakers' Kobe Bryant-centric offense and carrying the burden of being anointed (way too early) as the franchise's savior.

He's certainly encountered plenty of obstacles already. For the second time in three games as a pro, Russell finished with more turnovers (eight) than assists (one) while shooting 3-of-7 from the field.

To be sure, Russell wasn't the only member of the Lakers' presumed future to struggle against New York. Randle had three of his shots blocked and missed his first six attempts overall. Clarkson, who was plenty productive in his first two outings, posted a 3-of-14 clunker in his third.

"We gave the guys a day off yesterday. That was probably a mistake," Lakers summer-league coach Mark Madsen said. "The guys have been working incredibly hard in training camp, incredibly hard since they've gotten here, but that's a mistake. You can't get a day off like that. We'll learn from it."

The Lakers can only hope that Monday's subpar showing by their young trio turns out to be as unusual as the sound of dissatisfaction from the stands at summer league. Chances are, there will be many more nights like this for the rebuilding squad once the regular season starts.

They don't call them growing pains for nothing.

Ugly: Stainbrook Goes to the Matt

John Locher/Associated Press

There was plenty of ugliness to go around for the Golden State Warriors on Monday. The team ostensibly representing the newly christened champions shot just 32.9 percent from the field, missed 13 of its 29 free-throw attempts and lost the battle of the boards in a big way, 49-37.

Fortunately for Dubs fans, Matt Stainbrook was on hand to contribute a unique brand of grotesque entertainment. The 6'10" Stainbrook spent his 11:20 of game time barreling up and down the floor, throwing his body every which way after loose balls and opponents' shot attempts. The big fellow finished with three points, four rebounds, three assists and countless floor burns for his efforts.

College basketball fans are probably familiar with the way Stainbrook goes about his business. The Xavier product became a star of sorts during March Madness. His burly 270-pound body, unkempt golden locks and protective goggles all made for easy fodder for the fringes of the Internet. So, too, did his side job as an Uber driver in Cincinnati.

To Stainbrook's (likely) dismay, ride-sharing has yet to take hold in Las Vegas. And with the prominence of taxi cabs in this town, services like Uber figure to have a tough time finding a foothold in Sin City for a long time.

It's a good thing, then, that Stainbrook has a day job in basketball, at least for the moment. He'd be hard-pressed to land a steady gig in the NBA, but with any luck, folks in the D-League and/or overseas will get to discover for themselves the answer to the question, "What would happen if Hodor played basketball?"

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

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