The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Las Vegas Summer League Day 6

It's tournament time at the Las Vegas Summer League. Eight contests opened bracket play, with four teams advancing to survive another day in the desert. No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell, respectively, were both on display as well, offering an early glimpse of this season's rookie elite. 

The former impressed with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals, while the latter still struggled to regain his collegiate form.

There was plenty for the avid NBA fan to take in on Wednesday, even as the free-agency market finally settled down after two weeks of courtships, negotiations and signings. One wonders whether there's really such a thing as the offseason anymore.

And that's a good thing.

Day 6 of the Las Vegas Summer League proved these games matter, too. There was a lot to like and a few things that didn't go so well. We've recapped all the events in our daily examination of the best, worst and ugliest of what summer league competition has to offer.

The Good

Markel Brown Finally Finds Some Rhythm

Something clicked for Markel Brown in his eighth summer league game of the offseason. The Oklahoma State product led the Brooklyn Nets to a 75-68 victory against the 0-4 Philadelphia 76ers, scoring a game-high 23 points and tallying four assists. The Nets acknowledged Brown's significant contribution to the team's win:

The second-year guard has been consistently solid this summer, averaging 10.3 points through his first seven appearances. Those outings were, however, plagued by subpar shooting—a 34.1 percent mark to be exact. Wednesday's performance was the first time this summer that he made at least 50 percent of his field-goal attempts.

It's hard to say how much these games matter in terms of Brown's eventual playing time this season. He started 29 games as a rookie with the Nets and infused the lineup with a little extra energy and athleticism. He's looking more like a legitimate two-way contributor by the game and may benefit from additional playing time as Brooklyn embarks upon life without point guard Deron Williams. The Nets may look to get younger as they become more financially sustainable, and that could be a positive trend for Brown.

To make the most of his opportunities, the shooting must improve. Wednesday was a reminder that it very well could.

Bucks Trio Outlasts Rockets

Scoring at least 20 points in a 40-minute summer league game is no small accomplishment. The Milwaukee Bucks had three players top that mark in a 97-93 win against the Houston Rockets. The culprits were sharpshooting guard Sean Kilpatrick (26 points), 2015 first-rounder Rashad Vaughn (23) and West Virginia product Kevin Jones (20), who added nine rebounds.

As a team, Milwaukee was firing on all cylinders, making 54.5 percent of its field-goal attempts and converting on nine of their 15 three-point attempts. The organization spent $70 million to secure Khris Middleton's scoring for the next five years, but it could find much cheaper solutions from this pool of summer league talent.

There are especially high hopes for Vaughn, the No. 17 overall selection in last month's draft. He's a natural shooter who's proving he can do plenty of other things, too. The Bucks are already a young team, but this trio is proving they could afford to get even younger. The talent is there.

Tyler Leads Mavericks, Scores Go-Ahead Bucket

The Dallas Mavericks struggled to put away the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half and found themselves tied with less than a minute remaining. Power forward Jeremy Tyler then put Dallas up by a bucket on a putback layup with under two seconds remaining, capping the game off with a play that epitomized how hard he worked all game long.

Tyler finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and one can only hope he emerges as one of the summer's feel-good stories. At age 24, he's already played for three NBA teams since 2011-12. Now he's battling for a role with the Mavericks or possibly another team that notices his strong play. But nothing has been guaranteed to him, and a slow summer league start (six points combined in his first two appearances) didn't bode well for the season ahead.

One standout performance is an awfully small sample size, but that will have to do for now. Tyler certainly has something left to prove.

The Bad

Heat Struggle Again, Winslow Goes to ESPY's

On Tuesday, the Miami Heat lost to the Boston Celtics by an embarrassing 101-69 margin. That bad news was compounded by the loss of rookie swingman Justise Winslow to a mild left ankle sprain. Though the injury isn't serious, Winslow sat out again on Wednesday, with the organization instead allowing him to attend the ESPY Awards:

Miami didn't look good in his absence.

The Heat only mustered 64 points, which is low even by summer-league standards. A 24-point second half was particularly problematic, allowing the Atlanta Hawks to run away with the game by a final score of 75-64.

Even the encouraging signs came with a caveat. Point guard Shabazz Napier led the team with 21 points, but he also coughed up a team-high seven turnovers and shot 6-of-18 overall. The Heat couldn't catch a break, and that included talented swingman James Ennis. The second-year forward was 0-of-7 from the field and committed five personal fouls.

Atlanta had four players score in double figures, led by Mike Muscala's 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Miami fell to 1-3 in Las Vegas.

The Russell Train Slows to a Crawl

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

It's awfully soon into D'Angelo Russell's young career, but the No. 2 overall pick in last month's draft hasn't exactly wowed in his summer league appearances. The 19-year-old rookie was averaging just 10.0 points and 33.3 percent shooting entering Wednesday's contest, and he didn't reach either mark in L.A.'s loss to the Mavericks. He made just three of his 11 field-goal attempts en route to an eight-point outing.

Coach Mark Madsen didn't single anyone out, but he alluded to the kind of quick shots for which Russell has certainly been guilty.

"We have to have better execution of the sets, better poise with the basketball," Madsen told reporters on Tuesday. "In transition, we want to push the basketball, but we've got to do it the right way; we've got to do it while maintaining the value of the basketball."

The slow start is plenty understandable, both because of Russell's youth and lack of familiarity with L.A.'s system. As Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding recently put it, "Russell doesn't know the offense well yet, and he simply isn't designed to accept having limited influence, so he's forcing bad plays and piling up turnovers."

Russell's shot selection will improve in time, but it's left something to be desired so far—a reminder that we are in fact talking about a prospect, no matter how highly touted. It's also worth remembering that Russell has found other ways to contribute, particularly as his Lakers made a second-half push against the Mavericks. Russell finished with five assists and six rebounds, proving he won't stop playing when his shot isn't falling.

The Ugly

Sacramento's Second Half

Now 1-3 in Las Vegas, the Sacramento Kings came unglued in the second half of their 83-67 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Kings only scored 20 points in the second half, which amounts to just one point per minute. Sacramento actually owned a 47-40 lead at halftime before the wheels came off.

Guard David Stockton led the way for Sacramento with 17 points and four assists, but Golden State's James McAdoo outshone him with 20 points and nine rebounds. LaDontae Henton added 18 points and seven rebounds, while 2015 first-round pick Kevon Looney tallied 11 points and four rebounds off the bench.

All contributed to the Warriors' one-sided second half. Sacramento's coaching staff will have a splendid time figuring out what went wrong in this one.

Crabbe Taken Away on Stretcher

Steve Dykes/Associated Press

Third-year swingman Allen Crabbe sustained an injury to his left ankle after an awkward fall in the second quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers' 82-77 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He remained down on the floor for several minutes before being helped onto a stretcher, clutching his left leg and writhing.

Crabbe left the game with eight points and two three-pointers. He'll be competing for minutes (and a potential promotion) after Portland lost starters Nicolas Batum and Wes Matthews via trade and free agency, respectively.

One can only hope this latest injury doesn't prove a significant setback in that pursuit.