NBA Summer League 2016: Wednesday Schedule, Latest Las Vegas Standings and Stats
After five days of freewheeling action in Las Vegas, the NBA Summer League officially enters tournament mode on Wednesday.
The 24 teams are seeded in a single-elimination tournament. The Toronto Raptors claimed the top spot, and along with seven other high-achieving teams, they have earned a bye into the second round.
That still leaves 16 teams to fill out a full day of basketball in Wednesday's first-round slate. You can catch the games on television or live-stream them at WatchESPN.
Artificial as the stakes may be, the tournament format does afford players a chance to show they can buckle down when there's more to play for. After all, some of these guys are playing for jobs and exposure.
Here's the schedule, standings and stats leaders as the tournament portion of the summer begins.
| 4 p.m. | No. 23 Sacramento Kings | No. 10 Atlanta Hawks | NBA TV |
| 4:30 p.m. | No. 21 New Orleans Pelicans | No. 12 Miami Heat | NBA TV |
| 6 p.m. | No. 24 Minnesota Timberwolves | No. 9 San Antonio Spurs | NBA TV |
| 6:30 p.m. | No. 22 Philadelphia 76ers | No. 11 NBA D-League Select | NBA TV |
| 8 p.m. | No. 19 Boston Celtics | No. 14 Cleveland Cavaliers | ESPN2 |
| 8:30 p.m. | No. 20 Portland Trail Blazers | No. 13 Utah Jazz | NBA TV |
| 10 p.m. | No. 18 Milwaukee Bucks | No. 15 Dallas Mavericks | ESPN2 |
| 10:30 p.m. | No. 17 Houston Rockets | No. 16 Golden State Warriors | NBA TV |
Note: The tournament bracket can be found at NBA.com.
| Chicago Bulls | 3 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 3 | 0 |
| Toronto Raptors | 3 | 0 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 2 | 1 |
| Denver Nuggets | 2 | 1 |
| Miami Heat | 2 | 1 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 2 | 1 |
| Phoenix Suns | 2 | 1 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 2 | 1 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 2 | 1 |
| Washington Wizards | 2 | 1 |
| NBA D-League Select | 2 | 1 |
| Boston Celtics | 1 | 2 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 1 | 2 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 1 | 2 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 1 | 2 |
| Golden State Warriors | 1 | 2 |
| Houston Rockets | 1 | 2 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 1 | 2 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 1 | 2 |
| Utah Jazz | 1 | 2 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 0 | 3 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 0 | 3 |
| Sacramento Kings | 0 | 3 |
| Player | Team | PPG |
| Trey Lyles | Utah Jazz | 29.0 |
| Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns | 26.0 |
| Kris Dunn | Minnesota Timberwolves | 24.0 |
| Emmanuel Mudiay | Denver Nuggets | 23.0 |
| D'Angelo Russell | Los Angeles Lakers | 22.7 |
| Player | Team | RPG |
| Thon Maker | Milwaukee Bucks | 12.0 |
| Alan Williams | Phoenix Suns | 11.3 |
| Noah Vonleh | Portland Trail Blazers | 11.0 |
| Bobby Portis | Chicago Bulls | 10.0 |
| Jarvis Varnado | Los Angeles Lakers | 10.0 |
| Player | Team | RPG |
| Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns | 6.5 |
| Tyler Ulis | Phoenix Suns | 6.3 |
| Emmanuel Mudiay | Denver Nuggets | 6.0 |
| Briante Weber | Miami Heat | 6.0 |
| Aaron Craft | Utah Jazz | 5.3 |
Fans watching Wednesday's action will get yet another look at 2016 No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons, as his Philadelphia 76ers take on the NBA D-League Select.
Simmons' play was relatively flat on Tuesday. He managed eight points, eight rebounds and six assists against five turnovers in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, admitting that he wasn't entirely dialed into the game.
"Played a bit slow, wasn't concentrating too much offensively, think I lost a little focus, but overall just trying to push through it," the 19-year-old Australian said, per Bleacher Report's Josh Martin. "I think we hit that wall where guys are getting tired, but it's tournament time tomorrow, so we'll be ready to play."
Simmons has impressed so far in the summer league, looking eminently capable of playing a point-forward role straightaway with his precision passing and runaway-train athleticism. Wednesday will be a nice test for the rookie, as he tries to bounce back from a sluggish performance with little rest. It's a situation he's bound to encounter many times in the long slog of the regular season.
Another talented Australian rookie to check out on Wednesday is the Milwaukee Bucks' Thon Maker, who's had quite the summer league so far. The skinny 7-footer started off with 15 points and 13 rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, then managed an astonishing 17 points and 17 boards against the D-League Select. Here are a few highlights from that game, via the NBA:
Those two scintillating performances were then followed up by a 10 points and staggering 10 fouls against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Ten fouls, by the way, is the summer league limit. Not a great look for the big man, who will need to be play much, much smarter, especially against stronger players.
There are a number of questions floating around Maker. Some have questioned his NBA readiness, others his actual age. His athleticism, upside and size are not in doubt.
The Bucks have faith in their talented teenager and hope to bring him along like Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was a raw foreign prospect when drafted but is making good on his promise, per SB Nation's Mike Prada:
"The same trope is being used to describe Maker’s development path. Perhaps that’s because Maker, like Antetokounmpo, needs stability after a winding journey that took him out of his war-torn native South Sudan to Australia and eventually to a rural community and elite training facility in Ontario, Canada. While his peers advanced to college opposition, Maker stayed an extra year at nearby Orangeville Prep, convincing the NBA that his extra time should count as a post-graduate year. That allowed him to enter the NBA Draft, but did little to quench fears about the level of competition he faced. That didn’t scare [Bucks GM John Hammond], who surely remembered the same concerns being expressed about Antetokounmpo’s opposition in Greece.
It also doesn’t scare the Bucks’ coaches, who are working hard to develop Maker’s most basic instincts. Whereas Antetokounmpo arrived as a jolt of energy with less tangible basketball skill, Maker offers a unique combination of shooting, ball handling, passing and grace. He just lacks the strength and the experience to fully maximize it.
"
Maker needs to add bulk and strength to stand up to the test of the NBA's big men, if not the rigors of the season itself. He's shown plenty of potential so far in siphoning up plenty of rebounds, but his game clearly needs polishing.
Since it's tournament time, Maker can do himself and the Bucks brass a favor by helping his team win and getting a few extra games under his belt.
