Pelicans Summer League Game 1.

        Game 1 of the 2022 NBA2k23 Summer League did not live up to the hype that I was hoping for, but there was still a lot to breakdown and some moments to enjoy. It started off with great defense and Pelicans rookie Dyson Daniels showing the athleticism and confidence as advertised. The Blazers team was being smothered and their first 4 points all coming from the charity stripe until their first field goal, a layup was made with 5:06 left in the first quarter. Unfortunately, I do not think anything outside of a player dropping 50 points could have redirected the attention from the fact that about halfway through the second quarter 8th overall Dyson Daniels rolled his ankle off the shoe of a defender.

The (Drafted) Rookies.

        Dyson is definitely a step ahead of most 19-year-olds in the athleticism department. He looked all as advertised going into the NBA draft. A ball handling long guard with a focus on defense who will struggle his shot yet still make an impact. He shot 0/5 from the field but his play passed the eye test. He has quick feet and makes great reads on defense and I can't recall a time where he did not make the right decision on the defensive side of the ball. Of his 5 misses 2 of them were 3 pointers which his release looked good but the rim appeared stiff for both teams as neither one finished above 13% from the 3 point line. E.J. Liddell gave me the impression that most young bigs do, slow and sloppy and will need time to adjust his game to the NBA pace and level. Karlo Matković was exactly what one should expect for a draft and stash 52nd overall pick but did finish the game with the most points from all this years draft picks albeit only 4 points. The big lowlight for all the Pelicans rookies was obviously Daniels going down. If you haven't already heard, his x-rays came back negative but will likely limit him for the rest of the Summer League.

The Young "Vets".

        Jose has had plenty of run with the PR national team but we definitely could have used him last night. Daniels seemed to be the first choice as a ball handler and I would have had to think Jose and Daniels would have split time instead of Naji and Daniels sharing the load. Naji played like Naji. On Twitter we said, "Naji Marshall is either Eric Bledsoe or peak Tyreke Evans for us" and if you have watched him since his undrafted year you know exactly what you should expect from him. He did not impress, but Naji will never let his performance slow him down on defense or offense. He has short term memory and that is something that is needed to play any professional sport. Jared Harper is just a guy who wants to play basketball and it shows, he surely still has the chance to stick around but with Kira Lewis' return eminent and Jose now being on a full NBA contract his chances may dwindle but still impressed with 18 points, I just feel that he needs the game to slow down just a bit for him to be successful.

Trey Murphy III gets his own paragraph because he deserves some spotlight. He finished the game with a stat line of 23 Points, 8 Rebounds, 1 Assist, and 4 Steals. That feels incredibly good even for a 2nd year player in the Summer League especially considering he went 1/9 from the 3 point line and that is supposed to be his specialty. They said Tr3y has grown and I think it is very evident he did. He was out there and everywhere at the same time. He was willing on defense and the ball just seemed to find him on the offensive and defensive glass. It was also very good to see that he was willing to put his head down and earn his points elsewhere when the 3 ball was not falling for him. He was aggressive to the rim and racked up 8/8 from the free throw line.

The Rest of them

        All of the guys out there are playing for a spot somewhere. Another roster, a 2 way, a G-League affiliate, or even overseas. The only person who seemed to stand out for me was John Petty Jr. His shot looked consistent and after making a quick two 3 pointers he slowed down missing his next 3, but 40% from the 3 Point line will still get you a lot of looks from a lot of teams so if he can continue to grow on that I am sure he will get a chance as our second 2 way or with another team somewhere. Dereon Seabron currently holds a 2-Way with us, but who knows who will lock up the second one. As Summer League continues similar to NFL Preseason guys who are fringe NBA players will get some more run so there will be more competition to who deserves the 2 way and who knows, maybe we will find this years Naji or Jose.

Finally, Some Basketball.

        I kept this same header from my last article because it felt right. I watched the couple of games before the Pelicans and was eventually forced to wait since the game before us ran nearly an hour and a half into our time slot. The Summer League is fun, and it should be competitive. Everyone out there should be playing for something and have a reason to try and prove that they belong to be there. There was a lot of down talking on the rings, but I think it will make it all the more competitive and give guys even destined for overseas ball give it their all when they take the court. I am excited for game 2, because "Finally, Some Basketball".