The Indiana Pacers hammered the Orlando Blue in their first Summer League game.
The Indiana Pacers came into the Orlando Summer League with several players looking to prove that they are more than end-of-the-bench players.
In a 93-66 beatdown of the Orlando Magic’s Blue team, they’re making strong cases for themselves.
Joe Young led the way with 22 points, followed by 17 from rookie Georges Niang and 16 from Glenn Robinson III. Rakeem Christmas and Shayne Whittington both had 10 points, rounding out the double-digit scorers for Indiana.
It was pretty much what you expect from those players, as all but Niang have NBA experience. They did what they were supposed to do, and that is dominate inferior competition.
Here are the three things I took away from their performance.
Georges Niang Looks Extremely Competent
I say “extremely competent” because this is Summer League, and we shouldn’t lose our minds over anything. But with that in mind, Niang was impressive in his debut with the Pacers with a stat line of 17 points (6-of-8 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc), 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
This ally-oop to Rakeem Christmas didn’t look bad either.
We know Niang isn’t crazy athletic or anything like that, but he’s already said he plans to beat his opponents with his playmaking and basketball IQ. He demonstrated that by finding his teammates when they were open and by being an accurate shooter.
When watching Summer League games, I just want the players that are supposed to have an NBA-level of talent to play a cut above their inferior competition. Niang had the highest plus-minus on the day at +24 while racking up his other counting stats. He made plays off the ball setting screens, which is never a bad thing. Other than his 4 turnovers, there wasn’t a lot to criticize with Niang’s performance.
There will be baby steps and setbacks along the way, but let’s see how he does in the rest of the Summer League games before worrying about where he sits in the rotation.
Joe Young, Glenn Robinson III Look Like They’ve Been Here Before
Young’s 22 points are very close to the 22.5 points he averaged last year in the summer league so he’s picking up right where he left off. Young looked faster and quicker — physically and mentally — than anyone else on the court. Like Niang, turnovers were a concern as he had 5, but perhaps that’s just a little rust since this is the first real game he’s played in months.
Young was 5-of-7 from 3-point range, which is great, but a 21.7% average from last season is still hanging around his head until further notice. If he finds the shooting form that allowed him to make 39% of his attempts like he did in college, it isn’t unfathomable that he can become a shoot-first guard in Indiana’s rotation.
But if he can’t make 3-pointers, maybe he just needs to dunk the ball more.
Glenn Robinson III wasn’t on Indiana’s Summer League last season as he played with the Atlanta Hawks in Las Vegas and averaged 11.8 points. But as a Pacer, he made a great debut in Orlando.
He impressed with 16 points and 8 rebounds and looks like the player we saw early last season. Again, all you really need from these guys is to play a level above their competition in Orlando, and that’s what he did on Saturday — both in the box score and on the court.
Not to be outdone, @GRIII gets in on the action by crossing up his man and hammering it home. https://t.co/tTxBrJVthm
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) July 2, 2016
But Do They It’s Know Rakeem Christmas?
10 points and 7 rebounds for Rakeem Christmas isn’t a stat line to write home about. But when you score it on 5-of-6 shooting, that’s a little more impressive. Christmas still looks like a player that may one day contribute to the Pacers, but he’ll need more near double-doubles — especially against superior competition — to convince coach Nate McMillan that he deserves to be called up.
This is a slight improvement on his 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game average in last year’s Vegas Summer League with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One way he can do that is continuing to improve his shooting, something he says he’s been working on, particularly his foul-line jumper, according to Basketball Insiders.
Christmas spent the majority of his first season in the pros with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, but nearly getting a double-double on Saturday makes you think that time in the NBA Development League is paying off.
Next: Indiana Pacers Fit the Puzzle Pieces Together on Draft Week
The Pacers are back in action at 1 p.m. on Sunday as they face the Charlotte Hornets.