The Indiana Pacers had their first Summer League game of the season on Friday night. It was a good chance to see everyone in action, including Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard. Those two are going to be counted on to be in the rotation this season. They need to show improvement.
For the rest of the guys, they are just trying to find a way to make the roster. Some of them have no shot of doing it while a few others need strong showings to get there. Indiana drafted three guys in the second round of the NBA Draft and all of them want to make the roster.
One of those players is Enrique Freeman. He was the last of the draft picks and was taken out of Akron. He was the former MAC Player of the Year. Freeman has played a lot of basketball and showed that he has some physical talents that he can offer the Pacers.
Enrique Freeman is making a case to make the Pacers' roster
In that first Summer League game, Freeman really leaped off the screen. He was making athletic plays all over the place, including some dunks and some blocks. He had two high-flying blocks to deny shots right at the rim that were very impressive to see.
Freeman made the most out of his limited minutes. He only played 17 minutes but still scored seven points, brought in five rebounds, and had an assist and a steal. He knew what he needed to do to catch the coach's eyes and that's what he did with that performance.
It wouldn't surprise me if he got more playing time in the next couple of Summer League games. He deserves it based on that first showing. If he continues to make plays like that, it's going to be very hard to keep him off the roster once the regular season rolls around.
Freeman and the rest of the Pacers will play their second summer league game today at 5:30 pm and it can be found on NBA TV and ESPN+.