NBA Summer League
NBA Summer League Studs & Duds: Day 6
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The NBA Summer League tournament began on Day 6, with teams battling to move ahead in the competition. Here are the studs and duds from Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Studs
Tony Mitchell: The D-League Select forward scored 26 points off an efficient 9-for-12 shooting from the floor. He also went 8-for-10 from the line. This team is playing to prove they belong at the next level, and Mitchell made a loud statement in their win over the Denver Nuggets.
Gorgui Dieng: The big man entered the game averaging 9.7 points and 7.0 rebounds. He easily surpassed both with a 13-point, 19-rebound double-double. Dieng had a strong month of April at the end of his rookie season and is continuing to grow at Summer League.
Tyler Honeycutt: Joining Dieng in the double-double club on Wednesday, Honeycutt posted 11 points and 15 rebounds (including six offensive). It was Honeycutt’s second straight double-double for the Miami HEAT.
Larry Drew: While players were grabbing boards and scoring in double digits, Drew was getting it done with assists. The Miami HEAT guard dished 10 dimes, paired with 10 points, in the team’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He only had a total of eight assists in his previous five games.
Duds
The Milwaukee Bucks: Falling to 0-4 will land a team at the top of this list. The Bucks lost 100-71 to the San Antonio Spurs and have yet to win a game at Summer League. Collectively the team committed 22 turnovers, twice its opponent, and never led in the game.
Kendall Marshall: By now, Marshall should be past the point for such Summer League struggles. In spite of having two years of NBA experience (and being a former 13th pick), he has been unable to find his shot for the Los Angeles Lakers. On Wednesday he was 2-for-9 FG, which follows the following stat lines: 4-8 FG, 3-10 FG, 2-8 FG. Marshall has too much time in the pros behind him to continue playing like this in Las Vegas.
Ricky Ledo: It’s not the two field goals that qualified for the dud categories, it’s the 16 attempts. Ledo struggled in the Dallas Mavericks one-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets. After 36 minutes he had shot 2-for-16 FG and 1-for-7 3PG while committing five turnovers.
Phoenix Suns Guards: On Day 5 their front court stood out. On Day 6, their backcourt did the opposite. Archie Goodwin (who has played a year in the NBA) and Tyler Ennis (18th overall pick in 2014) shot a combined 0-for-10 from the field. Their total five points came at the line.
