DeMarcus Cousins came back down to earth in his final two summer league games after putting up double-doubles in his first four contests. The Kings closed out play in Las Vegas with a tilt against the Mavericks on Sunday night and were pretty much beasted, 85-54. Big Cuz dropped a big dud. He finished the game with six points, shooting 1-for-12 from the field, six rebounds and five turnovers.
Still, you have to realize that no matter the talent-level, these rookies are going to struggle from time-to-time. The Kings organization has to be extremely excited about the prospect of Cousins filling the post as Tyreke Evans does his thing up top. Cousins played in six summer league games, averaging just under 30 mintues, 14.5 points and 9.8 rebounds. He shot just 33-percent from the floor and commited 4.8 turnovers a game.
The Clippers and Eric Bledsoe also played their last game in Vegas on Sunday night, a 79-78 buzzer-beating loss to the NBDL All-Stars. Bledsoe finished with 13 points, on 6-for-10 shooting, five rebounds, five assists and three turnovers.
In the five games played he averaged 10.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 6.2 turnovers. It was an up-and-down summer league for Bledsoe and I think you can expect the same kind of season for him when the real season starts in October. He will show flashes of brilliance and follow that up with a bone-head play as he attempts to force the issue. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he plays with the Clips during his rookie campaign.
In the five games played he averaged 10.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 6.2 turnovers. It was an up-and-down summer league for Bledsoe and I think you can expect the same kind of season for him when the real season starts in October. He will show flashes of brilliance and follow that up with a bone-head play as he attempts to force the issue. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he plays with the Clips during his rookie campaign.
Samardo “Sam Sam” Samuels had 13 points and nine rebounds in the finale on Sunday, as the Bulls fell to the Blazers, 83-69. On Saturday, he put up 17 and 7 in a head-to-head match-up against D-Cuz and the Kings. Cousins finished with 10 and 7 as the Kings won, 76-75.
He played in five games, three starts, with the Bulls and put up impressive enough numbers to get a look entering camp. He averaged 12.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and shot an impressive 57-percent from the floor.
Randolph Morris finished with 13 points in the Hawks 89-83 win over the T-Wolves in their finale. In five games he averaged 7.0 points and 2.8 rebounds.
John Wall sat out in the Wizards finale on Saturday, a 109-107 loss to the Knicks. Wall had his most impressive game in their tilt against the Hornets. In that game, 90-89 win, he scored 31 points, on 10-of-23 shooting, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. He got to the line 13 times and knocked down 10-of-13.
In four games with the Wizards, Wall averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.5 steals, and 5.2 turnovers. He shot 38-percent from the floor and got to the line 47 times, shooting 87-percent from the stripe.
Edgar Sosa averaged 6.5 points and 2.8 assists in four games with the Pistons. A.J. Slaughter played in five games with the Pistons, averaging 3.6 points.
Derrick Caracter and the Lakers finished up play on Thursday. In five games he averaged 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds, while shooting 59-percent from the floor.
The Rockets and Patrick Patterson finished up on Wednesday. In five games with Houston, he averaged 9.2 points and 7.2 rebounds.