Like every year, we must always remember it is only Summer League. But what you want to see is the guys you expect to play well given where they were selected in the NBA Draft to play well, and so far we are getting that from this now 2-0 Sacramento Kings squad.
The Kings defeated the Chicago Bulls 109-92 Saturday to move to 2-0. The Kings are now one of five teams with a 2-0 record. Might I remind you that the Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers are the only two teams in Las Vegas Summer League history with two titles, so the Quest for 3 Rangz continues.
Let’s get into the standout performances.
Devin Carter
After a rough outing as the primary ball handler in the first game of the Summer League, Carter moved more into his natural scoring role and it paid off. He displayed great range and accuracy on his three-point shot. He drained catch-and-shoot threes and off the dribble, using impressive step backs to create space. He scored in transition and around the basket using patience and footwork.
He finished with an efficient 30 points (10-13 from the field and 5-7 from three), and it wasn’t just scoring, Carter also contributed 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and was a +14 overall. He had a few bad passes and had 4 turnovers, but the other areas of his game made up for it.
Nique Clifford
This kid has a bag. He scored off turnaround jumpers, catch-and-shoot threes, rebounds and fadeaways, with patience under the basket surrounded by three defenders, reverse hook shots, dribble pull-up threes – it is fun to watch the Big Purple Dawg. And what is even more exciting is it isn’t just scoring. He finished with a double double – 19 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with 5 assists.
He displayed a nifty behind-the-back pass, which didn’t convert was still impressive, but he did try to get a little too fancy with it at times and had 5 turnovers. He was a +8 on the game though and 8-13 from the field, including 3-4 from three.
Maxime Raynaud
Mad Max was impressive again, showing us his own bag. He scored off alley-oops, put-backs, pick-and-rolls and turn-around hook shots, and had a few dimes that were very impressive. His vision for cutters while out beyond the three-point line is going to be fun to watch over his career.
Raynaud’s willingness to hunt for screens and pick and rolls is very welcome. I have noticed the spacing on his rolls have been a little funky but that is probably more related to the point guard play of this team than Raynaud’s abilities.
He finished with 17 points (8-15 from the field), 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. He was a +9 overall. At 7’1” you would like to see better rebounding numbers (6 in his first game and 5 in his second), but I am sure the weight room and Domantas Sabonis’ mentoring can help him with that.
The Kings take on the Phoenix Suns Monday at 7 p.m.