Miami basketball alums much better in Saturday Summer League games
Miami basketball alums had a much better day on Saturday as a whole than they did on Friday night. Davon Reed was the only former Hurricanes basketball player that played well Friday night.
The Miami basketball alums combined to average 11 points per game, four rebounds and 1.2 assists in Saturday’s games. On the scoreboard, the former Miami basketball players did not fare as well. The five players on four teams went 1-3 on the day.
After two days off Miami alums Lonnie Walker, Trey McKinney-Jones and the San Antonio Spurs dropped an 86-76 decision to the Indiana Pacers. McKinney-Jones played with the Pacers G-League team the Fort Wayne Mad Ants last season.
Walker was praised for his performance in the loss to Indiana. The Spurs first-round draft pick scored 16 points and had four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Walker continued to struggle shooting the ball from the field. He was six of 18 overall and missed all four of his three-point attempts.
Walker has a long way to go with his shooting as a professional. In the three Spurs games he has played in the Summer League this week he is shooting 30.4 percent from the floor and 21.4 percent on three-point attempts.
McKinney-Jones was the only Miami basketball alum that came off the bench in Saturday’s NBA Summer League games. The former Hurricanes guard scored eight points, two rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes.
San Antonio’s next game is on Sunday afternoon against Sheldon Mac’s former team the Washington Wizards. The Spurs are off on Monday. They will wrap up the regular part of their summer league schedule on Tuesday against Portland at 4 PM ET on NBATV and WatchESPN.Com.
This is a critical summer and fall training camp for 2017 Miami basketball alums Kamari Murphy and Reed. Murphy spent this past season with the Long Island Nets, the G-League team for Brooklyn. Reed split his 2017-18 season between the Phoenix Suns and Northern Arizona Suns.
Murphy is trying to make the Nets after going undrafted in 2017. He started at center for Brooklyn on Saturday. Murphy scored eight points and had three rebounds in 20 minutes. The Nets lost 90-76 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Reed had his second productive game in a row on Saturday. He scored 12 points, had five rebounds, three assists and two steals and made all four of his free throw attempts. That came a day after Reed led the Suns with 18 points.
The Suns were the only team with a former Miami basketball player that won on Saturday. Phoenix defeated Sacramento 71-63. The Suns are off on Sunday. Their next game Monday at 9:30 PM ET against the Orlando Magic on NBATV and WatchESPN.
Like Walker, Bruce Brown the other Miami basketball player selected in last’s month’s NBA Draft has struggled shooting the ball in the Summer League thus far. Brown was three-of-10 from the floor and made just one of his four three-point attempts in a 73-70 loss by the Detroit Pistons to Memphis on Saturday.
Through two games, Brown is five-for-18 from the floor and one of five on three-point attempts. He continued to flash the all-around game that made him successful as a Miami basketball player.
Brown contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists. He was able to overcome the poor shooting performance by making five-of-seven from the free throw line.
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Detroit also has Sunday off. The Pistons play the first game on Monday afternoon. They tip off at 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT against the New Orleans Pelicans. That is Detroit’s last scheduled Summer League game. The Summer League Playoffs start later this week.