Summer League 2015

Robyn Dixon

2015-summer-league-top-standouts

2015 Summer League Top Standouts

Karen Song

The Clippers thought they’d won their final game of Summer League in Orlando on a steal and a heave, as guard Geron Johnson crossed the mid-court line and drilled what appeared to be a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer Friday morning.

Johnson’s hand was still on the ball, as the shot was called off, sending the game against the Thunder (3-2) to overtime. After it was still tied following the first overtime, the Clippers (1-4) fell in sudden death double overtime, 101-100, as the Oklahoma City’s Semaj Christon got fouled and hit his first free-throw attempt to end the game.

“It’s over now, so it didn’t count, so it doesn’t really mean anything now,” said Johnson, who would’ve had his first three points of the game on the fourth-quarter shot attempt. “It looked good, though. People pray to hit game-winners in their career. It would’ve been a good shot had it gone in, but it didn’t count.”

The Clippers led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, beginning the second half on a 10-0 run, after which the Thunder responded on a 14-3 run to cut the Clippers’ lead to two points. The Clippers then took control once again with a 12-2 run, but the Thunder stormed back again to cut the Clippers’ lead to four entering the fourth quarter.

A slim advantage for the Clippers finally gave way, as Christon, who had 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, hit on a layup to give the Thunder a 79-78 lead with six minutes remaining in regulation. The Clippers and Thunder continued to trade baskets as the lead went back and forth the rest of the quarter.

The Clippers took a two-point lead with a minute left on two free throws from center Yanick Moreira, who finished with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, before Oklahoma City’s Tekele Cotton hit two straight buckets to put the Thunder ahead by two with 34 seconds left. A Diante Garrett floater in the late tied things up, setting up for a dramatic finish to regulation.

Johnson came up with a steal with fewer than five seconds left, stormed down court and after two steps past mid-court launched a 3-point attempt that went through, appearing at first glance to beat the buzzer as his teammates congratulated him. Following the celebration, the shot was waved off as replay showed the ball was still in his hands.

“I know I have some things to work on offensively,” said Johnson, who was 0-for-3 from the floor but had three steals. “I know my strengths. I’m a defensive stopper. I’ve got to go back to the drawing board and got to be better. Overall, I had a great time playing for the Clippers.”

With overtime lasting only two minutes, the Thunder’s quick five-point lead might’ve seemed insurmountable. But the Clippers chipped away and tied it after a dish from C.J. Wilcox went to Moreira for the lay-in with four seconds left. The Clippers’ defense kept the game tied at the end of the first overtime, setting up sudden death.

“All the guys were feeding me the ball, so it was nice to see a few go in,” Moreira said.

Jordan Hamilton, who was 11-for-21 from the floor entering the second overtime and finished with 29 points, missed his first shot. On the other end, a block attempt from Moreira was called a foul. All the Thunder had to do was hit a free-throw, which Christon did on his first attempt to end the Clippers’ Orlando Summer League play.

D.J. Newbill finished with 15 points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists, while Diante Garrett scored 16 points and had six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

“I liked the way our guys worked out there today,” said head coach Brendan O’Connor. “They were active on the boards and went after it. It would’ve been nice to get the win, but overall the guys played hard. It was tough to see us lose the way we did, especially with the effort everyone put in.”  

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Summer League Recap: Game 5 | 7/10/15

LOS ANGELES – Nate Wolters’ standout Orlando Summer League stretch has come to a sudden end.

The Clippers’ starting point guard during Summer League fractured his middle finger on his left hand in Tuesday’s 80-63 win against the Thunder, forcing him out for the remainder of Summer League play.

It’s a tough blow for Wolters, who scored in double digits in each of his three games while averaging 14 points, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game, as he continues his quest to prove to NBA teams he belongs in the league.

“Any time you get a bunch of executives and scouts watching, you want to play well,” Wolters said prior to finding out the severity of his injury. “I think I’ve been able to prove I can run a team and hopefully someone will give me a chance. If it’s the Clippers, that’d be great. It seems like a really good group of guys and great coaching staff.”

Wolters wanted the opportunity for significant Summer League playing time, and the Clippers gave him that. He also wanted to play point guard, and the Clippers gave him that as well.

Those reasons led to Wolters, who also planned on playing in the Las Vegas Summer League with the Spurs, deciding to play in Orlando with the Clippers. With the injury to his finger, he’ll have to hope three strong performances made enough of an impact on general managers around the league.  

“This year’s been definitely a roller-coaster for me, especially mentally, just getting cut and getting cut again after 10 days, having to play in the D-League,” Wolters said. “I’ve always been motivated, but it kind of got me more motivated to work hard this summer and try to get back in the NBA.”

After breaking numerous records during his college career at South Dakota State, where he was named the 2013 Summit League Player of the Year and became the only player at his school to score 2,000 career points, Wolters was selected 38th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft.

He played in 58 games for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2013-14 season, receiving plenty of playing time alongside a young, rebuilding group which only won 15 games. Wolters averaged 7.2 points and 3.2 assists in 58 games, including 31 starts.

After a down year in Milwaukee, a coaching change was made as Jason Kidd arrived. With coaching changes typically come staff and roster moves, and after 11 games with the Bucks, while playing only 12.9 minutes a game for Kidd, the Bucks waived Wolters to make room for Kenyon Martin.

Despite his stint in Milwaukee ending abruptly, Wolters looks back on his time there as a great experience. He said he was thankful the Bucks had the confidence to select him.

“I was able to get quite of bit of playing time,” Wolters said. “Team wasn’t very good, so they played a lot of younger guys and I was able to get a lot of experience, which I really think helped me out a lot. We had the whole coaching change and Jason Kidd had done a great job with them. They decided to go a different direction.”

Wolters went on to sign a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, but after that came to an end, the rest of his 2014-15 playing days came in the D-League with the Grand Rapids Drive. He thrived in that environment, posting 15.3 points and 7.2 assists per game in 12 games. 

“I had a lot of fun in Grand Rapids,” Wolters said. “The coach was Otis Smith, who was a good GM of the Magic just a couple years ago. He was a great guy to play under. He really helped me out a lot, and the rest of the coaching staff, I got probably the best situation I could’ve in the D-League.”

Last year forced Wolters to learn quickly that nothing in the NBA is guaranteed.

He said a player has to be confident in himself, even when most others aren’t. If he did lose any confidence, his elite D-League play had to help him regain it, sending him on a high note toward Summer League, where he continued to excel. 

He was told by his coaches he needed to stay aggressive, and he proceeded to dazzle for a Clippers team that could use depth at point guard.

“Sometimes when you don’t play a lot in the NBA, you just try to not make mistakes,” Wolters said. “This summer, they just told me to be aggressive and play my game, which makes it a lot easier to play.”

Wolters never had an off night in his three Orlando games, filling the stat sheet in his final performance with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and only one turnover. While his Orlando Summer League stint has drawn to a close, he hopes his NBA window is just beginning to open back up.

“You only need one team to really like you and give you another chance,” Wolters said.

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Fractured Finger Ends Wolters’ Strong Summer League

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Photos: Summer League 2015 - Game 4 vs. Miami Heat | 7/8/15

The Clippers’ furious comeback attempt fell just short Wednesday.

Guard Diante Garrett scored 20 points in his first Summer League start and the Clippers (1-3) erased a 13-point fourth quarter deficit, but a tie game with 42 seconds remaining tilted in favor of the Heat (4-0) in an 87-85 loss.

“The effort was great,” said head coach Brendan O’Connor. “It’s hard to win a game when a team makes more free throws than you attempt. We showed up in the first quarter and the fourth, but we slipped a little in the middle.”

C.J. Wilcox hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 85, giving the Clippers a chance late. Garrett drove through the lane with fewer than 10 seconds remaining, but his shot attempt was met by Miami’s Willie Reed, who finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

After the block, the Heat’s Shabazz Napier hit two free throws and the Clippers couldn’t get a shot up on their final possession as the buzzer sounded.  

Garrett, who was starting for the injured Nate Wolters and had six rebounds, three assists and three steals to go with his 20 points, said the performance would’ve felt better with a win.

“Personally, I think I could play a whole lot better,” Garrett said. “But I’ve just been bringing that energy and helping the team out with whatever it was. Today, coach (O’Connor) wanted me to be aggressive and look to score, and I think I did pretty good on that.”

O’Connor had preached the importance of getting off to better starts, and that was executed for the second straight game Wednesday. All five starters had at least four points by the end of the first quarter. Garrett had six points, an assist and a steal in the first quarter, while Dawson stayed hot by ending the opening quarter 4-of-5 from the floor with eight points, five rebounds, a block and an assist.

The Clippers went on a 16-3 run late in the first quarter, turning a three-point deficit into a 10-point lead, sparked by Garrett and Dawson.

But things started to unravel late in the second quarter. The Clippers led, 33-25, when the Heat went on a 16-6 run to end the half. The Clippers missed their last seven shots of the second quarter, allowing Miami to creep back in, mostly from the free-throw line. The Heat went 34-of-41 from the line in the game.

The scoreless skid continued for the Clippers into the second half. An 8-0 Heat run at the end of the first half stretched to an 18-0 run early in the third quarter, which finally came to an end on a jumper from D.J. Newbill, who finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and snapped a six-minute scoring skid for the Clippers.

“I feel like there was a stretch there where we kind of had a drop off, but it’s a learning experience,” Newbill said. “We just have to find a way to keep that intensity rolling all throughout the game.”

The Clippers cut the double-digit deficit down to six with a 6-0 run, but the Heat closed the quarter on an 8-2 run to win the quarter and take a 13-point lead into the fourth.

Still, the Clippers made things interesting down the stretch, outscoring Miami by 11 points in the fourth quarter to give themselves a chance to beat the undefeated Heat.

“We had to step up when one of our troops went down, and I think everyone responded really good,” Garrett said. “It just would have been better if we won.”

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Summer League Recap: Game 4 | 7/8/15

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Photos: Summer League 2015 - Game 3 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | 7/7/15

Branden Dawson made his first Summer League start count.

A Clippers team that had struggled early in games through their first two matchups found a spark Tuesday afternoon in Dawson, who had four points, four rebounds and two steals in the first six minutes to help the Clippers jump out quickly on the Thunder and earn their first Summer League victory, 80-63.

Dawson, who finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, a block and an assist in 27 minutes, said he got excited the minute coach Brendan O’Connor told him he was starting.
“I got my mind right and got rested up, because I knew I would be playing more minutes,” Dawson said.

I just wanted to go out there and contribute. It felt nice because we got the W.”

The Clippers led, 20-8, in the first quarter, largely behind the contributions of Dawson and Nate Wolters, who finished the opening quarter with 10 points, two assists, two blocks, a steal and a rebound.

When the Thunder cut the deficit to six points near the end of the first quarter, Wolters got out on the break and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Clippers a nine-point lead after the first quarter. The point guard finished with 12 points, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

The Clippers held onto a comfortable advantage from that point on, leading by double digits for seven of the final eight minutes of the first half following Erik Griffin’s put-back dunk, as he soared in out of nowhere with 8:23 remaining in the second quarter to give the Clippers an 11-point lead.

The Clippers continued to lead by double digits the entire third quarter and by at least nine points for the whole second half. When the Thunder cut the deficit to nine with 9:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, Dawson responded with a put-back layup and a windmill dunk, the latter coming off a steal from Newbill to give the Clippers a comfortable 13-point lead.

“I just try to bring energy on the boards and get to every loose ball,” Dawson said. “My teammates got me the ball on a couple breaks and I was able to score pretty easily. My job every night is to bring energy, and if the points come, too, I’ll be OK with that.”

Along with Dawson, Newbill also was added to the starting lineup for the first time, recording four points, five assists and three steals in 31 minutes. Newbill said it felt great to know he’d be starting, and as unexpected as the news was, he would always be ready for that opportunity.

“You never know when your number is going to be called,” Newbill said. “My thing was to prepare myself mentally. I thought about different plays and how I was going to execute out there on the court. It all came together and we were able to get a win.”

C.J. Wilcox led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting, finding his long-range shot late by drilling two of his four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Wilcox now leads all Clippers players during Summer League action with 15 points per game.

The Clippers only hit one 3-pointer in their loss Sunday, but they responded Tuesday by going 8-for-19 from 3-point range against a previously undefeated Oklahoma City squad which went just 3-for-16 from behind the arc.

Griffin and Diante Garrett finished with nine points apiece. Garrett also added three rebounds, two steals and an assist in 16 minutes.

The Clippers will play their final Orlando Summer League game Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT against the Heat.