LAS VEGAS — A look at top performers from the seventh day of action at the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League:
Jarrod Jones, Miami Heat
Jones, who has spent the past six seasons playing overseas after going undrafted out of Ball State in 2012, said it was “kind of a shock” when the Miami Heat called to invite the 6-foot-9 forward to play for their Las Vegas summer entry. Well, Jones has kind of returned the favor with his play thus far. After posting a double-double Saturday, the 28-year-old scored 31 points with eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 31 minutes of the Heat’s 110-106 victory over New Orleans. Jones played most recently in Turkey for Pinar Karsiyaka, averaging 18.8 points last season.
Cheick Diallo, New Orleans Pelicans
Diallo handled the other half of the dynamic performance of power forwards in the Heat-Pelicans game. The third-year forward, drafted No. 33 overall out of Kansas in 2016, scored 28 points with 13 rebounds in his 32 minutes, with five of those boards coming on offense. Diallo, who has averaged 4.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11.3 minutes in part of two seasons for New Orleans, shot 9-for-12 from the field and drained all 10 of his foul shots.
Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks
In time, Robinson might be known as more than the answer to a trivia question about last year’s trade of Carmelo Anthony from New York to Oklahoma City. For now, he is lugging around the fact that he’s the guy drafted with the 2018 second-round pick the Thunder threw into that deal. In just his fourth Vegas game – admittedly, it’s Summer League – the slender 7-footer, selected 36th overall last month, put up numbers Anthony might have trouble touching wherever he lands this season: 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 12 rebounds (seven on the offensive glass), three steals and six blocked shots in the Knicks’ loss to Boston. Robinson, by the way, didn’t even play college ball last season, dropping out of Western Kentucky to train privately for this opportunity.
Jevon Carter and Markel Crawford, Memphis Grizzlies
Through the Grizzlies’ first three games here, Carter (18) and Crawford (two) had combined to score 20 points in 82 minutes. But in beating Oklahoma City 92-85, the two guards totaled 40 points on 15-of-27 shooting. Carter in particular had stirred some concerns as the No. 32 pick in last month’s Draft, looking overmatched at times through this event’s first six days. But he was good early and late against the Thunder, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Crawford did his damage off the bench, scoring 15 of his 21 points to hep Memphis build a 48-27 halftime lead. Honorable mention for the Grizz: Lottery pick Jaren Jackson Jr. had 16 points, six boards and three blocks.
Christian Wood, Milwaukee Bucks
Roster limits might get in the way with the Bucks, but Wood still can attract attention for other NBA teams in his quest for an opportunity this fall. The 6-foot-11 center made himself at home with 26 points, 15 rebounds and one block in Milwaukee’s 83-75 overtime victory. Wood, who went undrafted after turning professional in 2015, has bounced through two brief NBA stints with Philadelphia and Charlotte, three G League stays and a flirtation (but no appearances) with a Chinese team. He averaged 23.3 points and 10.4 rebounds for Delaware last season in the NBA’s development league.
Josh Hart, Los Angeles Lakers
The starters were dominant for the Lakers in their drubbing of the rival Clippers, and Hart led the way with 20 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. In holding the Clippers to just 12 points in the first quarter and 12 more in the third, the Lakers went wire-to-wire and had three starters with massive plus/minus ratings: Hart (plus-21), Alex Caruso (plus-20) and Johnathan Williams (plus-23).
Diamond Stone, Utah Jazz
Stone, a second-round pick out of Maryland in 2016, mostly has knocked around the G League, working to add shooting range to fit more comfortably in the modern world of NBA bigs. But the 6-foot-11, 255-pound native of Milwaukee didn’t launch a shot from beyond the arc in scoring 14 points against Orlando. Stone got six of his 11 rebounds on the offensive end and chipped in a couple blocks in the Jazz’s victory.
Jake Layman, Portland Trail Blazers
Trae Young was given the night off by Atlanta, so it was left to Layman to step into the 3-point spotlight. The stretch forward who averaged 1.0 point per game in 35 appearances last season with the Blazers and shot 20 percent from the arc (4-for-20 in 160 total minutes), drained four of his five attempts from deep in Portland’s rout of the Hawks. The former second-round pick from Maryland finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting overall and so far has hit 12 of 18 3-pointers.
