After nearly a week of practices at their facility in Tualatin, the Portland Trail Blazers got their 2022 Summer League underway with a 81-78 loss to the Detroit Pistons Thursday night at Thomas & Mack Arena on the campus of UNLV.
“First-game jitters a little bit in the first half,” said Steve Hetzel, who is handling head coaching duties in Las Vegas. “You could tell by the shooting percentages, just a little tight.”
Though they never led and trailed by as many as 14, the Trail Blazers outscored the Pistons in the second, third and fourth quarters to turn what had the makings of a blowout into a close affair. Both Trendon Watford and Greg Brown III had opportunities to potentially tie the game in the final five seconds, though ultimately, neither could convert their respective attempts before the final buzzer.
“I loved the effort,” said Hetzel. “These guys are together, and that’s what is most important. I like how they pull for one another -- in the huddles they were always positive. So everything from that end was positive.”
As was the play of Keon Johnson, who started Thursday’s contest alongside Brandon Williams, Shaedon Sharpe, Brown III and Watford. The 6-4 guard, acquired from the Clippers via trade last season, made five of his first six attempts before finishing as the game’s high scorer with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, 2-of-6 shooting from three and 3-of-3 shooting from the line to go with three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 33 minutes.
“I felt like I’ve done alright,” said Johnson. “I wanted to come out on top with the win, that’s my main goal, but I feel like I played hard, tried to get my teammates involved, which is really what I try to focus on, just getting my teammates involved, keeping the energy high on the court. I feel like I done an okay job tonight.”
Then there was the play of rookie Jabari Walker, who Portland selected out of Colorado with the 57th pick of the 2022 Draft. The 6-9 forward didn’t miss a shot from the field in nearly 15 minutes, going 5-of-5 from the field and 1-of-1 from three to finish with 11 points in his Trail Blazers’ debut. Walker, who left Colorado after being named First-Team All Pac-12 his sophomore season, also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a shot in the losing effort.
“It was great,” said Walker of his first game as a pro. “I have a lot of great guards I can play off of. Just cut, rebound, do some of the simple stuff. I’m finding it a lot easier than college in some ways just because of the spacing and being able to stay in the corner and cut.”
Unfortunately, Thursday’s game wasn’t as rewarding of an experience for Walker’s fellow rookie Shaedon Sharpe, who Portland selected with the seventh overall pick in last month’s draft. After not playing his first and only season at Kentucky, many were hoping to get an extended look at the 6-6 guard in his first competitive game in over a year. But Sharpe would leave Thursday’s game after less than six minutes with a left shoulder injury and would not return. His status for Portland’s next game, not to mention the rest of their summer league schedule, is to be determined.
Brandon Williams was the only other Blazer to break into double figures, going 4-of-12 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line for 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes. Rookie Jaden Ivey, selected with the fourth overall pick, led the Pistons with 20 points to go with six assists and six rebounds in 32 minutes.
With their first game at summer league in the books, the Trail Blazers will hold practice in Las Vegas on Friday before facing the Pelicans Saturday night at Thomas & Mack. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.