It's Only Summer League
- Shaun Holkko
- Jul 9, 2017
- 2 min read
Two games into the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, the Sacramento Kings remain winless. The Kings lost to the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday night by a score of 81-75. Although, the final score was a false representation of how close this game really was.
The young Kings struggled to make their shots and subsequently, the Grizzlies led almost the entire game. The game was close after one as Memphis only led 17-15. The Kings kept it close in the second quarter until the Grizzlies started to pull away towards the end of the half. The Grizz took a nine-point lead into halftime leading 41-32. Memphis continued to pull away in the third quarter, stretching their lead to 17 at one point. The Kings made a strong surge to end the third, cutting the deficit to seven at 60-53. Sacramento gave it their all in the fourth but it wasn't enough as they lost by six.
Every Kings player seemed struggled on Sunday night, but that's what Summer League is for. Justin Jackson couldn't replicate his game one performance, shooting 2 for 13 for only four points. Skal Labissiere played decent, shooting 50% from the field for 13 points, and he grabbed 8 rebounds. De'Aaron Fox didn't shoot well, but still, put up 17 points and 4 assists. Fox shot 5 of 12 from the field and 6 of 12 from the line. Frank Mason also struggled shooting 2 for 10 for six points. Finally, on a brighter note, Jack Cooley continued to impress, scoring 11 points on 4 of 5 shots.
The Grizzlies were led to the victory by Wayne Selden and Jarell Martin who each scored 21 points. Martin also added 10 rebounds to get a double-double. Wade Baldwin IV also recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Harry Giles remained out as he will for the remainder of Summer League to rebuild his strength. Malachi Richardson was also out as he had a spasm in the same right hamstring that ended his rookie season. According to multiple reports, the Kings will remain cautious with Richardson as they don't want the injury to get any worse.
Sacramento lost this game simply because they couldn't make their shots. Some nights the shots just don't fall, all that matters is that they keep shooting. The young Kings will look to redeem themselves tomorrow night against the hated Los Angeles Lakers. They will be lead by Lonzo Ball, who should be seeking revenge against De'Aaron for how he dropped 39 points on Lonzo and sent his team home in the NCAA Tournament. It should be a great game and matchup, but the result won't be any different from what occurred in March. De'Aaron will just have to prove to Lonzo (AGAIN) who the better point guard really is.
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