Post-games: Podziemski wins summer league showdown with SAC; Steph paces USA Olympic Men's exhibition win over Canada
Hope you had a split screen last night
The master Summer League post index has links to all the game previews and reports, and the full Summer League schedule.
Here are some game summaries.
In a separate post for subscribers, I’ll have transcripts of the players and coach post-game interviews from Summer League.
1. 2024 California Classic Summer League: Warriors fend off Kings' rally
(NBA.com) Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 91-90 at Chase Center in San Francisco during the 2024 California Classic on Wednesday night.
The Warriors dominated the game in the early stages and looked in complete control in the first quarter, racing to a 30-17 lead. A 29-21 score in the second period boosted their lead even more, and it seemed they were headed for an easy win. However, the Kings attempted a late comeback and were quite close to getting the job done. A 27-16 third quarter and a 25-16 fourth period nearly completed what would’ve been an epic turnaround, but the Warriors had just enough in them to win here after a late free throw from Brandin Podziemski sealed the win.
2. Team USA pulls away from Canada in exhibition opener ahead of Paris Olympics
(Rotowire) Anthony Davis scored 13 points, Stephen Curry added 12 and the United States opened its tune-up schedule for the Paris Games by topping Canada 86-72 on Wednesday night.
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Cold start
The U.S. was down 11-1 midway through the first quarter, having missed its first six shot attempts. The rest of the half: U.S. 40, Canada 22, and the Americans shot 18 for 28 — 64.3% — in that span. The lead was 41-33 at the break and the Americans stretched it to 69-54 going into the fourth.
It was easy to see where the Americans, who have been together for less than a week, still are figuring things out; there were at least four occasions where simple passes ended up in the first row of seats because someone thought a zig was coming instead of a zag.
Second unit
The second unit for the U.S. — Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum — was particularly impressive. Each of those five players had a plus-minus of plus-10 or better…
For Starters
The first starting lineup of the summer rolled out by U.S. coach Steve Kerr: Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, LeBron James and Joel Embiid.
It certainly could change going forward. But if last year is any indication, it’s a clear view into Kerr’s thinking right now.
Kerr has cautioned in the past about not reading too much into lineups, especially from the first scrimmage. That said, the first five he had in the first exhibition game last summer going into the World Cup — Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Ingram and Anthony Edwards — were the starters in the tournament opener against New Zealand.
Next Up
The U.S. plays Australia in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday.
There’s growing belief that free agent Gary Trent Jr. would consider a below market one-year deal to reraise his value this season. The Nuggets, Bucks, Sixers, and Knicks are teams worth monitoring for the two-way guard as his camp mulls over appealing options.
https://x.com/JWeinbachNBA/status/1811544183250804990
Um, GTJ is NOT a two-way player....
So with all the teams running out of cap space, who are the free agents (hoping for a bigger pay day) left without spot?