Point guard Zyon Pullin had 23 points, guard Isaiah Evans had 22 and the Timberwolves handed the Pacers their worst loss in NBA Summer League play, 114-98 on Wednesday afternoon at the Pavilion in Las Vegas.
The Pacers fell to 1-3 in Summer League. The Timberwolves improved to 2-2.
Former Purdue star Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 14 points for the Timberwolves. Former Pacers two-way contract forward Enrique Freeman had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota. Forward Jalen Slawson led the Pacers with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks. Forward Gabe McGlothan added 12 points. Wing Cameron Hildreth added 11 points. Center Kebe Keita added 10 points. Point guard Braden Smith had eight points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Here are three observations.
The Jalen Slawson Experience was in full effect
One sequence at the end of the first quarter captured Jalen Slawson’s Summer League experience in miniature.
He took the ball out of bounds under the basket after a Kaufman-Renn free throw with 46 seconds to go. Timberwolves guard Damion Baugh hung around to pick up Braden Smith for the whole 94 feet. Smith feinted like he was going to break right directly under the basket and into Baugh, but then broke left toward the sideline where he’d be wide open to collect the pass. Slawson read the initial cut, but didn’t connect the dots on Smith’s grander design, so his pass went where he was initially going and the ball therefore wound up in Baugh’s hands. However, Slawson then immediately recovered, swatted Baugh’s layup attempt and got the Pacers the ball right back.
Just as had been the case in the Pacers first three games, Slawson had some stunning mistakes in the fourth game but was still Pacers’ most effective player because his activity never let up and his athletic explosion helped him make up for at least some of those mistakes. There were more tomahawk dunks, more shots pinned high off the glass, more plays on defense where it seemed like Slawson was everywhere at once, but also more ghastly turnovers.
Slawson finished with 20 points on 6 of 12 shooting and hit 2 of 5 3-pointers, showing good signs that he’s finding his shooting stroke through the course of the event. He grabbed nine rebounds and recorded four blocks including an astounding chase down in transition. But he also turned the ball over six times and committed seven personal fouls, with 10 being the limit in Summer League games. He turned the ball over right before halftime when he caught a pass and turned up court hoping to heave a shot at the buzzer but ended up turning right into Minnesota’s Jaylin Williams who took the ball right out of his hands and took it for a dunk right before the break. That being said, in the second half in particular, Slawson did more than anyone else to try to keep the Pacers in the game.
Slawson’s highlights continue to make him a hard man for the Pacers to part with. He’s a restricted free agent after finishing last season on a two-way contract. The Pacers are considering at least five players for three two-way deals — guards Braden Smith, Ethan Thompson and Taelon Peter, and forward Kobe Brown. Thompson and Brown are not taking part in Summer League and Slawson has clearly been the most productive of the three who are. The athletic explosion is tantalizing, but the turnovers and the shortcomings in awareness are also difficult to look away from. The decision still isn’t easy and the fact that Brown is also a combo forward who is a little more sturdy doesn’t help Slawson’s cause. Though four games Slawson is leading the Pacers with 82 total points, (20.5 per game) and 12 blocks (3.0 per game) and he’s second on the team with 28 rebounds (7.0 per game).
Cameron Hildreth led the Pacers’ expanded bench rotation
When Summer League teams get past their third game of the event, they tend to put a priority on making sure that every player who made the trip to Las Vegas gets a chance to get on the floor. The Pacers clearly took that approach against the Timberwolves as 13 players played at least 5 minutes including three who hadn’t had any significant time in the first three games.
Center Rienk Mast, the Pacers’ leading rebounder and sturdiest player in the first three games, didn’t get on the floor. Guard Tamin Lipsey was ruled inactive. Everybody else who was available played. That included Noblesville Boom returners Cameron Hildreth and M.J. Iraldi, as well as Kowacie Reeves Jr., a rookie from Georgia Tech.
Hildreth was the most effective of that group, scoring 11 points on 3 of 3 shooting. He hit both of his 3-point attempts and also hit two 2-point fee throws. Iraldi and Reeves scored four points each.
Also, center Keba Keita, who played 20 total minutes in the first three games, started and played 17 minutes and 42 seconds and scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked three shots.
For each of those players, a G League opportunity is probably the best they can hope for this season, but Hildreth showed he can still be a productive shooter at that level and Keita showed he can use his size the be a G League powerhouse around the rim.
Braden Smith got his shooting touch back
Purdue All-American point guard Braden Smith had another up-and-down performance with four turnovers and a -9 plus-minus figure, but after a shooting 0-for on Monday in a loss to Toronto, it was a good sign that he re-discovered his shooting stroke.
Smith was 0 of 7 from the floor in the loss to Toronto, but on Wednesday he hit an early 3-pointer and seemed to settle in a little. He finished with eight points on 3 of 6 shooting with two 3s and a fallaway jumper on the baseline to go with eight assists. He continues to develop good feel for the pick-and-roll, connecting with Keita for an impressive dunk and he keeps the offense moving and the offense churning. It’s not easy for him to get his own shot at this level, however, and he’s hard to play when he misses open catch-and-shot 3s when the ball gets back to him.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jalen Slawson scores 20, but Pacers lose third straight in Summer League
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
