INDIANAPOLIS — After a third straight NBA Draft in which they didn’t have a first-round selection, the Pacers will have an NBA Summer League schedule played entirely outside of prime time.
The NBA released the schedule for the Las Vegas summer league on Friday and all four of the Pacers’ scheduled games are in late afternoon Eastern time, which will be early afternoon in Vegas. The Summer League is generally a showcase for top young players, particularly the first-round picks who will be wearing their teams’ colors for the first time. The Pacers only have a second-rounder to tout in Purdue point guard Braden Smith. They open on July 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET against the Cavaliers in a game televised on ESPN2 then have a quick turnaround to play on July 11 at 5:30 p.m. against the 76ers on Amazon Prime TV. They play again at 4:30 p.m. on July 13 against the Toronto Raptors on ESPN2 and finish out their scheduled games on July 15 at 3:30 p.m. against the Timberwolves on Prime. The Raptors game is in the Thomas & Mack Center, the home arena of UNLV and larger of the two connected venues that host the games. The other three are in the Pavilion, which has the feel of a high school gym.
They will then have a fifth game either July 17 or 18 determined by their performance in their first four games. The top four teams in the Summer League standings qualify for a playoff with the championship game on July 19.
The Pacers have not released their Summer League roster yet, but no one who was on a standard contract on last season’s roster will be able to play. NBA players can only play up until their third season in the league. Forward Johnny Furphy is eligible but still recovering from a February ACL tear. The Pacers traded guard Kam Jones, who is heading into his second season, to the Bulls for the second-round pick with which they chose Smith. Smith will be available as will guards Ethan Thompson, Taelon Peter and forward Jalen Slawson, who were on two-way contracts at the end of last season.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers get four early games in NBA Summer League schedule
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
