Observations from the Nuggets’ 86-71 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Two-way Trey: Looking for a ray of sunshine in an otherwise drab Summer League for the Nuggets? The play of recent two-way contract signee Trey Alexander is a decent place to start.
The Creighton product may not have been super efficient (19 points on 5-of-13 shooting) on Thursday, but he was active (six rebounds, two assists, two steals) and aggressive following a strong three-game start in Sin City. Given what the Nuggets have seen from point guard Jalen Pickett (more on that later), Alexander’s play has to be encouraging for franchise decision-makers in terms of backcourt depth.
Another Nuggets two-way signee, Clemson big man PJ Hall, returned to the court after taking off Tuesday’s game and delivered the highlight of the game: An emphatic swat of Jarace Walker’s two-handed dunk attempt in the second quarter that drew a rise out of the sparse Thomas & Mack Center crowd.
The swat was part of a commendable defensive showing from the Nuggets, who limited Indiana to 31.5% shooting while also reversing a problematic trend on the boards (45-37 rebounding advantage) that the 6-foot-9 Hall (13 rebounds) played a major role in. Granted, the Pacers helped the Nuggets out with some dreadful 3-point shooting (9 of 35), but after an 0-3 start that included a season-ending injury to first-round pick DaRon Holmes II, any positives are welcome.
Hunting for consistency: A year ago, Hunter Tyson was the breakout star of Summer League, draining 3s, knifing into the lane for layups and generally hinting at being a second-round steal in the 2023 NBA draft. Up until Thursday, he’d yet to tap into that magic in his return to the Strip.
As solid as the point production was through three games (13.3 ppg), the Clemson product’s efficiency (28.2% shooting) left something to be desired. That was again the case early on Thursday when Tyson missed four of his first five shots, including an ill-advised one-on-two drive to the basket in transition that prompted this comment from ESPN’s Seth Greenberg: “He’s trying to do too much. … His decision-making just hasn’t been as good.”
But the 6-foot-8 forward shook off the cobwebs after the poor start and turned in arguably his best performance of the summer, scoring 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 3 of 6 from long range. Perhaps that’s a good one to end on?
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Pickett’s short afternoon: Russell Westbrook can’t get to Denver soon enough. As this past week has demonstrated, the other potential backup point guard on the roster, 2023 second-round pick Jalen Pickett, remains a work in progress.
The former Penn State star entered the Nuggets’ fourth game in Las Vegas shooting 22.7% from the field. He then proceeded to miss both of his shot attempts Thursday, including an awkward corner 3, before checking out for good in the first half with just 8 minutes, 31 seconds of court time.
While Pickett did set up teammates for a couple of open looks that didn’t go down, showcasing shot-creation skills that were also there in Games 1-3, he’s now 5 of 24 from the field in Vegas and 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
It’s fair to wonder whether it’s worth having him play in the Nuggets’ fifth and final game this weekend (Julian Strawther didn’t play Tuesday or Thursday). Regardless, Pickett’s performance this summer registers as disappointing.
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