The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Pelicans in a final score of 82-77. This concludes their scheduled games in Vegas. They will play one more consolation game, as the Cavs did not qualify for the knockout tournament.
The top four teams advance to a single-elimination tournament. Cleveland’s 2-2 record won’t be good enough.
But the summer isn’t about winning. It’s about development. Obviously, the two can go hand-in-hand, but falling short of the tournament doesn’t mean Vegas was a waste of time.
On the contrary.
Cleveland shut down their rookie standout Meleek Thomas for today’s game. They chose to keep the 34th pick on the bench and away from injury. Thomas had scored 35 points in his previous game and totalled 85 points in three games this summer.
While resting second-round picks in Summer League is a bit ripe for me, I can’t deny Thomas did more than enough to prove himself. His shot-making and overall feel for the game were evident to anyone watching. He has nothing left to show in this setting.
Resting Thomas opens up the door for other players to step up. So, did anyone take the torch?
Both the Cavs and Pelicans struggled to score in the first quarter. The Cavs began 0-13 from the floor as neither team cracked double-digits until near the end of the period. That’s Summer League for ya.
Things finally got rolling in the second quarter. The rest of the game was as expected.
Malaki Branham led the Cavs with 22 points. He looked strong throughout the Summer League and was their best player in this one.
Jaxson Robinson finished with 13 points on 5-10 shooting. The 23-year-old forward has shown a knack for getting hot from downtown, like when he scored 42 points and drilled eight three-pointers for the Cleveland Charge earlier this year.
Robinson played five years in college, beginning with Texas A&M before transferring to BYU and finishing his collegiate career with the Kentucky Wildcats. Robinson averaged 13 points per game in his senior season.
I’d keep an eye on Robinson, as 6’7” three-point shooters are always worth monitoring.
Cleveland’s two-way players have shown mixed results in Vegas. Tristan Enaruna has been out since the first game due to illness. Ernest Udeh Jr., whose hustle and activity led to 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots today, ended the game shooting 0-for-2 and scored 0 points.
Riley Minix, Cleveland’s other two-way player, struggled throughout the summer. He’s shooting below 30% from the floor and missed his first 19 three-point attempts. Minix finally connected on a three-pointer today to bring his total to 1-for-20 for the summer.
The Cavs will play their final Summer League game on either July 17, July 18, or July 19.
