NBA Summer League 2016: Warriors begin tournament play vs. Rockets

After losing their first two games, the Warriors rebounded (quite literally) to win their third and final game of group play vs. Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia Sixers. Patrick McCaw was once again the Warriors’ most consistent talent, as he continues to show that he can provide solid minutes off the bench next season. However, Ognjen Kuzmic and the rest of the Summer League squad looked...not that great.

At one point, Kuzmic caught the ball with his back to the basket, maybe eight feet out. The defense was slooooow to respond (it’s Vegas, the basketball is neigh unwatchable at times), but instead of making a move to the hoop (which would have resulted in an easy layup), Kuz dribbled and dribbled and looked around for someone to guard him. The Sixers finally obliged, someone rotated over, and Kuz threw up a contested shot that BRICKED off the rim. The sound resounded through the mostly empty arena.

Nate Parham was so disgusted that he fell out of his chair and crumpled to the ground in physical pain. Honestly, it was the highlight of my week here in the desert.

So now tournament play begins. The Warriors “earned” themselves the 16th seed and will play the Houston Rockets tonight at 7:30 pm PT.

Hey, here’s the tournament bracket (for the Warriors’ side of things) if’n you’re interested:

The Rockets have been pretty awful as well, and whichever team wins the first game gets the dubious honor of facing the Toronto Raptors, who have been playing very well (relatively) and earned the top seed in the tournament.

One bright spot for the Rockets has been the exciting play of Sam Dekker. Dekker, who missed most of last year with an injured back, has been playing very well with a lot of energy in his motion.

On the Warriors end, as we mentioned, McCaw has looked really good. His shot is pretty as heck and goes in with a great deal of constancy. He moves well, and has that springy, sneaky strong Corey Brewer type athleticism.

Also, it’s not just his shot that has impressed. He’s much more of a playmaker than I’d expected headed into this week.

Tune in and join the conversation! It’ll be interesting to see if the Warriors can get past the Rockets, and it’ll be interesting to see what further development we’ll see out of McCaw.