The Utah Jazz closed out the Utah Jazz Summer League with a 92-87 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, finishing the summer league 2-1, before heading down to Las Vegas for the next two weeks.
The matchup to watch before the game belonged to Atlanta’s Trae Young, who was drafted with the 5th overall pick, and Grayson Allen, who the Jazz selected with the 21st pick. Both players had struggled to shoot the ball in their previous summer league appearances, and little changed on Thursday night. Allen shot a rough 2-13, and 0-2 from three, while Young shot 3-16, and 1-8 from the three point line. Young finished his three summer league games shooting 12-52 from the floor for 23%, and just 3-24 from the three point line, good for 12.5%. Allen shot a combined 6-29 from the floor 20%, and 2-8 from three, good for 25%.
Prior to joining the Jazz summer league roster, Allen had been sidelined with an adductor strain, that kept him out of basketball activities, short of three full contract practices with the Jazz. Allen’s been short on most of his shots and might not have his legs fully back underneath him at this point. He also missed a dunk attempt in the game that he said he wished he had the legs for. It will be worth watching to see if he can play himself into basketball shape in Las Vegas.
Despite his poor shooting, Allen displayed his advanced feel for the game against the Hawks. Allen finished with eight assists, and six rebounds, looking comfortable operating in the pick and roll, making some impressive reads in the passing game. Allen’s feistiness made an appearance when he got into a scuffle with Young after committing a personal foul on a rip through shot attempt. The dustup resulted in double technical fouls for the two first round picks.
Stanton Kidd has made a name for himself at summer league, and looked good again in a Jazz uniform tonight. The wing scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting, and 1-5 from the three point line, but added five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Kidd is an NBA caliber athlete, with a prototypical 3-D wing 6’7 frame. He’s the type of player the Jazz seem to track, a la Royce O’Neale from last season. Kidd was at the Jazz mini camp before the summer league started, and will be with the team in Vegas. Keep an eye on him as a two-way contract candidate.
Tony Bradley had another double-double for the Jazz, making it three straight at summer league. Bradley is a rebounding, put back oriented offensive player, who runs the floor well for a player his size. He’s almost strictly a below the rim player, but has decent touch, and has improved as a roller to the basket in the pick and roll. I doubt he’ll contribute to the Jazz this year, but he has good stationary verticality on both sides of the floor, which helps him avoid fouls defensively, and turnovers offensively. He has potential as a back up center in the NBA, which may be all the Jazz ever need with Rudy Gobert under contract.
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