The Utah Jazz Summer League roster knocked off the San Antonio Spurs Summer League roster 84-81, finishing with a 2-1 record in Salt Lake.
After a rough opening game for the Jazz rookie draft picks, all three of Jarrell Brantley, Justin Wright-Foreman and Miye had impressive second games. Wright-Foreman scored 20 points in game two, but didn’t play game three. In turn, after sitting game two, both Brantley and Oni played game three for the Jazz and had promising moments.
Brantley stole the show int he first half with a monster dunk in traffic, highlighting his extremely physicality and unique athleticism for his size. Brantley finished with 16 points on 6-14 shooting, knocking down 2-6 from the three point line, and grabbing six rebounds. Brantley also finished with just four fouls, after recording eight in his debut.
The question for Brantley will be how much he needs the ball in his hands to be effective. In a regular season NBA game, as a rookie, Brantley will have to play off of other more talented offensive players, can he spread the floor as a front court player, then attack closeouts if he proves he’s a threat from three? Or does he need the ball in his hands to find rhythm? He’ll get a shot with the team’s preseason roster to prove himself.
Oni was red hot to start the game, and had 11 points in the first quarter, including hitting his first three three-point attempts. He finished with 17 points on 5-12 shooting, and 4-8 from the three point line. After and 0-3 outing in game one, he looked more comfortable finding his shot in the offense. Oni got a lot of open looks, which won’t be as frequent in a real NBA game, but showing he’s comfortable shooting from the NBA three point line is a good sign. Dennis Lindsey said he wanted snipers on the roster, and Oni might offer some shooting on the offensive side of the ball. Unlike Brantley, Oni is mostly a shooter/ball mover, he doesn’t have a very developed dribble drive game, but he might be a true 3-D prospect. At Yale, Oni was praised for his defense, and that was apparent in his final game here. He’s got quick hands, great length, and moves his feet well. He had two steals on the ball, and impressive help side block.
The Jazz now head to Vegas for two weeks in the league wide summer league.
