LAS VEGAS, NEVADA- In what appeared to be one of the most highly anticipated summer league games between the 2022 No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero vs the 2022 No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, the game between Orlando (2-1 SL) and Oklahoma City (1-1 SL) lost some of its appeal hours before tipoff. According to Orlando’s Second Year Head Coach Jamahl Mosley, Banchero will sit out the remainder of the 2022-2023 NBA Summer League Season after an impressive two-game stint in Las Vegas.
“I want to give these other guys an opportunity to play, to kind of be able to show what they’re capable of doing,” Mosley said. “That’s the point of summer league, you know, give them a chance … an opportunity for these other guys to see what they’re capable of doing. And we’ve seen what Paolo was capable of doing.”
To reiterate, keeping Banchero out of Orlando’s two remaining summer league games is not a result of poor play or an injury, but quite the opposite. In two Summer League Games, Banchero averaged a team-high 20.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, and 2.5 SPG while shooting 40.7% from the field, 50.0% from three-point range, and 80.0% from the free-throw line. As shown by Mosley’s aforementioned quote and Orlando’s actions with Banchero, it seems as if the Magic believes that Banchero has more to lose than gain during the final two Summer League games.
In addition to sitting Banchero for the remainder of the 2022-2023 Summer League, Orlando decided to do the same with R.J. Hampton and Admiral Schofield, as a result of the same reasons listed above. Although Hampton was expected to play much better against lesser competition in Las Vegas, Hampton still struggled with scoring at an efficient rate, as he averaged 12.0 PPG while going just 40.0% from the field and 0.0% from downtown. Schofield played quite well for Orlando in limited time, as Schofield averaged 9.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.0 APG while posting 44.4/50.0/85.7 shooting splits in 18.5 MPG.
Even though Orlando was without Banchero, Hampton, and Schofield in their marquee matchup against Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Magic wouldn’t go down without a fight. After Oklahoma City built up a commanding 40-22 lead with 6:32 left in the Second Quarter, the Magic went on a 16-7 run to cut the Thunder’s lead down to nine. From there, Orlando continued to chip away at Oklahoma City’s lead, as Orlando was able to cut the lead to five points, before the Thunder went on a 14-5 run to increase the lead back to 14 points, at 50-64. This trend remained the same for most of the second half, until the Magic tied the Thunder at 77-77 after Zavier Simpson converted on a layup attempt with 3:31 left in the Fourth Quarter.
After Holmgren made both of his free throw attempts to give the Thunder an 84-78 lead with 1:40, it seemed as if Orlando was too late to mount a comeback. Despite this, Orlando’s Devin Cannady hit three clutch free-throws to bring the score to 81-84, where Orlando and Oklahoma City had a jump-ball with 8.4 seconds left. After Josh Giddey won the ball over Cannady, Cannady quickly stole the ball from Giddey, and attempted a game-tying three-pointer from 31 feet deep with 5.0 seconds left. After Cannady’s shot attempt clanked off the rim, Orlando’s Emanual Terry got the rebound and passed it out to Aleem Ford at the three-point line, who missed with time expiring, giving Orlando their first Summer League Loss of the season.
Without the services of Banchero, Hampton, and Schofield, Orlando’s late comeback attempt was very impressive, especially against a great team like the Thunder. With Hampton on the bench, Guard Justin James took his spot in the starting lineup, and didn’t disappoint, recording a team-high 16 points on 6-9 (66.7%) shooting from the field and 1-2 (50.0%) from three-point range. Despite matching up against Holmgren, Terry continued to be a force in the paint, notching his first Summer League Double Double, at ten points and 14 rebounds. It’s also worth noting that Cannady (twelve points), Simpson (eleven points, seven assists, five steals), and Tommy Khuse (twelve points, four rebounds) all had solid performances in their increased roles.
To no surprise, Holmgren complied yet another impressive summer league statline on Monday, Holmgren recorded 16 points, ten rebounds, and two blocks, all team-highs. Furthermore, Holmgren was efficient in doing so, as he shot 7-10 (70.0%) from the field and 2-4 (50.0%) from downtown. Despite posting 12 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists in 26 minutes, Giddey was not efficient at all, as he made just 3-11 (27.3%) attempts from the field and committed five turnovers. In addition to Holmgren and Giddey, Aaron Wiggins (12 points, three assists) and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (12 points, seven rebounds) was Oklahoma City’s only other players to score double-digit points in the wire-to-wire win.
After suffering a tight three-point loss to the Thunder on Monday, the Magic are now 2-1 in Summer League play, and currently sit in fifth place in the Summer League standings. Orlando will look to rebound and move to 3-1 in Summer League play on Thursday, as the Magic are set to play the Sophmore Standout Quentin Grimes and the New York Knicks (2-1 SL) at 7:30 E.T. on NBATV. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City will return to Summer League action on Wedneseday, as the Thunder will play the 2022 No. 4 pick Keegan Murray and the Sacramento Kings (1-1 SL), whom the Magic beat earlier this summer in a double-overtime thriller, 94-92.