Day two of NBA Summer League action in the Orlando Pro League saw three former Wildcats hit the wood floor. Here’s a quick rundown of how these Kentucky stars performed on Tuesday.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Utah Jazz
After a rough first outing for Enes Kanter, the Turkish center got back on the right track with a 5-for-9 shooting performance en route to a 10-point, eight-rebound effort against the 76ers.
Kanter struggled with his shot and was not very active in his first action of the summer league Monday, but after knocking off some rust, Kanter looked more like the player most expected him to be, adjusting to the defense and game flow. He’s got a wealth of upside, but is still very much a work in progress. That’s why Kanter hopes to use this summer league to help improve his game.
After not playing basketball for a season while at Kentucky, then heading straight to the draft, Kanter was unable to play for long stretches of time. He hopes to be able to get more minutes next season, and thus far, has seen a good amount of playing time come his way. In Tuesday’s 84-80 win over the 76ers, Kanter logged 26:48 after averaging 14.3 minutes per game last season.
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic
Tuesday marked the second straight day that two members from the 2011 Kentucky Final Four team went head-to-head in summer league competition. This time, DeAndre Liggins and Brandon Knight matched up in a close one, as Knight’s Pistons pulled off a 79-75 win over the Magic.
Though the Pistons got their second straight win in the league, Knight struggled with his shot all day. He tallied just 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting, but he did a nice job of distributing the basketball with six assists on the afternoon.
Liggins, though he scored a personal league-high nine points, was just 2 of 5 from the field and made 5-of-10 free throws. He pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists, but four turnovers kept him from having a better day.
Play continues in the Orlando Pro Summer League Wednesday at 11 a.m., but Knight leads off the Wildcat action when his Pistons take on the Thunder at 1 p.m. Liggins and Kanter will then square off in the finale when the Magic and Jazz tangle this evening at 5 p.m.
The Las Vegas league does not get underway until Friday with the other 24 teams competing in the dessert with teams competing from July 13-22. To catch all the NBA Summer League action, NBATV will show all 60 games as well as NBA.com offering Summer League broadband for 14.99.
We’ll have notes and highlights from the summer league here on Cat Scratches for the next two weeks, so stay tuned.
