2015 NBA Summer League: Biggest Takeaways From Day 1 of the Orlando Summer League

Day 1 of the NBA’s Orlando Summer League provided fireworks during the day in “The Magic Kingdom” before the sun went down and fireworks were provided to celebrate American Independence at night.

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Recent NBA draftees were able to get some run for the first time with their respective franchises, and put their skills on display in front of their new coaches and general mangers in the systems that they will be groomed in for the foreseeable future.

The games were competitive and a lot of these players represented themselves well in their first professional scrimmage.

But there were a few performances on Saturday that stood out more than others, and even provided a few surprises for some hoop junkies that may have expected less from certain individuals.

We have to keep in mind that this is the summer league and the overall level of competition is a notch or two below what these young men are going to be going up against when October’s preseason games begin, and the regular season tips off around late October to early November.

Here are the occurrences from Day 1 of the Orlando Summer League that stood out the most for observers, and should add to the storylines in the days and games to come during these exhibitions.

Myles Turner Made the Indiana Pacers Look Like Geniuses For a Day

Pacers’ President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird, has been extremely vocal about his desire to have his Indiana Pacers play at a faster pace on the basketball court.

Jan 19, 2015; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Myles Turner (52) shoots a free throw in the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Wilkerson-Greines Athletic Center. Texas beat TCU 66-48. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

So when the Pacers used the 11th pick of the NBA Draft on University of Texas forward/center Myles Turner, critics of the pick felt that it contradicted what Bird’s desires were for the team going forward.

At least for a day the joke looks to be on the naysayers because Myles Turner’s Day 1 performance was solid.

Though Turner’s Pacers lost to Justise Winslow’s Miami Heat in their Orlando Summer League opener 92-76, Turner turned in one of the best performances of the day finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Turner showed that he has a pretty diverse repertoire in hitting 8 of 11 shots from the field. He displayed the anility to play with his back to the basket as well as stepping out to hit shots with range.

It appears that Myles Turner is going to have all the room he needs to grow with rumors swirling that the Pacers are trying to deal center Roy Hibbert to the Lakers.

At 7-foot, 243 pounds, Turner is a more than a viable candidate to take over the reigns in the middle for the Pacers. And with the game that he displayed early Saturday, he is well on his way.

Justise Winslow’s 4 of 8 for 15 points was nothing to sneeze at either by the way.

Branden Dawson Played Bigger Than He Looks

Michigan State forward turned Los Angeles Clippers diamond in the rough Branden Dawson had a big game in his Orlando Summer League debut.

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He turned in a pretty monstrous game, though his Clippers squad fell short to the Orlando Magic’s blue squad 75-74 in overtime.

Dawson dropped 14 points and 14 boards on the stat sheet, hitting 6 of 13 shots from the field in 26 minutes of work.

Dawson’s board work was highly impressive when you consider that he is 6-foot-6.

The numbers that he put up was probably the biggest surprise of the Orlando Summer League’s Saturday slate.

Being scrappy and hustling on every play will get you pretty far in the NBA. If you show the ability to knockdown shots along with it, you can get even further.

Branden Dawson did himself a service with his performance on Saturday, and could be that second round steal that people will talk about later down the line.

Frank Kaminsky Simply Needed to Settle Down

The Orlando Summer League arguably has five headliners participating in it , with “NCAA National Player of the Year” Frank Kaminsky being one of the main attractions.

“Frank The Tank” in the early going seemed to be pressing a little bit having a hard time finding himself in the first half.

However, once Frank Kaminsky settled in, he showed why he is widely considered to be the quintessential stretch power forward finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Kaminsky finished the game hitting 7 of 19 from the field and 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.

His pick and pop game was vicious, and when defenders began to close out early on him because his outside shot was falling, he showed the ability to put the ball on the deck and find his way to the rim.

Though Charlotte lost to Oklahoma City’s summer league club 76-74, Kaminsky lived up to his billing as one of the top players of this draft class.

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