Opening Weekend at this year's NBA Summer League was off-the-hook and wall-to-wall ..
..people
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| The arena was already filled by halftime of the previous game to watch the Lakers |
Word was that 12,500 (+/-) saw D'Angelo Russell, the number 2 draft pick, square off in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Karl Anthony-Towns (#1 Overall draft pick 2015).
Problem for the Lakers was this..
LaVine was on a mission vs the Lakers: 24 pts on 4-8 from Deeeep y'all
Lakers got the dub in the next one that featured Jahlil Okafor. Larry Nance Jr. got the crowd pumped
"THIS is getting good, people" _Reggie Miller NBA TV
Ended up finding some cool fun stuff..
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| Does Size REALLY Matter? Sometimes small hands make things appear larger... |
Tark was there..
Fans grabbed their towels and paid tribute to Jerry Tarkanian...
St Jude had their annual event which featured items on silent auction:
You could also donate...
Always nice to support a great cause. St Jude is helping so many people, kids and families and NBA players, like Pau Gasol are helping to raise awareness.
One in five children diagnosed with cancer in the US won’t survive. That’s why our mission is so urgent. https://t.co/7KPMrjsLEx
— St. Jude (@StJude) July 21, 2015
Last year I walked away with a signature from Trailblazer's Ower, Paul Allen. This year, Towns sat down at the Panini Table and before you knew it he was out, so I missed out, but fans like this young fan were stoked!The Spurs, Suns and Pelicans were making some noise in the tourney. Each featured a top player, statistically, going into the final 4: Kyle Anderson, Devin Booker, and Seth Curry.
But there were other players from those teams like Jonathan Simmons (Spurs) and TJ Warren (Suns) that played huge roles in their team's success. Other players making noise? Alan Williams, Myles Turner, Norman Powell, Larry Drew II, Mike James... etc.
There were guys like Tony Mitchell for the Lakers who may NOT have received the best opportunity in minutes provided by maxed his efforts out like those were his last.
And,
..THAT is the beauty of the NBA Summer League
You have guys.. from all over. All over the world, the league and from colleges. You have talent that is seeing the hardwood as an employee and not a student, for the very first time. Top draft picks..ALL draft picks..PLUS you have many second year players.. some 3 and four and maybe a guy in his eighth or night season that has made a career just hanging onto a roster spot and is finding out there may no longer be any room left.
There is nothing else like it.
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| Ahhh...Summer League Ball |
Let's hope there's enough room for EVERYONE at the next one.. D'Angelo/Okafor/Towns year 2?
YIKES |
Walked away from this one pretty happy... until next time...
Just a suggestion:
..think about adding some high-top tables near the concessions, like the Dodgers have at" top-deck" park. There is a huge area opposite of the main entrance that could serve as a place where people could stand, set their food down and pause for a moment...
Hey, last time "they" listened and we got the bigger games into the bigger venue this season
OTHER ARTICLES ON THE SUMMER LEAGUE ACTION:
