It’s that time of year, when you fire up the hot-take machine, and declare an undrafted rookie the next T.J. McConnell or Robert Covington. It’s 2018 NBA Summer League, and the Sixers are kicking it off with a game against their Summer League and Eastern Conference rivals, the Boston Celtics. Markelle Fultz and Shake Milton will be sitting Summer League out, for shot rejuvenation and a stress fracture, respectively. Even without Fultz and Milton, there will be a lot of fun, young talent on display. Both Sixers’ 2018 first round selections, Zhaire Smith and Landry Shamet, will be with the team in Las Vegas. After clearing FIBA waivers, 2017 2nd round selection, Jonah Bolden, is officially joining the Summer League roster, after spending last season in the Euroleague. Although on a 3-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 6’10 Aussie is expected to use the NBA-out clause in his contract to join the Sixers this season. Furkan Korkmaz, fresh off a stint playing for the Turkish National Team in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, will also be in Vegas. The Celtics will bring out their own young squad, headlined by 2017 second round selection Semi Ojeleye and 2018 first round pick Robert Williams III (if he shows up). Guerschon Yabusele, a 2016 first-round selection, will also be on the roster, after seeing playing time for both the Celtics and their G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, last year. Although the games don’t mean much in regards to the actual NBA season, they can be used to gauge how these young players will fit in with the talented roster that the Sixers already have. Is Zhaire Smith’s shot actually much further along than everyone thought? Will Korkmaz make strides after an injury plagued rookie season? Will any NBA/G-League vets make their mark, and a spot for themselves, on the Sixers’ roster? And is Jonah Bolden really as good as Kevin Rice tells us he is? We’ll begin to find the answers to these questions, and more, tonight. Time: 7:30pm EST Watch: ESPN Listen: 97.5 The Fanatic<doc-sep>The Boston Celtics suffered their first loss at Las Vegas Summer League at the hand of Denver Nuggets 82-69. Boston dropped to 1-1 with the loss. Jabari Bird had a big offensive night for the Celtics with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. His offensive efforts included these two loud finishes: I'm here for Vegas Jabari Bird pic.twitter.com/YwyjO3FvDO — Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) July 8, 2018 Unfortunately for the Celtics, that was about all of the offense for the night. No other Boston player hit double figures, as Pierria Henry had nine points, Hassan Martin had eight points and Guerschon Yabusele, Jarrod Uthoff and Jarell Eddie had seven points apiece. Yabusele did give us this highlight slam: And Martin added this one in the second half: Hassan Martin is angry at the rim pic.twitter.com/nJt63CQ3b7 — CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) July 8, 2018 Boston played without rookie Robert Williams III, who suffered a slight leg injury in the first Summer League game. The team hopes to have him back for the next game. Malik Beasley led the Nuggets with 19 points and Monte Morris added 14. The Celtics will next play on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets.<doc-sep>LAS VEGAS – Malik Beasley promised a bounce-back offensive performance, and on Saturday that’s exactly what he provided. His 19 points helped lead the Nuggets to an 82-69 win over the Boston Celtics at Cox Pavilion, giving them a 2-0 start in the Las Vegas Summer League. As he did in the first game, Beasley started aggressively with 11 points in the first quarter on 4-of-6 shooting. He finished the game 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-6 from the 3-point line. The biggest difference in Beasley’s offense from the first game to the second? “Keeping it simple,” Nuggets summer league coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Play the way he needs to play in the NBA – guarding, shooting, shooting the open three; one, two dribbles, get rid of the ball and get it back. I think that he’s been really good. I liked his energy and his attitude.” Beasley was one of three Nuggets in double-figure scoring. DeVaughn Akoon Purcell scored 19 points as well, all in the final three quarters, 15 of them in the second half. Monte Morris continued his solid play with 14 points and six assists in the game. “I just came in with the mindset, coming into the whole summer league tournament…to just be aggressive,” Purcell said. “It starts on defense. I feel like me playing hard on defense helps me on offense.” These are the takeaways from the Nuggets win over Boston. Morris playing through fatigue: This was a big challenge for the high-energy point guard. It was the second of a back-to-back. He’d expended a ton of energy on Friday night running the offense and picking up ball handlers full court on defense. On Saturday, the Celtics were physical with him, didn’t allow him to get into the open court and he had to make shots, stay focused and play tough defense through fatigue. “It takes a lot (of energy),” said Morris, after the game. “Right now, I feel good but I know once I get to my room and relax I’ll definitely feel it. But, if I’ve got to do that to get a contract, I’m not going to complain.” And he’s done all of this while taking care of the basketball, which was his trademark coming out of college. Morris has 10 assists and just two turnovers in the first two games. “Just trying to find my teammates,” Morris said. “I try to go out there and not even think about turnovers.” Kenrich Williams gets a start: In the press conference following the summer league opener on Friday night, it didn’t take long for Nuggets summer league coach Jordi Fernandez to single out the defensive effort of Kenrich Williams. And for that effort, Williams was placed in the starting lineup. He made more defensive plays against the Celtics, including a blocked shot in which he showed good lateral quickness by staying with a driving ball-handler, then swatting away a pull-up jumper attempt. Williams was a plus-13 for the night. Defense steps to the fore: One of the emerging team storylines is the fact that these Nuggets are turning out to be a very good defensive bunch. In two games, they’ve had just one bad quarter – the fourth quarter of their win over Minnesota on Friday. Still they’ve allowed just 26 field goals in each of the first two games, have held their first two opponents to 38.2 percent shooting (52-of-136) overall, and just 9-of-47 from the 3-point line (19.1 percent). In addition, the Nuggets have forced 33 total turnovers and average 14.0 points per game off of them. First action: Center Petr Cornelie and guard Stan Okoye both got their first taste of summer league action on Saturday night. Both came off the bench in the victory. Cornelie finished with two points and three rebounds in 14 minutes, while Okoye had four points and two rebounds in 17 minutes. Cancar continues to impress: In the starting lineup with Tyler Lydon not playing due to rest, Vlatko Cancar played well again with nine points, six rebounds and two steals in the game. He made 4-of-7 shots from the field, and bounced back from a turned ankle to finish the game. He is not likely to be on the roster this season, but the progress he’s made has many in the organization very encouraged about his future. “Every time you look at the kid, he’s got a smile on his face,” Fernandez said. “Every time. A lot of people have bad body language and they feel sorry for themselves. Him? Every time he walks around he’ll say hi to you and he just smiles. I think that’s contagious, and as much as that’s a little bit of ‘rah rah,’ in a team it helps a lot.” Christopher Dempsey: christopher.dempsey@altitude.tv and @chrisadempsey on Twitter.<doc-sep>
Last year's starting frontcourt players for the Texas A&M men's basketball team were formally introduced to NBA basketball on Friday, as all three suited up with their respective teams in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Robert Williams, Tyler Davis and DJ Hogg are each looking to make a name for themselves in the league. Williams was a first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics. Davis and Hogg earned summer league invitations with the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively. Williams and the Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-89, Friday evening. The Pelicans beat the Toronto Raptors, 90-77, earlier in the day. The Nets lost to the Orlando Magic, 86-80. Williams, the No. 27 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft who officially signed with the Celtics on Thursday, did not start the game but entered with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter. At the 4:20 mark, he scored his first points as a pro on a two-handed dunk courtesy of a nice pass from Kadeem Allen. Williams then followed that with a mid-range bucket and then grabbed a defensive rebound on the ensuing play. He only played six minutes total and finished the game with four points and two rebounds. When he was in, he showed the athletic player that Boston believes he can be for years to come. Hogg, unfortunately, was one of two Pelicans who didn't record any minutes on Friday. Hogg is on a team that is wing and two-guard heavy, and he will have to compete for minutes against players like Shavon Shields, Tony Carr, Trevon Bluiett and Garlon Green. Of the three Aggies, Davis may have the most to prove in NBA Summer League play, and he didn't disappoint Friday evening. Davis was the starting center for the Nets and played 19 minutes overall. He was one of two Nets who finished the game with double figures in scoring, contributing 13 points in the loss. Shawn Dawson led the Nets with 20. Davis made 5 of 13 from the floor and, perhaps more importantly, made his only 3-point attempt in the game. Davis additionally sank both of his free throw attempts. Davis is looking to take advantage of a couple injuries on the Nets roster. Juan Pablo Vaulet, a 2015 NBA Draft second-round pick who has been playing in Argentina, did not play Friday because of a foot injury. Ding Yanyuhang, one of the top players in China, is battling a knee injury. Davis did exactly what Nets assistant coach Jacque Vaughn said to do; he seized the moment. "There will be a lot of kids that will come here to Summer League and won't get a chance to play," Vaughn told NBA.com. "Take advantage of the opportunity." The NBA Summer League in Las Vegas will run from July 6-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus. All three teams featuring Aggies will be in action Saturday. The Pelicans play the Miami Heat at 4 p.m. CT. The Nets play the Oklahoma City Thunder at 6 p.m. CT. The Celtics face the Denver Nuggets at 10 p.m. CT. All three games will be televised on NBA TV.