Needing to attempt a heave to avoid a shot clock violation, Cason Wallace drained the 45-foot attempt that woke the afternoon crowd up in Las Vegas.
It was that kind of day for Wallace as he dazzled in his summer league debut with 20 points that included six made 3-pointers. The Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed a 91-80 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a game that featured impressive performances from several notable players.
“It was just fun being out there,” Wallace said after the win. “The guys, they draw a lot of attention, so I had a lot of open shots.”
The Thunder were in control for most of the game as they entered halftime with a 48-40 lead and entered the final quarter with a nine-point advantage. 69 of OKC’s 91 points came from their starting lineup, including 49 points from the trio of Wallace, Chet Holmgren and Ousmane Dieng.
Led by Wallace, the Thunder blitzed the Mavericks with barrages of 3s as they shot 19-of-43 (44.2%) from outside. The offense was a well-oiled machine as OKC shot 32-of-69 (46.4%) from the field with 23 team assists due to crisp ball movement.
“I thought the ball movement was good, especially early in the first half,” Thunder summer league coach Kam Woods said. “And really, when we were good, I thought it was because of our ball movement. We obviously want to be a team that has a lot of playmakers on the floor.”
On the other hand, the Mavericks couldn’t get their offense going. Dallas shot an ugly 27-of-65 (41.5%) from the field and an even uglier 9-of-31 (29%) from 3. In three of their four quarters, they failed to score 20 points. Ball security also lacked as they committed 18 turnovers.
This game served as a nice reminder as to how deeply stacked the Thunder’s summer league roster is compared to the rest of the league. The Thunder are swimming in young prospects. Three of OKC’s starters were lottery picks within the last two drafts and the other two starters were a 2021 first-round pick and a 2022 second-round pick who was the starting center in last year’s play-in team.
Just an absurd amount of young talent that summer league teams usually aren’t associated with.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks’ best player in this game was Jaden Hardy, who had 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting and six rebounds. The Mavericks’ two first-round rookies in Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper struggled — the former had four points and five rebounds while the latter had seven points.
As the Thunder continue to play more summer league games in the ensuing week, most of the notable players will start to dwindle — but for the one game where they all — minus Jalen Williams — played together, they looked like an unstoppable force who outmatched their counterparts.
“We have a great group of guys with a lot of different talents,” Holmgren said.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Cason Wallace: A+
After dealing with paperwork headaches that delayed his summer league debut, Cason Wallace made up for lost time in his first game with the Thunder.
Wallace had about as great of a debut as one could’ve hoped for. In 27 minutes, he finished with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting that included going 6-of-10 from 3.
“He’s like a pro with his approach,” Woods said about Wallace.
The 19-year-old started hot as he drained 5-of-6 3-point attempts in just the first half alone. An even more impressive feat considering the first half was just 20 minutes.
Wallace cooled off a bit in the second half, but that didn’t stop him from hitting the exclamation point of an awesome summer league debut when he drained a 45-foot Hail Mary 3-point attempt with the shot clock expiring.
“Really, I just shot it but the team is real goofy,” Wallace on his heave. “I looked around and everybody was laughing. It was just having fun with the team.
What makes his game even that much more exciting beyond the box score is how Wallace made his 3-pointers. Five of the six were assisted, which means he provided OKC with great off-ball movement and help space the floor.
An important skill to have for a team that is filled with great ball-handling creators.
You don’t want to draw any large conclusions from one summer league game, but it’s hard not to feel the hype surrounding Wallace following Saturday’s performance.
CASON WALLACE FROM HALF-COURT 😱
He’s up to 6 threes 🔥
(via @NBA)
pic.twitter.com/UdLuryLJ4R— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 8, 2023
Drive and kick for the knockdown 👌 pic.twitter.com/Vm2SpwxwD2
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
1-2 punch from the rooks 🔨 pic.twitter.com/6KRMULXlgJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
Chet Holmgren: A
Speaking of generating hype, Chet Holmgren continues to show why the Thunder were excited to select him with the No. 2 pick in 2022.
After sitting out the previous summer league game, Holmgren returned to the court for the first Las Vegas game. In 30 minutes, he finished with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
“I feel great,” Holmgren said. “My body feels great. I definitely feel stronger when I’m moving and bumping dudes.”
This included a first-quarter stretch where he scored seven consecutive points for OKC in a little under two minutes. That mini-stretch included catching a lob pass to complete the alley-oop, hitting a top-of-the-key 3 and sealing second-chance points off of a dunk.
This just goes to show that Holmgren can do a little bit of everything and can create his own offense if needed. He isn’t the stereotypical starting center where the majority of his points are assisted inside of the paint.
On the defensive side, Holmgren continued to show he’ll be an immediate impact. Whenever he roamed in the paint, the Mavericks had to adjust their drives depending on where he was on the court.
His impact didn’t stop there either, as he also had a couple of tangible results that included an impressive chase-down block that showed off his galloping speed for a seven-footer.
“I think he’s done a nice job, really all summer long, at just continuing to grow and get his feet under him,” Woods said about Holmgren.
Just an overall great game for Holmgren — who continues to look more comfortable by the day.
“I feel like I’m getting my groove back,” Holmgren said.
Put the pass right on target 🎯 pic.twitter.com/P5mLQo3JXF
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
Patience in the paint pic.twitter.com/C0wbhiOrBe
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
Ousmane Dieng: B+
Last Monday’s SLC summer league game feels like a distant memory, as Ousmane Dieng has been excellent for OKC in three games since then.
Against the Mavericks, Dieng finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and went 3-of-7 from 3. He also collected five rebounds and three assists.
The 3-ball is starting to hit for Dieng, which could make the difference between him working out or not in the league.
Despite not getting the touches he received last game due to Holmgren and Wallace playing, Dieng was a positive on the court — which speaks highly of his ability to play well regardless of the size of his role on a game-to-game basis.
“I thought he’s done a nice job at just competing and playing with force,” Woods said about Dieng.
Moving through the lane in tandem pic.twitter.com/VwqAULeZJ3
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
Tre Mann: B
Just like Dieng, Tre Mann didn’t see the same opportunities as he did last game, but that didn’t stop him from having a solid outing.
In 27 minutes, Mann finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting that included going 3-of-6 from 3. He also had five assists and two steals.
It was a respectable game for someone who was playing third/fourth fiddle this time around. As summer league progresses, I expect Mann’s on-ball duties to ramp back up.
“(He’s) playing with a good level of force,” Woods said about Mann. “He looks like a guy who’s played out here before and looks like he has a certain comfort level of playing in summer league.”
Finding the open man on the relocation 💦 pic.twitter.com/qrRnjcjEzF
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
Tricky finish at the rim 👀 pic.twitter.com/1pJUOKZanp
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
Jaylin Williams: B+
Jaylin Williams’ game went under the radar due to Holmgren, Wallace and Dieng, but he turned in a productive day of work.
Starting alongside Holmgren, Williams had nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 26 minutes.
The highlight of the game for Williams was being on the receiving end of a near-full-court pass from Holmgren in the closing seconds of the game. Williams capped off the deep pass with an empathetic dunk to seal the win.
After starting in high-intensity do-or-die games in the play-in tournament, summer league is a nice break for Williams.
Perfect pass on the route 🤝 pic.twitter.com/T0t5hS1euL
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 8, 2023
