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Ricky Ledo is showing some flashes
He's still struggling to hit shots efficiently -- especially on his finishes around the rim -- but Ledo looked much better than yesterday's outing thanks to a quality showing from his 3-point shot. The 21-year-old hit five of them in eight attempts, pulling up when he had space in transition for at least three of them.
"We like that shot for him," Summer League head coach Kaleb Canales said. "He's been working on it in the gym with our coaches."
In both games, he's also shown some playmaking ability in spurts -- nothing fancy, just solid bounce passes in transition or simple drop downs to his big man off the dribble.
"He cut down on his dribbling a little, which I think help him," Canales said.
We're hoping Ledo goes off for 40 and wins Summer League MVP, but he's a 21-year-old who didn't play in college. Just getting more and more flashes that he can play is reasonable, at least for now.
Watch out for the Mavericks' Big 3
Mavs Free Agency
Mavs Free Agency
At one point in the second quarter, I had eyes on all three of the Dallas execs: Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle and Donnie Nelson. What's funny is they were spread throughout the arena -- Cuban hanging out at the end of the bench, Carlisle ten rows deep in the stands just watching from afar, and Donnie Nelson hanging out a press table set up behind the basket.
Considering the Greg Smith news of tonight, it's clear they don't have to be in Dallas to cause some damage.
Las Vegas needs barbecue sauce
I ordered a chicken finger plate and it came with two sauces: wing sauce and ranch dressing. Is this a joke? If you ask for barbecue sauce at any restaurant in Texas, they will give you barbecue sauce, because barbecue sauce goes with all foods. Especially chicken fingers. I'm very disappointed, Vegas.
Bernard James is a grown-ass man
For the second game, Sarge, 29, made it very obvious that he has at least five years on most of the players he's going up against. This time, he posted 21 points and seven rebounds against NBA players Gorgei Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad.
James probably isn't going to re-sign with the Mavericks, but I really hope his impressive play gets him on an NBA roster somewhere. We all know his limitations, but he can definitely be a third-string center somewhere.
My vote for Summer League MVP
At halftime -- which, at eight minutes, are seriously one of the best parts of Summer League -- a high school girl's varsity team ran out to entertain us. They were joined by 10-year-old Abby, who took no prisoners as she flat-out dominated.
I really hope Donnie Nelson was still somewhere in the arena, because she couldn't be stopped even if the other girls were trying (they definitely weren't, though). She even drained a jumper from...well, it was only eight feet away, but I still thought it was cool. Honestly, give Abby a few years and she'll probably be better the second coming of Shane Larkin.
Stop giving me looks. This was crucial information.
The rest of the roster
I'm growing more and more on Eric Griffin. His dunking is exceptional, but he's showing he can do more than that, too. Against Minnesota, he was 6-of-8 for 17 points while adding a couple steals and blocks. And yes, he had a open court reverse dunk, too.
Good to see Jackie Carmichael back in action. He was great for them last year. At first, he looks a little like your prototypical "hustle" big man -- and then you realize he also has touch on a mid-range shot and is a good finisher. And yes, he dove into press row at one point, almost taking out Dan Woike's laptop.
Dee Bost is joining the team from the Orlando Summer League. I swear to God, he looks EXACTLY like Roddy Beaubois when he's playing, except with a consistent jumper. The way he plays and his mannerisms are just very similar, and he even is wearing no. 3.
James Nunnally is a player I'm very interested in watching. He also just got here from playing in Orlando last week, but unlike Dee Bost who was in camp, Nunnally needs a couple of days to figure out what's going on with their sets and systems.