The Orlando Magic defeated the Sacramento Kings 94-92 Saturday afternoon. We normally aren’t in the habit of writing recaps (or even consistently posting game threads) for Summer League games, but this game was incredible. The Magic won in doubly overtime, and in Summer League the second OT is played as Sudden Death. But before we get to the finish, let’s recap how we got here.
The Kings clawed their way back in the fourth quarter, but the game appeared out of reach as the Magic led by 6 with just 7.4 seconds left to play. That’s when Neemias Queta and Keegan Murray pulled a rabbit out of their hat:
WHAT ON EARTH DID THE KINGS JUST DO IN VEGAS pic.twitter.com/8JFajL7FHL
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) July 9, 2022
A Queta 3(!) followed by a stolen inbounds and a Murray 3 sent the game to overtime.
It was just a Summer League game, but you’d have never known it by the intensity both teams played with.
Jordi Fernandez drew up multiple incredible ATO plays, including a near game-winner in double OT with a lob to Queta at the rim. The shot was blocked by Paolo Banchero but initially called a foul. The Magic challenged the call, and the refs overturned the foul. On the next play down, Banchero nearly turned the ball over (he had 8 turnovers in the game), but found former Kings Summer League star Emmanuel Terry for the game winner.
Keegan Murray finished with 20 points (including going 4/8 from 3) and 9 rebounds. Queta finished with 23 points and 8 boards, and Keon Ellis had 15 points, 4 assists, and some truly disruptive defense.
Queta also finished with a hilarious bit of banter directed at Paolo Banchero:
put some respect on his name 🗣
@nemi1599 | #SacramentoProud pic.twitter.com/fwcBAZ6PjV— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 9, 2022
Maybe it wasn’t a foul by Bancero, but it did look like the ball was above the rim….
Doesn’t matter if offensive player is still holding the ball…
IMO it was no foul. They could’ve said Banchero went through Queta’s left wrist but he also got so much ball that I don’t think you call that a foul.
Banchero clearly hit Queta’s wrist and made contact with his back. There was not enough evidence, in my opinion, to overturn the call. A Magic player also got away with an obvious traveling violation towards the end. I’m not a fan of the sudden death 2nd OT.
Counterpoint: It’s summer league.
Yeah summer league is insignificant and that’s why we’re all here talking about it.
If I were the Magic, I’d be pleased with Banchero. Were I the Kings, I’d be pleased by Murray too. Both had good games.
And for fucks sake AN: It’s just Summer League!
Shame on me for turning the game off with 10 seconds to go in the fourth holy hell.
Paolo is a beast. Has that IT factor when he’s on the court.
Keegan has to play more aggressively but I do like that he seems to turn it on in the 4th. Super clutch shot. Idk if it’s by design or he’s just not trying to do too much but he needs to attack on O
Keon can be useful this season if his 3 is dropping. That kid is a steal for us.
Overall really fun summer league game
I don’t recall how many years we’ve been able to watch LVSL games (3 years?) but whatever it is this was an amazing and entertaining game. Personally on the replay I don’t think Pablo fouled Keegan. Regardless……a good time was had by all, especially Queta who must have had the best game of his career.
Ferrari reminds me of Scott Skiles…he’s out there dressed as a player but looks like a veteran coach
On top of his good defense and 3pt shooting, Ellis running point in crunch time, this kid is a gamer and continues to impress.
I honestly wish I didn’t have to watch Ferrari play anymore, for someone who is supposed to initiate and setup others, he’s pretty awful at it.
I liked what I saw from Keegan again, smooth shot and cool under pressure, but he’ll need to continue working on his dribble drives where’s he’s dribbling too high (ala Rudy Gay) since people will be coming hard to close him out off the 3pt line. If he can get that part of his game going, he’s going to be really good. His defense on Banchero was good too, his footwork was crossed up several times in the 1st half on Banchero drives but he made the adjustment to open his hips in the 2nd half and I don’t think Banchero scored again at the rim against Murray. Tough assignment for him but I thought he did well. Most of Banchero’s points came from the FT line or against guards.
Queta is realizing his potential, great hands, good passer and nice touch. I’d like to see him go at the rim a little harder sometimes though.
This was easily the most entertaining Summer League game I’ve seen.
Jordi pulled both Coleman and Ferrari for ineffective play at the point from about midway through the third. Coleman brought any semblance of ball movement to a grinding halt doing his Corey Joseph imitation. Ellis was superb at the point given his lack of minutes at that position in the California Classic and todays game.
A fun game in the desert.
Excellent observations and agreed on Ellis. Kings my have found something there.
Just looking at the boxscore from today.
KeeDawg (Keegan Murray to yall) had 5 TOVs, 4 made 3s, 2 assists, 7 Dreb’s (which was more than anyone else on the court for either team) and played the most minutes (36) of anyone on either team. He had a 68.9 TS% for the game on 20.5 USG.
Banchero had 8 TOVs, 0 3s made (1 attempt), 6 assists, 4 Dreb’s, and played 34.5 minutes (2nd to Keegan of anyone). Banchero had a 53.2 TS% on 36.6 USG.
An interesting contrast in styles, to say the least.
Yeah completely different players who play the same position.
For most of the game, I would have said Banchero is the better player but then in the end, Murray did something that Banchero could not do- hit a 3.
This was efficiency vs. volume/ Banchero only made one more FG and a few more FT’s with less rebounds and more turnovers. Pretty close.
Top 5 players picked are all doing well.
They both seem to be really good players, they just go about in very different ways. The thing I like about Murray is that he doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective.
Having now watched some games, Keegan has made me believe he can be really good. His is a game that takes a few viewings to appreciate.
Especially loved his buzzer 3-calm/pump fake/deadly. Clutch….shit that can’t be taught, he has.
Smith and Holmgren have been underwhelming if stats are important .
Stats are as important as you want them to be. Stats are data, numbers on a page. They help describe the narrative but don’t tell the whole story. Some might call them separated pieces of a jaigsaw puzzle.
And, of course, you know that.
Jabari Smith Jr., to me, “looked the part”. He has a handsome set of tools to his being an All-Star. He missed some shots today. I would bet he would make most of those same shots tomorrow. Chet’s game was a bit harder to see that emerging, but today is but the first step in a 100 mile journey.
Agree that he looks the part as the skill set of Holmgren interesting . Stats will over time will tell the truth .
I wouldnt close the book on any of these guys. SL is but a first step, and really the least important step in these guys professional careers. But if you can’t even master SL, or whatever, then it’s difficult to envision how you’ll be successful against NBA players.
I hope Keegan can develop his dribble and drive game. Other defenders collapse on him and he turns the ball over
It seems the top 5 rookies in this years draft are all playing really well.. Ivey seems to have a great game before going out with an ankle injury.. Had 11 pts in the 1st quarter and shot the ball really well..
Holmgren and Smith have very poor overall stats so far .
Keegan needs to watch those Steph Curry dribbling drills.
Don’t they both speak Portuguese?
Kings are working out Shabazz Muhammad and Mathew Dellavedova.
Talk about some blasts from the past.
Frank Ferrari is obviously an Anjali Ranavide’s guy
Snuck in the best comment of the night…
The conversation was probably like “oh look his last name is Ferrari he must be really fast let’s sign him”
Dragan Bender approves of this comment and gives it a SunKings nod
I didn’t see the game because I’m cheap, but was our kid Keegan matched up with Paolo on offense and defense? I’m just wondering how he did working against an NBA player, even a rookie one.
Just based on commentary from Twitter and a few clips I’ve seen that weren’t of the b2b 3s…… it was a bit of both. Banchero got the better of him early, Murray adjusted as the game progressed.
Banchero is really a guy who hunts switches so that’s a part of it too.
Thanks, Pook!
I did see the game on Sunday, and Ellis is a guy I expect to see in Sacramento a lot this season. His defense is spectacular, and I do think that you can play him at SF because of his length. He’s got to add muscle, but he’s exactly the type of player that you need on a winning team.
And Keegs is just good. I don’t think he had a particularly good first half, just never getting into the flow of the offense, but he quietly packed those stats in the second, I guess, because his numbers were pretty good. And he seems comfortable stepping up when crunch time arrives, and it’s never bad to have another guy like that.
Fun game! The outcome doesn’t really matter but Keegan, Queta and Ellis all played pretty well. Everyone else… woof. My only gripe with Keegan is that he needs to shoot more. Some of that is because the guards don’t get him the ball but I’d like to see him bring the ball up and work on his dribble drive. This is the perfect place to do it. Overall Keegan gives me Tobias Harris vibes with possibly a little better defense and shooting. That’s a really good player!
Paolo is going to be a stud because the creation ability at that size is next level. If he defends like he did today, the sky is the limit for him. Overall, the top 5 picks all look really good. I have to admit, Ivey looks pretty awesome so far and had 11 points in 5 minutes before the injury. He also looked great yesterday. Super impressive.
Not true. Smith and Holmgren have been underwhelming . Overall stats very poor .
I’d say you need to look past the stars with both guys. Their defense has been off the charts good even if the shot hasn’t always been falling. I think they both look very good. History tells us somebody in the top 5 probably won’t be that good but right I’m struggling to see who.
This appears to be a very strong draft class- my only addition is not 1-5, but 1-6.
Benedict Mathurin has got game. He’s not lacking in confidence- that part of him reminds of his teammate, Devin Booker.
I have no idea why I placed Devin Booker as a teammate. In Indiana.
Glorious game
Latest Vezenkov news from your Olympiacos beat reporter (a free translation from what he said on the radio today):
At this point it’s totally up to the Kings. If they show him that he will have a decent role and playing time and he won’t be collecting DNPs and garbage time, he will join Sacramento without a second thought. I believe though, that they’re still not sure (probably not) that they can promise him so much.
The reason he’s trying to get a promise of some kind is because he doesn’t feel like a 19 yo rookie. He is one of the best players in Euroleague and thinks he should be more appreciated.
I think that Murray will be appreciated by the fans that saw/see Rudy Gay as smooth and Harrison Barnes as selfless. He will be less appreciated by the fans that saw / see Gay and Barnes as not being aggressive enough.
My guess is that Murray will come out of the gate with non-stop effort on the defensive end, but he is going to defer a bit on offense, especially during his first season or two. It should be fun to watch him develop as Fox, Sabonis & Co. coax more and more out of him.
It felt like the Magic were focused on him on the defensive side of the court and doing their best to deny him the ball. I don’t think he’s gonna have that problem when he is playing with Sabonis and Fox. He seems very comfortable as a spot up shooter more than an off the dribble attacker, which is perfecting fine when you have someone like Fox who can get a foot into the paint and kick it out or Sabonis operating from the elbow.
I get the Rudy Gay and Harrison Barnes comps, but I’m starting to see a lot more of Rashard Lewis type game with the spot up shooting we’ve seen from Murray thus far.
Great great comparison.
His 3 pts shot look like Lewis.
(I mean when he come out of a screen and shoot the 3)
It was only a single LVSL game, looking at the totality of the statistics he had a very complete even game of points, rebounds, and lack of turnovers. He also led the Kings in an eyeball statistic…NTKTG…Number Of Times Knocked To The Ground. 3 by my count. No complaining to refs, no jumps up and confront the fouling adversary, no rolling of eyes. He just got up and went about his business (had to have his eye checked out on one NTKTG foul) sank his free throws and ran back on D. He was the leading rebounder on either team at half time.
Others on here have said it, so credit is due to them, his game is different that Banchero, different styles, different players, bot looking good in early returns. One comment, Keegan can shoot, yesterday’s warmup and game may be different. Banchero is not yet a mid or long range point getter. He had fifteen fouls shots. His long balls were misses. He had 8 or 9 turnovers. Different players, different styles. Keegan will be even bettter when he stops deferring so much and when there are NBA level facilitators on the floor. Keon Ellis was spectacular at the point after Jordi pulled Ferrari and Coleman.
I have heard a few pundits say Coleman could be the 3rd point guard for the Kings. I hope not. Holding the ball and dribbling the clock out without ball movement was what he excelled at yesterday, so much so that the offense dried up, and the Kings fell behind by 17 or 18 points. Ellis brought the flow back to the game and the previous aggressive holding and bumping of the Kings point guard initiating the offense went for naught. Ellis played very well.
I sat with a group of ten late teenagers and early 20’s fanatical NBA fans, knew every stat of every player. When Banchero and Keegan faced off on D against each other at the beginning of the game and physically bodying up Keegan was the Magic’s plan, Banchero made a good defensive stop on Keegan, one of the group yelled out “My God, it’s Thor in the flesh” about Banchero’s size and strength, with good reason. The fan next to me had on a Seattle SuperSonics jersey. Keegan sank a smooth 3 and he yells back to his pal, “Meet the Silver Surfer Asgardian”. Funny stuff, but not far off reality.
You can’t teach easily what Keegan did with 3 seconds left on the regulation clock. I think Kings fans will be happy with the entirety of his game. He does a lot of things very well. Needs work on several others that are mentioned by other posters.
He’s the Anti-Boogie
Mailman, he is all that and more in terms of demeanor. He embodies the phrase every coach in any sport has repeated to young players—“Act like you have been here before” in terms of how an athlete goes about playing a sport, whether it be losing or winning.
One last point, in Sunday’s game against the Pacers with a few minutes left in the game, the “version” of Keegan that several posters on this site have noted as an area of improvement was on the floor in abundance.
The game was at a tipping point, Kings were a point or two behind, Keegan took the ball inside the top of the key and worked his way aggressively to the low post for a close in two pointer. He was going hard to the rim using his size and dribbling to his advantage. He scored and was fouled.
That “version” of Keegan is part of his game, he looked very fluid and under control. Maybe I am wrong, but I feel certain the offense has been set up to emphasize his catch and shoot strengths. That play was somewhat like watching a Marvel movie and a little vignette of what is coming in a future movie suddenly appears during the playing of the credits.
Early days, but I think Kings fans will be happy with Keegan.
Queta was being held out with some calf soreness, so there was a bit more room for Keegan to operate in the paint.
Yeah, not comping Murray to Barnes or Guy when it comes to skillset. Comping the glide to their stride.
True, they all have that smoothness to their games.
Is anyone else annoyed that Davion is not playing? Even just a little? After all, Cade is on the Pistons roster isn’t he? Imagine if the Ferrari minutes went to Davion. Or a Davion and Ellis defensive backcourt.
Why, because of chgances to win the summer league?
Or because it may keep Murray from shining? I don’t care about that either. He should shine in the regular season.
Or maybe because the lack of good PG play hinders the development of players/opportunities to showcase themselves? There’s som,e merit to that, but I think in the scheme of things it’s quite negligible.
If summer league is not for development of young players why have it ? All 1st and 2nd year players should play .
I think it’s mainly to see what to make out of players who can fill out a roster, or can be placed on the G-League team.
If you are counting in summer league to be a relevant part of the development of your core rotation guys, you better lower your expectations.
this
Davion should be playing . Wasted opportunity . Notice Josh Giddey of OKC playing .
Maybe it just comes down to minutes and rest. Mitchell played in 75 games and a ton of minutes at the end of the season. Plus, he’s about to turn 24 and had 4 years of heavy college minutes. Giddey, on the other hand, is just 19 and is coming off injury where he missed the second half of the season. He may need to get his game legs back more minutes than Mitchell.
The Kings point guards were ineffective yesterday until Jordi turned to Keon Ellis. He is turning heads. Good for him. Sure it would be nice to see Davion. He was the first Kimg in the arena and spent fifteen minutes, with a ball under his arm, walking along the low seats signing autographs and taking pictures with kids. Good on him. During the game he sat next to Sabonis. The two were talking the entire game about the game and situations.
I’m not. I don’t think it’ll do much for Davion. It might help Murray get a few more qualiity shots up, but that’s one of Murray’s tests IMO: Can he figure out how to score without someone creating for him.
We knew Keegan Murray had a versatile game offensively. We know he’s effective in transition. He gives effort on the boards and defensively. The Kings certainly knew what he was and was hoping he could show those things. He has. Playmaking and perhaps that necessary aggressiveness are not necessarily things you solve 4 games into Summer League. Especially when you’re a rookie. Certainly, one thing I’ve noticed about Murray that seems to be said frequently is the speed of the game isn’t too much. And he’s able to adjust as the game goes on. Those are things I’d be thrilled with.
Ultimately, Summer League is the easiest test these guys will face in their career. I think Murray has passed this test regardless of stats, narrative and what not. How he’s able to grow from a physical standpoint (he seems to be needing to get stronger) probably determines where he ends up career wise.
–
Davion was the first King to come into the large Thomas and Mac Arena before the Magic game. He came in carrying a basketball under his arm and signed autographs and talked with kids for fifteen minutes. I would bet, in the land of constant betting on every aspect of life, he had just finished putting up a few thousand shots on a court somewhere, any where. Good ambassador for the Kings. Then he sat next to Sabonis and soaked up tips from Domas as they talked about, and pointed out with hand gestures, the plays called in the game for LVSL players, but designed to introduce Keegan, Ellis and Neemias to the Center high post initiation of the Kings offense in the Big NBA.
Why is the newest posting over 2 days old on this site? A posting about the Kings win yesterday should have been up yesterday, not the posting about the Kings loss 3 days ago. The older King’s site had info about the game yesterday, and that’s the way it should be if you claim to be a King’s site.
Feel free to head to the other site then lol.
COTD
Says the guy still rooting for a team that abandoned them.
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