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The Portland Trail Blazers won their 93-86 NBA Summer League opener against Charlotte on Sunday at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
The Blazers received 27 points from goaltender Antonio Blakeney and 17 from forward George King.
Portland shot 50.7% from the field and 44% on three (11 of 25) while keeping the Hornets at 45.6% on shooting and 29.6% on three.
While the Summer League is mostly about player development, the Blazers’ goal is to win the championship, according to Blakeney.
“I really think we are very motivated to try to win,” he said.
The Blazers have several NBA veterans, including Blakeney, who spent two seasons with Chicago. Forward Michael Beasley has 11 years of experience, Emmanuel Mudiay has five under his belt and Kenneth Faried played eight years in the NBA.
“These vault guys came in the first day of practice, made us practice hard, play hard, be professional and we had a team meeting on how we were going to play,” said Blakeney. “I think we’re really focused.
Beasley scored nine points against the Hornets while Mudiya scored four points with nine rebounds and Faried contributed eight points and eight rebounds. All three started the game with King and CJ Elleby, a second-round pick last year.
Blazers Summer League coach Roy Rogers said winning and developing go hand in hand.
“If you don’t play every possession like it’s the last possession then the championship doesn’t matter, you’re not going to win the game,” said Rogers. “When we’re in this format, every game counts. When every game counts, you should try to win as many possessions as possible in the quarter.
Each of the 30 NBA teams will play four games with the undefeated teams separated by tiebreakers to determine which teams will play in the championship game next week. So the Blazers are three wins away from a chance to appear in the title game.
However, for the upcoming NBA season, the most important agenda is the development of Elleby, forward Greg Brown III, the team’s second-round pick this year, and forward Trendon Watford, who signed a two-way contract after being undrafted.
Elleby, who played 30 games last season with the Blazers, played 26 minutes against the Hornets on Sunday and finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
“We just want to get him as many minutes as possible,” Rogers said. “What I was trying to do today was make him play until he was tired and then make him fight that fatigue because it’s an environment where he can make mistakes. And I think these are valuable mistakes because you can learn from them. “
With forward Nassir Little not playing this summer after initially being on the roster, Elleby is the only player with a guaranteed contract for next season while the rest of the players play in hopes of having the opportunity to be invited to training camp with the Blazers or another team.
“For our players on the roster, we’re trying to help them improve for next season,” said Rogers. “For the guys who are not on our list, we try to put them in a position where they can recognize their dreams. Whether it’s being invited to an NBA training camp, going to Europe, we’re just trying to put them in a better position.
One player likely guaranteed to receive a contract is Brown, an athletic forward from Texas who was among the top 10 players in high school just a year ago.
Rogers said Brown, who finished with nine points in 18 minutes on Sunday, got over being overwhelmed early on.
“Every day that he arrives early he gets extra work and he gets more and more comfortable with our system,” Rogers said. “I think today he had a few flashes, just a few little flashes, of the potential he has. So we’re really excited about him because of his work ethic. I think he has a chance to be a very good player, provided he works at it every day.
The Hornets were led with 19 points from James Bouknight. LiAngelo Ball scored 16 off the bench.
SUMMER LEAGUE OF BLAZERS SCHEDULE
8 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10 vs. LA Clippers
3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12 vs. Indiana
6 p.m., Saturday August 14 in Phoenix
– Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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