The Longest Day
If you like basketball, today’s your day. Seven games are on tap on Day Nine of the 2009 NBA Summer League, with Dallas and Oklahoma City getting ready to tip off in Cox Pavilion.
There are four games scheduled for the Cox and three in the Thomas & Mack Center. The top three picks from last month’s draft -- Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet and James Harden -- are all playing today. Harden, the No. 3 pick, is on the court right now for the Thunder against Dallas while Thabeet plays at 5 p.m. in the Cox for Memphis against Phoenix. Griffin and the Clippers are in the Thomas & Mack at 5:30 against Washington.
Bayless update
Saw Jerryd Bayless at Portland’s shootaround this morning in the Thomas & Mack and his right calf seemed fine and he told me he’s planning on playing tonight at 7 when the Blazers meet San Antonio in the Cox.
“It’s fine,” he said. “I’ll be out there.”
Look for a feature story on last year’s summer league MVP in Sunday’s R-J.
Will Rockets prevail?
The Houston Rockets are done in Vegas, having run the table to go 5-0 and are atop the summer league standings. Only two other teams remain undefeated -- the Grizzlies and the Spurs, both at 3-0. Should either falter today or Sunday, the Rockets will claim their second summer league title.
They won it all in 2006.
