Big day for McGee; fans pursue Griffin
McGee comes up big for the Wiz
Former UNR center JaVale McGee played with a lot of passion today in the Thomas & Mack Center and that had to make Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld happy.
McGee had 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting and seven blocked shots to lead the Wizards past Blake Griffin and the Clippers, 74-64. McGee has been accused of being too genteel on the court. But he was no Mr. Softee today. He was extremely physical, even picking up a flagrant foul after knocking Griffin to the floor late in the first quarter.
As for Griffin, he finished with 19 points and 10 boards. He’s averaging 20 points and 11.5 rebounds through four games with one left — against his brother Taylor and the Suns at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Thomas & Mack.
His fans await
Griffin has quite a surprise awaiting him when he finishes his media obligations. About 300 people are lined up on the concourse to get his autograph. After every game, a player is designated to sign for 15 minutes out on the concourse in an attempt by the summer league to be fan-friendly. The lines are always long, no matter who is signing. But it stands to reason the No. 1 attraction would gather the biggest crowd.
Bayless moving OK
Portland’s Jerryd Bayless started against the Spurs and appeared to be moving OK, an indication his right calf injury isn’t an issue. Bayless, last year’s summer league MVP, has been moved to point guard from the shooting guard spot so his scoring numbers are down from last year when he averaged just under 30 points a game. He seems comfortable running the team. But as we learned from last year, sometimes summer league success is little more than fool’s gold. Look for more on Bayless in Sunday’s R-J.
