Jalen Slawson kept dragging the Pacers back into the fight Sunday night, but Indiana’s rally still ended in frustration.
Slawson scored 26 points and delivered several eye-catching defensive plays as the Pacers wiped out an over-20-point deficit, pushed the game to 93-93 in regulation and forced overtime. Then the offense disappeared. Indiana didn’t score at all in the extra period, and the Philadelphia 76ers walked away with a 100-93 win.
Philadelphia leaned on rookie guard Labaron Philon, who finished with 24 points, six assists and a steal. Johni Broome added 23 points, and the Sixers moved to 2-0 with a real shot at making a run at the Vegas Summer League title.
For Indiana, though, the bigger story was the way Slawson keeps putting himself in the middle of everything.
He’s not going to get the same kind of on-ball chances on a roster that includes Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam and the returning Tyrese Haliburton, but the defensive activity he’s shown has been hard to miss. That kind of effort can matter when a player is trying to turn summer league momentum into a real NBA role.
Slawson has spent most of his career bouncing between G-League stops on two-way deals, though he did flash some promise across 13 appearances last season. Players with that kind of path don’t often end up as pieces on winning teams - Eric Paschall is the example that comes to mind - but Slawson has at least given himself a chance to break that pattern.
He’s also been getting to the line at a strong rate, especially with the new G-League free-throw rule the NBA is testing in summer league.
And Indiana could use more of that kind of help. The Pacers lost their protected first-round pick to the LA Clippers this summer, so every extra piece of usable depth matters.
Still, Slawson isn’t the only name making noise.
Braden Smith has looked efficient as a scorer and shown enough playmaking to make a case for the third-string guard spot, which appears to be his for the taking after Indiana moved on from Kam Jones.
Rienk Mast has also kept stacking productive outings. He led the Pacers in rebounds again and nearly posted his second double-double in Vegas. Given the lack of forward and center depth behind Ivica Zubac and Siakam, he has a legitimate case to be the steal of the undrafted free-agent group.
Yuki Kawamura has been part of the conversation too, and the Japanese guard continues to draw people in quickly.
The result Sunday won’t change much for Indiana. In Vegas, the point is development, not the standings. And so far, the Pacers have gotten encouraging returns from the players who matter most in this setting.
In Other News...
Pacers May Have Found A Summer League Big They Can't Ignore
Indianas summer league group has already given the front office a little bit of everything, from an overtime loss to the Sixers to a win over the Cavaliers, but one of the quieter developments has been the play of Rienk Mast. The 6-foot-10 forward has brought a steady inside presence while working on an Exhibit-10 deal, and his recent showing gave the Pacers another look at a player who has spent time in Europe and in college at Bradley and Nebraska.
Masts path has been anything but ordinary, and that matters for a team always searching for useful depth at the margins of the roster. He has already shown enough in this setting to put himself in the conversation for a two-way contract or a G-League spot, and with Indiana still sorting through its summer league options, his mix of size and experience is hard to overlook. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Just Made Another Tough Depth Call After Nance Move
Micah Potters run with the Pacers ended the same way a lot of roster-fight stories do in late summer, with a team trying to balance usefulness against flexibility. The five-year NBA veteran had his best statistical season in Indiana, averaging 9.7 points and five rebounds in 47 appearances, and his offense gave the Pacers a workable depth option at center.
Still, Indiana chose to move on after adding Larry Nance Jr., a move that brought more positional versatility and helped the front office trim salary near the first apron. Potter was always more of a fringe rotation piece than a nightly answer because of the defensive questions, so the Pacers opted for the cleaner roster fit even if it meant giving up a player who had carved out a real role. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Just Got An Uncomfortable Early Look At A Real Problem
Las Vegas Summer League is supposed to be about first impressions, and the Pacers got one they probably would have preferred to avoid. In a 100-93 loss, the player taken No. 22 in the draft carved them up for a game-high 24 points, adding 6 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal while controlling the game in a way Indiana could not quite answer.
For a roster trying to sort out who can hold up on the perimeter and who can keep an offense from getting comfortable, that kind of showing lands with some extra weight. It was only one game in July, but it was also the sort of early look that can expose a real issue before the Pacers have much time to smooth it over. [Read more 🡒]