If it's not how you start the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas but how you finish it, that's good news for Jaylen Brown. The No. 3 overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft began poorly while coming back from a hyperextended knee suffered last week during the Utah Jazz Summer League. Over his past two games, Brown has shown why the Boston Celtics took him over several other promising prospects.
Here are grades for Brown and some of the other notable performers during Day 6 of summer league.
DeAndre Bembry, Atlanta Hawks: B
The big knock on Bembry as a prospect was his poor outside shooting, but his form looks good and he has been making 3s at a solid rate so far during summer league. Bembry is 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, and that doesn't include a jumper he made with his foot on the line on Wednesday. He also showed the ability to finish in impressive fashion on the break, packing it on Sacramento's Willie Cauley-Stein.
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics: A
After a slow start, Brown has been terrific the past two games, combining for 45 points and 19 rebounds. This was his best offensive game, as Brown's powerful drives to the basket allowed him to rack up 11 free throw attempts, including a late and-1 that helped keep the Celtics in the game. While he doesn't always finish around the rim, Brown frequently ends up putting back his own miss. (Five of his nine boards Wednesday were offensive.) And after getting beaten by his own aggressiveness early on, Brown has stayed more sound defensively.
Kay Felder, Cleveland Cavaliers: B-plus
What was a relatively quiet game for Felder, the 5-foot-9 dynamo drafted in the second round, turned into a great fourth quarter. Felder scored 13 of his 22 points in the final period, helping the Cavaliers win with a series of pull-up jumpers off the pick-and-roll. Felder can get to the basket and finish in acrobatic fashion over bigger defenders, as well as through contact. However, I would like to see more playmaking from him.
Tyus Jones, Minnesota Timberwolves: B-plus
Scouts in Las Vegas are torn on Jones. There's a lot of skepticism that he has enough size and athleticism to be a starting point guard in the NBA. Jones is always likely to struggle defensively for those reasons, and he has a tough time finishing around the hoop. But Jones' skills and decision-making give him a chance. Playing point guard full time with Kris Dunn missing a second game with a concussion, Jones had nine assists and just one turnover and made three of his six 3-point attempts (he was a less accurate 2-of-7 inside the arc).
Skal Labissiere, Sacramento Kings: B
Labissiere has shown in Las Vegas both why he was once considered a likely top-five pick in this year's draft as well as why he ultimately fell to 28th. My favorite part of Labissiere's game is his ability to defend on the perimeter. He moves his feet well when asked to defend guards on switches or help trap them. Labissiere can protect the rim too -- he blocked three shots Wednesday. Yet Labissiere tends too often to get pushed around in the paint. Wednesday was his most accurate shooting game (3-of-6), but overall he's shooting worse than 40 percent from the field without enough 3s to be efficient.
Thon Maker, Milwaukee Bucks: C-plus
Maker continues to show the potential to be a useful player, along with the flaws that will make it difficult for him to contribute right away. One sequence in the first quarter illustrated Maker's situation: He ran a pick-and-pop for a textbook 3-pointer, then shortly after air-balled a spot-up 3 from the wing. Maker has tried to do too much offensively throughout his time in Las Vegas, leading to low shooting percentages (6-of-17 Wednesday). And while he had just three fouls after fouling out (with 10) in his previous game, Maker had just two rebounds.
Jordan McRae, Cleveland Cavaliers: A-minus
McRae had been a volume scorer in the first three games in Las Vegas, averaging 20.3 points while shooting 31 percent from the field. Free throws have supplied most of his offense, and indeed he made 12 of them in as many attempts Wednesday. Because this time he shot a reasonable percentage (9-of-21), McRae piled up 32 points in his best performance of the week. It's unclear how that will translate to NBA action, because the Cavaliers don't really need McRae to create his own offense. For now, though, it's impressive.
Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs: C
Since an impressive debut for San Antonio at the Utah Jazz Summer League, Murray has struggled to score efficiently in Vegas. Wednesday's 5-of-15 effort improved Murray's shooting percentage in four games to 26.5 percent. The makes are dazzling, including acrobatic finishes at the rim. Too often, however, Murray settles for difficult jumpers off the dribble. And though he served as primary ball handler, Murray showed little ability to create good looks for his teammates. On the plus side, his effort and focus defensively have been much better in summer league than during his lone season at the University of Washington.
Georgios Papagiannis, Sacramento Kings: B-minus
A surprising lottery pick by the Kings on draft night, Papagiannis hasn't really shown that kind of talent so far over the past week. The 7-foot-1 Papagiannis is tough to score on when he's in position around the rim, but it's a challenge for him to get to the spot because he doesn't move quickly. It's hard to see him defending stretch big men in the NBA. Offensively, Papagiannis has good touch on his hook and range out to the perimeter. Too often, however, his post-ups go nowhere and result in him pounding the ball. Papagiannis has yet to pick up an assist this week against nine turnovers.
Adreian Payne, Minnesota Timberwolves: B-minus
This is summer league No. 3 for Payne, who has yet to live up to the expectations for him as the No. 15 pick in the 2014 draft. Before Wednesday, it had been a disappointing week for Payne, who was shooting 31.7 percent from the field. This time, he found his touch from midrange to score 20 points on 16 attempts and six free throws despite struggling at times to finish inside. With the Timberwolves adding to their frontcourt by signing Jordan Hill, Payne needs to step up to have a chance at regular minutes.
Taurean Prince, Atlanta Hawks: B-plus
Because his trade to the Hawks as part of a three-team deal wasn't complete until last Thursday, Prince missed the Hawks' first two games in Las Vegas. He made up for lost time Wednesday with an impressive 21-point, nine-rebound effort. The first thing that stands out about Prince is he has an NBA body, which will help him defensively. At the other end, Prince is creating off the dribble a surprising amount for someone projected as a 3-and-D wing in the NBA. That resulted in five turnovers Wednesday, but also nine free throw attempts.