LAS VEGAS — In their debut game at the NBA’s summer league, the Bulls held off No. 8 overall pick Collin Sexton and the Cleveland Cavaliers, securing an 86-81 win on Saturday night inside the Thomas & Mack Center.
Neither Bulls first-round pick Wendell Carter Jr. nor Chandler Hutchison disappointed in their first NBA action, and Chicago got some nice contributions from two-way players Antonio Blakeney and Ryan Arcidiacono as well.
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But Carter stole the show and in the process took the first step toward proving he is in fact a foundational piece.
Here are five observations from day one of the Bulls’ trip to Las Vegas.
1. Wendell Carter Jr.’s sneaky impact
The narrative that had developed on Carter over the past two months centered on how he didn’t get to show his full repertoire at Duke while playing second banana to Marvin Bagley III.
If Carter, the seventh overall pick in the draft, didn’t showcase his arsenal in his summer league debut Saturday, he certainly set the bar for how much more might be in store. It took less than 3 1/2 minutes for Carter to captivate Bulls fans.
Wendell Carter Jr. ate this shot for dinner 🍽 pic.twitter.com/rVJ3RzuRjV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 8, 2018
The sequence, Carter’s most impressive of the evening, started when he pinned Ante Zizic’s shot to the backboard with two hands by snatching it in mid-air. Carter corralled the rebound, turned and captained the fast break, showing smooth and controlled ball-handling as he made his way down the middle of the court until he found the open man for a right wing 3. Carter tossed three fingers in the air as the shot was in flight, predicting a completed play with what’s become a common celebration. The shot missed, but Carter was there, swooping into the lane for an offensive rebound and quick putback attempt. Carter also missed and the Bulls came away empty on the possession. But the sequence showed the versatility, for which Carter has been so highly praised.
In a 10-second span, he stuffed a point blank shot, led the fast break, found a teammate an open 3, snared an offensive rebound and muscled his way into a second-chance scoring opportunity.
That was the type of all-around impact that characterized Carter’s sneaky good final stat line of 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. At halftime, a pair of media members sitting on press row could be overheard expressing disbelief that Carter sat on only four points. If nothing else, Carter’s ability to affect the game without scoring was on full display.
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“For a 19-year-old kid to play with that poise is mind-boggling,” said Bulls summer league coach Randy Brown.
It was clear from the start how well Carter’s game can mesh in Chicago. His first bucket came on a short corner jumper after Arcidiacono wiggled his way into the teeth of the defense, drew a second defender and dumped off a pass to a wide-open Carter. He then began blocking shots. Lots of them. Three in the first quarter.
And it wasn’t just the shots Carter sent the other way. He altered several others, which soon startled offensive players into changing their natural shooting motion and greatly increasing their degree of difficulty.
The most impressive example of this was seen midway through the third, when Carter, playing on his heels as the last man back, slowed Sexton in transition and forced him to loft a high arching layup attempt over his outstretched arms. Carter didn’t get credited with the block, but he prevented yet another bucket.
“The kid’s just relentless,” Brown said.
The little things are what stood out most. Carter defended guards when cross matched, adequately moving his feet and shutting down driving lanes. He attacked the glass with purpose at both ends, even when it appeared he had no chance of securing a rebound. He set screen after screen that led to a score or simply kept the offense in sync. He sprayed extra passes all over the court, showing early signs of serving as a critical connector in an egalitarian offense.
If the block-fast break-kickout-offensive board sequence was Carter’s most impressive, his late offensive rebound was his best. After Arcidiacono missed a wing 3, Carter skied in, tapping the ricochet over a nearby defender and to himself as his momentum carried him out to the right corner. Without breaking stride, Carter stepped right into a corner 3 and buried it. It was his second of two corner 3s, the first coming from the opposite corner after Donte Ingram made an extra pass that led to a rhythmic catch-and-shoot as his defender closed out.
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“Defensively, I thought he was spectacular,” Hutchison said. “He surprised me on that end.”
Carter has a tendency to leave his feet on pump fakes and prematurely when aggressively looking to reject other shots in space. He’ll have to harness that temptation to avoid foul trouble and compromising the team defense. He also wasn’t ready to receive passes twice out of the pick-and-roll.
But throughout Carter’s 30 minutes, his energy and effort were never in question.
“I just let the game come to me,” Carter said. “I don’t force the action. I’m all about getting my teammates open. If the ball gets to me in open spots in spots that I like, I take the shots. But I try not to force anything and just be a great defender.”
Asked what more he wants to show this week, Carter said “just how relentless I am.”
“The boards and the defensive end,” Carter said. “Offense, that’s a thing that’s going to come. That’s something I don’t want to force at all. I’m not chasing any numbers by any means. I just want to go out there and win. I’m just trying to make it to the last day here and still be playing.”
2. Chandler Hutchison’s mature game
You don’t have to watch Hutchison long before recognizing what a smart player he is.
He’s smooth and patient. He doesn’t rush anything. He’s a willing passer. He understands spacing. He’s adept at running pick-and-roll. And so much more.
“We haven’t had a guy like this in a long time that can get out and run,” Brown said. “He’s athletic enough, smart enough. He doesn’t take bad shots. He’s coachable. These kids are a lot of fun and a lot of fun to coach.”
Hutchison scored 13 points with five rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes. He made 3-of-8 shots, including his only 3-point attempt. The manner in which he worked his way to the free throw line jumped out. Hutchison was one of the best free throw generators in college basketball last season, averaging 7.2 as a senior at Boise State. In his summer league debut, he strode to the stripe a game-high eight times, showing a knack for initiating contact — although he struggled Saturday to finish through it — on drives and collecting multiple and-one opportunities.
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“I put the ball in his hands to score, but he’d rather make the right play, which is great,” Brown said. “You talk about a four-year guy, that’s what you get. You get a guy that likes to play basketball. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He plays both ends. He doesn’t take plays off. He’s going to be a pleasure to coach.”
On one possession, Hutchison used a Carter ball screen to explode to the basket for an acrobatic layup. On another, he caught it at the free throw line area, patiently pump faked with an up-and-under that drew him two free throws. Midway through the second quarter, Hutchison filled the lane on the left of Blakeney, received a pass and smartly gave it right back to Blakeney for a layup.
Midway through the fourth, Carter and Hutchison hooked up again on a pick-and-roll, this time it led to an uncontested layup by Carter. Late in the fourth, Hutchison cut from the right baseline to finish an alley-oop pass from Blakeney.
“Really, I didn’t want to focus on too much. Just defend and rebound,” Hutchison said. “That was the two main things. Defensively, I can always get better. But I think I rebounded pretty well tonight.”
Watching the 6-foot-7 Hutchison grab a defensive rebound and lead the break — while being a willing passer — it was impossible to miss his heralded versatility. Equally impressive was his poise as a playmaker in the pick-and-roll. If he had a lane, he took it. If he saw a window to an open man, he hit him. If he didn’t have anything, he passed off. There was little wasted movement in his minutes.
“I did that a lot in college,” Hutchison said of running the pick-and-roll. “Obviously this level is a little different. You’ve got guys that are a lot longer defensively and bigger guys. So there’s going to be an adjustment period getting used to it. But I’m pretty comfortable coming off pick-and-roll. I did that a lot in college.”
One of the more subtle examples of Hutchison’s smarts was seen on a nondescript first-half sequence. As Arcidiacono worked from the top of the arc, Hutchison slid about three feet right, making sure he got all the way to the corner rather than stationing himself closer to the wing and jeopardizing proper spacing.
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“He’s a great player,” Carter said. “He’s a competitor. In the practices before we came out here, we were all competing. And that’s something I picked up on from the get-go, that we all competed. And he definitely showcased that tonight.”
3. Antonio Blakeney still gets buckets
It’ll take more than a broken wrist to stop Blakeney.
After missing the final month of the season with the injury to his non-shooting hand, Blakeney picked up where he left off — getting up shots early and often.
He was the best source of offense for the Bulls on Saturday, scoring a game-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting. In his first seven minutes, he hoisted eight shots. By halftime, he sat on 11 field-goal attempts and clearly wasn’t bashful.
“He’s going to find his shots,” Brown said. “He’s going to find ways to score. The most important thing for him is when he’s got a guy open, pass the ball. He did that.”
Blakeney continued to impress with his knack for scoring and sky-high confidence. But his playmaking is an area of focus and one he struggled with as the game wore on Saturday night. He had four assists but negated those with five turnovers, mostly from sloppy passes and overall carelessness.
“You don’t want to take away some of the things the kid does well,” Brown said. “You talk about Rookie of the Year in the G-League, the kid can flat-out score. But now he needs to be more disciplined. You can’t turn the ball over, for sure, if I’m putting the ball in his hands. That’s important. I told him if I’m going to use him, he’s got to do the right thing. If he can score, score. But he’s got to find his teammates.”
4. Jerian Grant traded to Orlando
The Bulls attached themselves to a three-team trade Saturday that shed some salary, cleared up some roster space and added a trade exception.
Jerian Grant was sent to Orlando as part of a multi-player deal that included Chicago acquiring Julyan Stone from Charlotte. The Hornets and Magic swapped centers Timofey Mozgov and Bismack Biyombo.
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The move helps the Bulls clear up their logjam of point guards and paves the way for Cameron Payne to enter training camp as the undisputed backup to Kris Dunn. Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in April that he is comfortable and confident in Payne as the backup next season.
Stone, meanwhile, is on a non-guaranteed $1.65 million contract that the Bulls can get out of if he is waived before Aug. 1.
Grant was mentioned in trade reports last season, but the Bulls were unable to find a suitable deal for the third-year guard. In Orlando, Grant is likely to backup D.J. Augustin after a season with the Bulls that began with him as the opening-night starter.
5. Zach LaVine is a happy man
A day after signing a four-year, $78 million offer sheet with Sacramento, restricted free agent guard Zach LaVine sat courtside to watch the game.
He was joined by teammates Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine. Payne walked over to chat with them briefly at halftime.
LaVine declined comment about his free agency, choosing instead to speak on the matter Sunday, when the Bulls are expected to officially match the offer and retain the 23-year-old’s services.
But after some strong comments about the Bulls’ perceived lack of interest in him, it was clear that LaVine was a happy man. He was all smiles as he maneuvered through the Thomas & Mack Center, receiving countless congratulations, well wishes and handshakes from virtually everyone he came across.
LaVine was overheard telling Kings players he thought he was on his way west. But the Bulls have made it clear they intend to match the offer, and LaVine appeared comfortable knowing his future in Chicago was a certainty.
For whatever it’s worth, Kings GM Vlade Divac told the Chicago Tribune he thinks LaVine will be “one of the future elite shooting guards.”
LaVine told me he is looking forward to proving Divac correct next season.
(Top photo: Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)