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In Summer League, a lot of disappointment ... and one good story

By Net Income
Brooklyn Nets

The Nets finished in 10th and last place in the Orlando Magic Summer League, losing a tight one to the 76ers, 89-86, on Friday, with Roy Rogers coaching. It was disappointing for the Nets in general but also for Jason Kidd and his staff. Kidd was 0-3, Eric Hughes 0-1 and Rogers 0-1.

The team's three roster players --Tyshawn Taylor, Toko Shengelia and Mason Plumlee-- had their moments but none were consistent. Taylor led the team in scoring at 16.8 points, but shot only 38.6 percent, an atrocious 10 percent from three and had more turnovers (5.3) than assists (3.8). He missed the final game with a slight ankle sprain.

Plumlee started out with a bang. After two games, he was shooting 84.6 percent, averaging 16.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. Then, he had two horrible games before rebounding (somewhat) in Game 5, when he scored 23 points (on 23 shots) but grabbed only five boards. After his quick start, the 7-footer shot 31.4 percent. He finished at 13.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and a 45.8 percent shooting percentage.

But the biggest disappointment had to be Shengelia. The 6'9" forward, who heads back to Georgia for FIBA Europe, averaged only 7.6 points, 3.8 boards and shot 35.0 percent over, 15.4 from three. He had only one good game.

On the other side of the ledger was Chris Wright, the 6'3" back-up point guard. Wright, who played three games the Mavs after being diagnosed with MS, played his heart out. With Taylor out in Game 5, he scored 23 points, shooting 50 percent, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out seven assists. Over the course of the week, Wright was the third highest scorer, at 13.0 points, and shot a team high 46.2 percent and 33.3 percent from deep.

After Game 5, Wright tweeted simply, "March 2012," the month he was diagnosed with MS.

One oddity, as relayed by Tim Bontemps. The Nets were down to five players just before game time as many of their roster had early planes home or were going to Las Vegas for the Vegas summer league.

So what did they do? Well, they started asking around to see who was willing to stick around and play one extra game, and found one taker: forward Lawrence Hill, who scored 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting for the Celtics in the 2 p.m. game, which Boston won over Orlando.

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