NBA Summer League returns. Here's the Pacers' full schedule
NBA Summer League returns. Here's the Pacers' full schedule
All 30 teams will participate, play five games in Las Vegas Aug. 8-17. The Pacers' first game is against the Wizards on Day 1.
NBA summer league in Las Vegas will be played this August, returning after a one-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Back at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion, all 30 teams are scheduled to play five games — and all 75 games will air on TV. The Pacers get started on the first day, playing the Washington Wizards in the late afternoon.
After four games, the two teams with the best record will meet in a championship game, while the other 28 teams play one more game — either on Aug. 16 or 17.
This will be the first opportunity to see how head coach Rick Carlisle wants to operate. While he won’t coach the summer Pacers, he will have influence — and will be courtside to watch with his staff and the front office.
See also: Get to know the four assistant coaches Carlisle hired to complete his staff
Vegas summer league is essentially is the NBA’s annual convention, a 10-day period that brings front offices, coaches, players and staff members to one location.
For players, it’s about getting reps and playing in front of every team. This will be valuable for 2019 first-round pick Goga Bitadze, who is entering his third season but hasn’t been able to play at summer league.
“If they want to me play, I’m ready to go out there and play,” he said during his exit interview. “I want to play to be honest because we have good young players. I’m a young player, too, and that’s more playing time, that’s more games and that’s more experience.”
Cassius Stanley, the Pacers’ second-round pick last offseason, is planning to play.
For the summer coaching staff, it’s about opportunity and being put in new situations — like an aspiring head coach moving one chair over and guiding the team, or coming out of the video room like the Pacers did two years ago.
And for business side of each organization, there’s conferences held nearby where the NBA and potential company partners hold presentations.
Pacers’ schedule in Las Vegas:
POSTPONED: Sun., Aug. 8 vs Wizards, 8pm ET | Cox Pavilion | NBA TV
Tue., Aug. 10 vs Hawks, 6pm | Cox Pavilion | NBA TV
Thu., Aug. 12 vs Trail Blazers, 6pm (NBA TV) | Thomas & Mack Center | NBA TV
Sat., Aug. 14 vs Thunder, 6pm (ESPN2) | Thomas & Mack Center | ESPN2
TBD
I will be in Las Vegas to take you inside summer league, introduce you to new faces on the team and share what I am seeing and hearing.