Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.The NBA couldn't have picked a more appropriate setting than Las Vegas for the Summer League. You know how when you're in a casino it's impossible to tell what time of day it is? That's exactly the feeling you get when sitting in the Cox Pavilion or Thomas & Mack Center all day. From the opening tip at 1pm until the last game tips at 7:30pm, it's one game after another, with barely 10 minutes between each contest to catch your breath.
Since my plane touched down on Wednesday morning, I've already seen the better part of seven games the last two days. My head is spinning, and yet I still feel like I've missed out for not seeing more. So what have I seen? For one, a helluva lot of fouls.
Some of the blame can be attributed to the players -- everybody is playing at max effort knowing that, at most, there are only one or two available spots per team. But really, the same can also be said for the refs.
For the most part, the officials working these games don't yet have a number, which means they're the ones still trying to win a permanent NBA gig. And just like how a player doesn't want to get caught flat-footed on a rebound, the refs don't want to caught blowing a call, which means that everyone's whistle is operating on a hair trigger.
Fortunately, since the whole point of the summer league is to get players as much floor time as possible, a guy needs to commit 10 personal fouls before fouling out, but that doesn't stop guys from getting frustrated. After the Kings and Mavs combined for 78 free throws on Wednesday, Spencer Hawes was in no mood to talk about the officials, simply saying, "I don't know. I don't really want to comment on that. I don't know if I can get fined in Summer League, but I'd rather not risk it."
In all fairness, the calls did seem to get better in Thursday's game, which suggests the players are settling down and the refs are growing accustomed to calling the pro game. But still, the lesson is to take any summer league box score with a grain of salt. Not every call made now will be made in the regular season, which is something we should all be thankful for.
