NBA Summer League Diary 2014: Day Eight

The Atlanta Hawks had the day off in Las Vegas on Friday, but unsurprisingly, the action around the league did not cease entirely. In that spirit, let's take a quick glance at what transpired on the court in both the Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center:

• Tyler Ennis is... struggling. We've mentioned Ennis in this space on a couple of occasions this week, but Friday represented a new low for the rookie point guard. Ennis shot 0 for 6 from the field in his 19 minutes during a blowout loss to Dallas, but more than that, he committed five turnovers (yikes) against just one assist and looked like a mess in compiling those numbers. Obviously, this could be a sample size issue, but he hasn't looked the part of a first round contributor. Fortunately, Phoenix has a glut at the position, and he'll have the benefit of time to develop.
• On the other side of the coin in the Dallas-Phoenix game, I am really enjoying the Ricky Ledo experience. The Mavs guard had 15 points on 6 for 13 shooting on Friday, but he racked up nine assists in an effort to get away from his "gunner" reputation, and he has been a willing passer for the majority of the week.
• Jabari Parker is alive! It isn't that Jabari has been terrible this week, but underwhelming was probably a good representation of his play until Friday. Still, the number two overall pick exploded for 20 points and 15 rebounds in leading Milwaukee to a victory, and it was the first real glimpse of what most feel is the favorite for the 2014-2015 Rookie of the Year award.
• Rudy Gobert! The Utah Jazz have plenty of guys to focus on in Las Vegas, with Dante Exum, Trey Burke and Rodney Hood stealing the headlines, but the big man was pretty fantastic on Friday. The 7-foot-2 center from France had 11 points and 15 rebounds, but his length was an issue for the Blazers all day, and as a rim protector, Gobert has a chance to be a real force. It will be interesting to see if he can crack a rotation that already includes Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, but with the frontcourt less crowded than in previous seasons, he's got a chance to play real minutes.
• Lastly, the Cavs sent everyone home. Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett were DNP's after completing a four-game slate in Vegas, and Cleveland was left with a lot of Carrick Felix, Stephen Gray, Joe Harris (who I actually like) and Will Cherry. Naturally, they beat the Miami Heat anyway. I don't know.

The big focus of this space on Saturday will surely be the quarterfinal match-up between the Hawks and Rockets, but stay tuned for everything you can imagine from around the NBA.