ORLANDO, Fla. — First impressions: Michael Beasley is good. But he likes to shoot. A lot. A real lot.
The No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft out of Kansas State — in a heavily attended game that also featured No. 1 pick Derrick Rose — put up eight shots for Miami in 8:17 of the first quarter in the second game of the Orlando Magic Summer League opening day schedule here today.
Put it this way, Beasley’s not going to lead the league in assists.
Beasley, who played despite the slightly cracked sternum that had him as a game-time decision, made three of his first eight shots but his initial effort was rejected by Tyrus Thomas. Beasley showed good aggression, strong moves, range on his shot, and an undeniable urge to break Wilt’s single-game scoring record.
Beasley also had three turnovers (threw away a defense rebound, a three seconds, and a travel) in the first 4:25. He started the second half nailing a 3-pointer and had 18 points in a quarter-and-a-half. He sat the second quarter.
Chicago’s Rose took three shots in the initial quarter, hitting one on a strong drive to the basket off a feed from Demetrius Nichols. Rose was played very tough by Mario Chalmers.
One scout said Rose was “on cruise control” in the first half when he had four turnovers.
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Oklahoma City team had no nickname evident on its uniform, maybe because team doesn’t have one yet. The uniforms said “Oklahoma City” and carried NBA logo.
Russell Westbrook was terrific in the first half, struggled in the second half but still impressed in the first game as his Oklahoma City entry lost to Indiana, 95-78.
Westbrook finished with 18 points, five assists and four rebounds. The former UCLA guard who was picked fourth looks like a guy who can get to any spot on the floor. He’s quick, super aggressive and he’ll get to the line, but had his hands full with NBDL player Earl Calloway, who had a terrific all-around game.
“He works well off high pick and rolls and really has a nice aggressive streak about him,” one NBA scout said of Westbrook.
An assistant coach said, “What you could see is that he has the ability to run the point, which was one of the questions about him.”
Westbrook admitted he was a little nervous “but I haven’t played 5-on-5 since March Madness. For me, it was just a matter of getting back in the flow.”
Two Orlando Magic employees announcing the games on the team’s Web site are draw love ’em, hate ’em reactions. We happen to like them.
Quick sampling from today:
Q: “So what do you know about (Chicago’s) Marcel Jones?”
A: “Not much.”
Then they were trying to come up with a nickname for the new Oklahoma City team, late of Seattle.
The winner in their view: “Kevin Durant and Everybody Else Who Plays for Oklahoma City.”
And a couple more: “Derrick Rose has been here for eight minutes and he already knows enough not to pass to Aaron Graves.”
“Thanks for checking us out at orlandomagic.com. We promise to provide no extra insight.”
New Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro coached his team’s entry. It was his first head coaching game. Hey, got to start somewhere … Patrick Ewing, still waiting for that call from the Knicks, was set to coach Orlando against the Nets.
The Oklahoma City players spoke about the move from Seattle and one guy in particular, Durant, who watched his future/potential teammates, said he was surprised by the move. “I thought we were staying” in Seattle, he said.