Death, taxes, and the Memphis Grizzlies dominating in the NBA’s Summer League. Sure, maybe being one of the best teams historically in the Summer League isn’t everyone’s goal, but the Grizzlies’ continued dominance is one of the many reasons why they’ve been able to build from the ground up so quickly.
With a 33-21 all-time record in the summer competition, there’s only one team with a better winning percentage in Summer League history. That team is the Houston Rockets.
The Grizzlies proved their dominance in the first Summer League game of the year against the Utah Jazz Blue, winning the game by a 39-point margin. You’re reading that correctly — Memphis completely dismantled Utah’s squad.
The Memphis Grizzlies flexed their roster depth in the first game of this year’s Summer League
Maybe it was payback for getting knocked out of the Playoffs for the Jazz, though it seems more likely that the Grizzlies simply have a deeper roster. The performance was dominating from start to finish, with the Grizzlies’ opening bucket as a Desmond Bane 3-pointer being an indicator for how the game would go.
Here are some notable Grizzly stat lines from the game.
Romeo Weems: 19 minutes, 17 points, 3 steals, 1 block, 2-2 3-point FG
Yves Pons: 12 points, 2 blocks, 5-7 FG, 2-2 3-point FG
Ahmad Caver: 9 points, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 8 assists
The star of the show on Tuesday night was Romeo Weems, who dropped 17 points in just 19 minutes. Weems was an undrafted free agent in the 2021 NBA Draft who the Grizzlies would pick up on an Exhibit 10 deal. So far, the DePaul forward has made the most of his time with Memphis.
Yves Pons, on the other hand, was a priority free agent signing made by the Memphis Grizzlies. His impact would be felt immediately, as he threw down the Summer League’s best dunk to this point. You can see the highlight below.
https://twitter.com/fansided/status/1422707100778565633?s=21
The dunk added insult to injury for a Jazz team that was already in an insurmountable hole. The alley-oop finish brought the Grizzlies’ lead to 17 points with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter. It was great to see out of the Grizzlies’ priority free agent singing in Pons, who also knocked down two 3-pointers on his only two attempts and recorded two blocks.
Outside of Pons, the Grizzlies’ next standout performer was Ahmad Caver, who is already the team’s G-League star. Caver struggled to get the ball in the bucket, but he recorded 8 assists, a steal, and a pair of blocks on Tuesday.
In the G-League last season, Caver averaged 16.5 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.7 steals. Notably, he knocked down 42.5% of his 3-pointers. He should continue to be a name to watch for Grizzlies fans.
In the end, this Summer League season looks like it’ll pan out to be an exciting one for Grizz fans, as there are more than a handful of players to watch.