SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The second game of the opening night of the California Classic was initially billed as a matchup of the two top selections in last month’s NBA Draft, deeming it good enough to be televised by ESPN.
But San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyana is taking a pass on the games at the Golden 1 Center, meaning the spotlight shifted squarely to the summer league debut of the Charlotte Hornets’ No. 2 overall pick, Brandon Miller. Even though Miller was featured in a starting lineup that boasted three teammates who’ve played in the NBA, the paying customers made it clear during the Hornets’ pregame introductions they were there to get a look-see the guy wearing the white No. 24 jersey.
They cheered Miller’s name and an usher or two joined in applauding the 20-year-old, perhaps hoping it would warm him up and make him hotter than the dusty 90-degree heat engulfing the state’s capital city. For a while, that was the pinnacle moment of an otherwise ho-hum night for Miller.
It took him until the second half, particularly the fourth quarter, to really get going offensively. He struggled mightily with foul trouble, and he didn’t do anything overly eye-popping in the Hornets’ 98-77 loss to the Spurs on Monday.
“A little frustrating just because I don’t like to lose,” Miller said. “But I had fun out there, just seeing the different environment from the college experience. It was fun. Just really out there having fun with my team.”
Statistics are never a real barometer in summer league for a variety of reasons, so getting overly worked up about Miller’s rough first half against San Antonio probably isn’t wise. The performance as a whole was decent, aided by the 18 points, five rebounds and three assists he produced.
Reviews, though, were mixed.
“That’s hard to say, to give him a grade,” said Hornets assistant Marlon Garnett, who’s serving as Charlotte’s summer league coach. “I’m going to save that one after I watch the film and see what it looks like.”
When Garnett views the footage, there will be some things he’s pleased about with Miller, such as the nifty drive he executed midway through the second of the four 10-minute quarters, splitting the defense nicely and laying it up with his left hand for his first bucket.
And Miller’s knack for being a good passer was also on display on a few occasions, a skill that could quickly vault him behind LaMelo Ball as a Hornets’ visionary with the ball in his hands.
But the miscues can’t be ignored, either. He got stripped far too often, turning it over six times, and there was one play in the fourth quarter where he threw an inbounds pass directly to the opposition, leading to an uncontested bucket.
Ball control was an issue for Miller more than once, and his evening got off to an inauspicious start when he was whistled for traveling on his first touch, leaving his feet and then trying to bounce the ball to avoid getting called for the violation.
“One of the things is, his pace can be positive, but sometimes I want to see that motor come out of him a little bit,” Garnett said, “(be) a little bit more aggressive. And that’s on me. I can put him in a little bit more situations where he’s not just dribbling the ball, using pick-and-rolls, but get him in some action where he’s passing and following. So, he’s setting screens and slipping out, and get him on the move a little bit. So, that’s on me.”
Scoring 13 second-half points and nailing all but two of his six attempts after halftime left Miller encouraged. He needed something to reverse the first-half trend and apparently a quick pep talk from some of the team’s more experienced players did the trick.
“We kind of came in here and it was quick talk — probably a minute — kind of talked it over,” Miller said. “And I think the older guys kind of built my confidence up just to get that good feel for the game. The older guys being vets just boosted my confidence.”
Maybe that’s why Miller only collected one more foul in the second half after racking up six in the first. He stopped hacking — or at least getting caught doing it.
“I think you get 10 in summer league, so I think I’m going to use all 10,” Miller said. “If you’ve got 10, you might as well use all 10.”
Consider it one of the many lessons Miller must learn as he wades through his first season as a pro. He won’t be able to get away with much early on. It’s part of a rookie’s rite of passage, along with getting heckled in road arenas.
“I think he’s kind of used to it,” Garnett said. “He seems to be pretty at ease and calm about it. But it is a real thing, that is a real narrative. There is a target on his back. I know the fans were saying some stuff, but he’s fine. He’s poised and I really like that about him.”
That unflappable nature helps Miller keep stress at arm’s length, allowing him to almost always have a burden-free perspective on things. And he’s not about to alter that after his summer league debut.
“It’s no pressure,” Miller said. “When you’ve got teammates like these guys I think the pressure goes away.”
