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The NBA Las Vegas Summer League action continued yesterday with another matchup between former Gonzaga standouts as Kyle Wiltjer’s Clippers and Nigel Williams-Goss of the Jazz met in a battle of former transfers.
Williams-Goss improved on his previous performances as he was able to take a larger role at the helm of Utah’s offense, finishing the game with 8 assists in just 18 minutes. He also chipped in 4 points (all from the free throw line) and 3 rebounds along with continued tenacious on-ball defense.
Kyle Wiltjer shot 1-7 from the field (0-2 from the three-point line) in 13 minutes, finishing the game with 2 points and 5 rebounds as he continues to acclimate to a new franchise with an entirely different philosophy than the Rockets where Wiltjer’s skill set was a natural fit.
As for Zach Collins, there definitely continues to be an adjustment period as he is playing much heavier minutes now than during his time at Gonzaga. Collins’s career high in minutes played during his collegiate career was 23—during the Final Four victory over South Carolina—which is also considered to be the game that clinched his draft lottery status.
Collins is averaging 29 minutes per game in his new threads. While he is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game so far, his field goal percentage (4-20, 20%) is nowhere near the stellar figure he maintained during his college days (135-207, 65.2%). The sample size is small, to be certain, and I don’t put a lot of stock into summer league stat lines, but at times Collins has looked both tired and frustrated on the floor. This shouldn’t be too surprising considering the jump in minutes and physicality he’s experiencing at the NBA level, and I suspect it will pass quickly as he continues to work and grow more comfortable.
Rounding up the Sunday action, Jordan Mathews got another “DNP” as the Pelicans lost 84-82 to the Hawks. Considering the Pelicans went 3-20 from deep, perhaps their coaching staff will give Mathews some time in their next game to provide floor spacing.