Most people tuned out on the injury-plagued Memphis Grizzlies long before Scotty Pippen Jr.’s sterling late-season run.
Across the season’s final 11 games, 10 of which Pippen started at the point, the undrafted second-year guard put up 14.8 points, 4.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals on a 50.0/36.2/78.1 shooting split. We write off standout stretches in meaningless games like this all the time, and it seemed fair to do that until the 23-year-old was arguably the best player in the Las Vegas Summer League.
The Grizzlies have a roster crunch to deal with, but Pippen, who logged 52 assists and just 14 turnovers in Vegas, has now put enough on tape to warrant a crack at rotation minutes. He could even see real time as a backup point guard behind Ja Morant if Marcus Smart is either hurt or best utilized as a wing.
