SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz have 17 players on their summer league roster, but realistically only a handful have any chance of making the regular-season roster. The most likely are third-year center Tony Bradley and the team’s three draft choices from last month, a trio that was taken in the second round of the NBA Draft.
With forwards Jarrell Brantley and Miye Oni both sitting out for rest purposes, the spotlight Tuesday night was on the third draftee, guard Justin Wright-Foreman.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder out of Hofstra, who was selected with Utah’s only pick in the draft, at No. 53, (they traded for the No. 50 pick that resulted in Brantley and No. 58 that produced Oni) was coming off a tough first game, when he made just 3 of 14 shots and missed all five of his 3-pointers for 6 points in 26 minutes. He didn’t look much like the scorer who was second in the NCAA in scoring last year at 27.1 points per game.
That changed in Utah’s 86-71 victory over Cleveland Tuesday night as Wright-Foreman finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. The left-hander also dished out four assists.
“Definitely way more comfortable,” Wright-Foreman said of his feeling Tuesday night. “It was my first game (Tuesday) and I had to get adjusted to the NBA speed and length. Today I felt way more comfortable.”
Wright-Foreman got going with a 3-pointer from the right angle in the first quarter and later in the half, he flew down the lane, went high for a lob and threw down a dunk with his left hand, eliciting perhaps the biggest roar of the night from Jazz fans who filled the lower bowl at Vivint Arena.
He looked like the rookie that he is on his next two possessions, missing badly on a 3-pointer from the right corner and then making a terrible pass in the lane that led to an easy bucket on the other end for Cleveland.
However in the third quarter, Wright-Foreman put it in gear as he scored 8 points, including another 3-pointer and helped the Jazz pretty much put the game away as they outscored the Cavs 18-11.
Midway through the quarter, he sank a floater in the lane as he moved from left to right and his final basket came on another floater in the lane, this time with his right hand.
“He played better,” said Jazz summer league coach Lamar Skeeter. “The first game is hard, you get the jitters out. For him, he’s such a competitive kid, he was probably hard on himself and shouldn’t have been. But this is game No. 2 and he was able to relax and be more patient. He’s a good player. the game’s going to come to him and he’ll figure it out.”
The Jazz received a good game from third-year Jazz center Tony Bradley who had another solid outing with 26 points and 16 rebounds, following up on his 14-point, 15-rebound game of the previous night.
“I’m feeling good, stronger and faster,” Bradley said. “I just wanted to play my hardest and be in every play, trying to get rebounds on offense and defense.”
SUMMER NOTES: The best Cleveland player was former Jazzman Naz Mitrou-Long who scored 17 points after hitting his first five shots. Mitrou-Long played in 14 Jazz games last year and spent most of the past two seasons with the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League. … A roar went up when Rudy Gobert appeared midway through the fourth quarter and walked up into the stands behind the Jazz bench and joined teammates Donovan Mitchell, Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles. … The Jazz will conclude their summer league with a game Wednesday night against San Antonio, which improved to 2-0 with a 99-84 victory over Memphis. Keldon Johnson led the way with 29 points and seven rebounds. Then the Jazz will head to Las Vegas for the summer league down there, starting on the weekend.