After being selected as the Number 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Brandon Miller made his Summer League Debut against the Spurs.
The Spurs won the game against the Hornets and Miller had 18 points in his debut. How was his performance overall? What grade do we give his performance?
The Grade for Brandon Miller’s Debut
What Miller Did Well?
His Playmaking
Miller did an excellent job playmaking for his team in their first game. He passed well to shooters when he drew in defenders in the lane, and passed ahead in transition to start offense there. Brandon made excellent decisions, which kept the offensive flowing. As a potential franchise player, Miller needs to show adaptability in games, and he did that well through his playmaking.
He did a good job getting to the basket and finishing as the game wore on, but his ability to involve teammates when he got stopped on his drives was a very positive sign.
Shooting
Miller got hot in the fourth from the perimeter. The biggest strength of his game is his three-point shooting, as he shot 38.4% from three in college. Brandon shot off the dribble and in spot-up situations effectively in that final quarter. Miller found his spots on the court and made shots later in the game, which showed his growth as a player. He made adjustments and shot the ball well in the later stages of this game.
His shooting is vital to the Hornets’ offensive success.
What Didn’t Go Well?
Defense
For his successes, Miller was not great defensively in this contest. More specifically, he got beat off the bounce and in the post by Julian Champagnie consistently in this contest. Miller’s thin frame proved an issue on defense when having to win those physical one-on-one paint battles defensively. Additionally, Miller got beat on the glass because of getting moved out of the way by stronger Spurs players. He also recorded 6 personal fouls in this contest before the halfway point, which does not bode well for keeping himself on the floor in an actual NBA Game.
The good news is that he has time to work on this part of his game. Miller is athletic and has impressive length, so he has the tools to improve on this side of the court.
The First Half
To put it bluntly, Miller did not succeed in the first half of the game. He did not adjust well to the pace of the game. The NBA game is much faster than NCAA basketball, so Miller needs to improve his issues with the speed of the game to find more success as he goes into training camp.
His Grade: B
Miller gets this grade because he showed a lot of success in the second half scoring the ball, and did well involving his teammates. Unfortunately, he struggled to adjust to the pace of play and was not good on the defensive end. Therefore, a B Grade is appropriate for his performance in Game 1. Nevertheless, this is Summer League, so Hornets’ fans should look at the positives.
