Wednesday?s action in Las Vegas was highlighted by Chase Budinger, Landry Fields, DeMar DeRozan and J.J. Hickson.

Houston 82, Denver 75

Chase Budinger?s shot is near-perfect and he started the first game with a pair of perimeter makes. He took the ball to the basket a few possessions later, protecting it from his defender while drawing a foul. He stole the show in the early going, intercepting a pass and going right to the hoop for a two-handed jam.

He?s a perfect example of what every player should be doing in Las Vegas. He was aggressive, but didn?t dominate the ball or ignore his teammates. He got himself free and his awareness was incredible. Four minutes into the game, the score was Budinger/Rockets 12, Nuggets 3. The one thing that took him off his game was contact. He?s too green to be looking for whistles.

Jordan Hill?s defense and rebounding impressed me on Tuesday, but it was his offense that was impressive on Wednesday. He let his defender front him, only to slip inside for an easy bucket on back-to-back possessions. He was still active on the defensive end, swatting away a sure lay-in from the weakside in the second quarter. He gets incredible height from a two-footed jump.

Ty Lawson didn?t take over a game in which he was the best player on the floor; still his court vision is apparent.

Patrick Patterson fell into a varied role yet again. I?d love to see the Rockets ask him to play some three or four for an extended period. He?s a big three and a small four, but his perimeter/paint skills aren?t going to get better otherwise.

?He?s got an all-around game, but I think we?re looking for him to be more on the inside like he was during his early years at Kentucky,? Houston general manager Daryl Morey told me. ?We like that he?s versatile, you know he only moved to the perimeter when [DeMarcus] Cousins got there. We?d like him to be more of a player in the paint.?

Patterson attempted both a hook shot and a three-pointer, which encapsulates his game. He made a very nice touch pass in the air to a cutting Budinger that flashed his soft hands.

Antonio Anderson looked very good for Denver. First it was his shooting stroke and then he raced down the floor to defend a fast break and got enough lift to block the shot attempt cleanly. Moments later, he picks Budinger?s pocket but flubbed the lay-in.

?I?m just trying to get my foot in the door, whether it?s with Denver or another team,? he told me. ?I?m praying everyday that I get an opportunity and hopefully some team will do that.?

That?s the Summer League in a nutshell right there.

Toronto 102, New York 89

Landry Fields has looked good for the Knicks. He doesn?t settle for bad shots, attacking the basket often. When he gets near the arm, he has strong control of the ball. He?s a great glue guy because he plays smart and very unselfishly. At one point he leaped to tip a rebound away from a defender and back to a teammate. Most players auditioning are doing whatever they can to contribute to the box score. His intensity didn?t waiver in the second half either.

DeMar DeRozan appears ready to take the next step. I didn?t like what I saw on Tuesday when he tried to run the offense, but his athleticism looks more contained than it was during his rookie season. He caught a botched pass in midair and soared to the basket for a two-handed dunk without stopping to collect himself in the first quarter. He?s still inconsistent from long-range, but made a nice trey after setting his feet in the second period.

Tangent alert: One thing I don?t understand is why players insist on upstaging referees at the summer league. They?re here to make an impression and their play on the court isn?t all that encompasses that.

Toronto might have one of the best top-threes in Vegas with DeRozan, Sonny Weems and rookie Ed Davis. The combination of DeRozan/Weems has been unstoppable thus far.

If Davis has a productive season, who likened himself to Chris Bosh when I talked with him prior to the draft, the Raptors could be better off than many are predicting.

San Antonio 89, Atlanta 84

I caught a quarter of the Spurs-Hawks game during intermission of the Raptors-Knicks battle.

Alonzo Gee was very assertive offensively and took smart defensive chances. You can often tell what players have experience in the league and which ones don?t; Gee is a good example of that.

I wasn?t as impressed with James Gist, who made a couple of poor plays in the paint. He out-spun himself while trying to make a move at one point and needs to display better control of both the basketball and his body. He drew raves for a dunk in traffic, but the negative outweighed the positive.

Chicago 79, L.A. Clippers 50

Right out of the gate, two players that didn?t look very good earlier in the week -- John Lucas III and Al-Farouq Aminu -- impressed.

Aminu was confused on Monday against Washington, but was aggressive and effective in the first quarter ? going 2-for-3 for seven points and forcing a pair of turnovers. Lucas caught fire over a stretch that bridged the first and second quarter, atoning for a poor outing on Tuesday versus Denver.

Lucas may have gained too much confidence from his strong first half as he dribbled away the entire shot clock at the end of the third quarter. He must have forgotten about the four other guys on the floor for Chicago. Aminu slowed down as well, making a number of questionable offensive moves that led to turnovers.

I finally got a good look at yet another ?Baby Shaq? (Sofoklis Schortsanitis) during a run of minutes in the second period. He looked to be winded quickly, but he?s incredibly strong. Physically, he?s really not much like O?Neal, whether you?re talking about the Orlando, Los Angeles or Miami version.

DeAndre Jordan looked very comfortable on the floor and his rebounding ability can?t be denied. He collected a missed free throw with one arm in the second. Not sure how he was able to control his body and corral the ball without lifting his off-arm an inch.

Eric Bledsoe, who attacked Washington?s John Wall on Monday night, looked much different today. He made a pretty around-the-defender pass to Schortsanitis, but didn?t look for his own offense. On Monday, I thought was too selfish at times. He needs to find a happy medium. Overall, he played poorly. A strange behind-the-back pass that went straight into the hands of a Chicago defender was a perfect representation of his afternoon.

Cleveland 93, Portland 82

Phoenix?s Scottie Reynolds was one of the players I was excited to see. I heard he had been playing well, so my expectations were pretty high.

It took him a few minutes to get into the groove of the game, but his talents definitely suit Phoenix?s style, which will give him a leg up on his competitors. He?s incredibly fast and has great awareness.

The problems come on the defensive end, where he was lost against Cleveland?s Pooh Jeter. He let his man position right under the basket, but got away with it when a quick pass was mishandled. He was whistled for three fouls in a five minute stretch in the first half, proof that he was often out of position.

Gani Lawal has strong post moves. He cut to the hoop for a catch and dunk and then used a spin move and fake to catch his defender in the air for a two-show foul in the second quarter.

J.J. Hickson has absolutely no problems dominating offensively. If Byron Scott pushes the tempo, that could mask some of his shortcomings in other areas (defense, rebounding).

Sacramento, Minnesota

Patrick O?Bryant did a decent job defending DeMarcus Cousins for 90 seconds to begin the game. When I saw the matchup, I figured Sacramento would feed DMC as much as they could, forgetting it?s a VSL game. Cousins started breaking him down soon enough, while also displaying his passing ability.

He fed Donte Greene for a pretty jam and then Ryan Thompson on a drive to the rim on consecutive plays. I?m really starting to like Sacramento?s stable of young talent.

Thompson mishandled an easy pass in the corner, but I stand by my claim that he?s an NBA player. Sacramento needs at least one (probably two) more guards and he?ll come cheap and eager.

Cousins hit perhaps his best shot of the week with less than a minute left in the first period. He backed down against Greg Stiemsma, then stepped away, turned around and swished an 18-foot jumper. Yes, it?s Stiemsma, but the defense was solid.

He would abuse O?Bryant and Stiemsma multiple times as well as hit the game-winning hook shot in Sacramento?s victory.


Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: [email protected]. You can also follow Andrew on Twitter: APerna7.