Keaton Wagler passes crucial sniff test in huge NBA Summer League matchup

It is fun to see the overreaction from Keaton Wagler’s first NBA Summer League game.

Wagler did something in game one of his career in the professional ranks that many players go through. He had a bad game. It was plain and simple. He did that early on with the Illini, and in his first-ever NBA action, he laid a stinker.

After the horrible first outing, Wagler said it himself. He was going to go look at the film and come out better the next time. He did just that on Sunday night.

Wagler went into game two of the NBA Summer League and dropped 23 points, four assists, and one rebound in a 22-point win over the Utah Jazz. He had a +18 box plus/minus, too.

This was the performance that I was expecting out of Wagler in his second game. He doesn’t just become a bad player overnight. He took his cool, calm, and collected mentality and went to work.

What is underrated about Wagler is his brain. He is a very smart player, and he displayed that with not only watching film and knowing what to improve on from game to game, but he also understood spacing much better against the Jazz.

Another scary element of Wagler’s performance on Sunday night is the fact that he is getting comfortable with the NBA game. He clearly had nerves in game one, and he started a little nervously in game two, as he almost airballed a free throw. Wagler quickly shook that off and started to light the building on fire, though.

Keaton Wagler just went head-to-head with a player in Darryn Peterson, who some thought should have been the top pick

At this point in their careers, Wagler is going to be judged not just on his abilities on the court, but with what his peers are doing, too.

The matchup on Sunday night featured Wagler, the No. 5 overall pick, and Jazz guard Darryn Peterson, who went No. 2 overall. There were a lot of people saying he could have easily gone No. 1.

I think Wagler won the first matchup between the two future stars. Peterson got the best of Wagler early with a dunk and being aggressive. Once Wagler settled in, he took over the game.

Wagler played some solid defense on Peterson throughout the night. He clearly is a better shooter than Peterson, as there were some bad misses by the short-lived Kansas Jayhawk.

This is only the beginning of some fun matchups in the future. Wagler knocked off the jitters and got back in the swing of things. Maybe this type of play could lead his Los Angeles Clippers team to an NBA Summer League title.

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