Emoni Bates leads Cleveland Cavaliers over Memphis Grizzlies in Las Vegas summer league
Sam Merrill and Emoni Bates, two players with Memphis ties, led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 100-77 victory against the Grizzlies in an NBA summer league game in Las Vegas on Monday.
Merrill, who played six games for the Grizzlies in the 2021-22 season, led the Cavaliers in scoring with 27 points and had eight 3-pointers. Bates, who played one season for the Memphis Tigers, added 21 points.
David Roddy kept the Grizzlies afloat until the end with 18 points.
Here are three observations from the game.
Kenneth Lofton Jr.’s consistent play carries the Grizzlies
It’s easy to see why Lofton is separating himself from the rest of the pack.
Lofton, who scored 42 points in his first NBA start on April 10, demonstrated his growth from year one to year two. He played in 24 games with the Grizzlies, and his experience is showing in summer league.
The consistency from the summer league games in Utah carried over to Las Vegas, as Lofton Jr. finished with 15 points and shot 5-for-12 from the field.
LOFTON'S CHALLENGE: The Memphis Grizzlies are zeroing in on one area of improvement for Kenneth Lofton Jr.
Lofton's offensive skill-set looks very complete. The 6-foot-6 center has a traditional back-to-the-basket game as well as a soft shooting touch that is reliable for floaters and jump hooks.
On a variety of moves, Lofton Jr. also uses his frame to create angles to seal off his defender. Lofton Jr. isn’t afraid to shoot the long ball either. His 3-point shooting is also consisent.
Additionally, his unselfish play led to four assists.
As one of the four sophomore players leading the summer league team, Lofton Jr. hopes to use this experience to propel him into next season.
Emoni Bates, former Memphis Tigers standout, shines
When it was announced that the Grizzlies would face the Cavaliers and Bates in summer league action, the interest around the game increased.
Bates played for coach Penny Hardaway at Memphis in his freshman season in 2021.
While Bates was making his name heard through the AAU circuit, he was garnering comparisons to Kevin Durant.
Bates played in 18 games — starting 13 of them. He averaged 9.7 points, but missed the final stretch of the regular season with a lower back injury.
Though the Grizzlies held Bates to five points in the first half, the forward found his rhythm and had 16 points in the second half.
Former Memphis Grizzlies guard Sam Merrill lights up in summer league
Merrill averaged 4.2 points in his short stint with the Grizzlies and shot 30.4% from 3-point range.
It seemed like Merrill was out for revenge as he lit up the Grizzlies from 3-point range.
The Grizzlies' answer was supposed to be Jake LaRavia. After every Merrill 3-pointer, it seemed like LaRavia went right back at him with a 3-pointer of his own.
Merrill won the 3-point shooting battle, nailing eight compared to LaRavia's five.
Up next
The Grizzlies continue their summer league games Wednesday (2:30 p.m. on NBATV) against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Reach sports writer Jerry Jiang at JJiang@gannett.com or on Twitter @j_jiang30
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Emoni Bates, Sam Merrill lead Cleveland Cavaliers over Grizzlies
