Jordan Miller scores 36, Cam Christie makes debut as Clippers win Summer League opener
The Clippers defeated the Nuggets, 88-78.
LAS VEGAS — Jordan Miller wants an NBA contract.
Don’t believe it? All you have to do is ask him.
“Just constantly trying to get better,” Miller told a small collection of reporters following the 88-78 win by the LA Clippers in their Summer League opener over the Denver Nuggets on Friday evening.
Miller scored 36 points. It was the most by a player in Las Vegas on the first day of this year’s event and the most overall by a Clippers player in Summer League history, at least according to publicly available databases.
“By no means am I satisfied,” Miller said. “I’m still hungry. I got a lot to prove. But I’m still in the situation I was before the game started. The job’s not finished. I’m going to keep going until I get what I want.”
And what does Miller want?
“A contract.”
After being selected in the second round last year, the 24-year-old is looking to move on from the two-way contract he signed ahead of his rookie season and is determined on nabbing a guaranteed roster spot. Friday’s outing was a nice way of showing just how far he’s come—on both ends.
“That’s what we want to see out of Jordan Miller—being able to guard multiple positions, make plays for others, and then knock open shots down,” Clippers Summer League coach Dahntay Jones told reporters after the game. “That’s what he did tonight.”
Miller saw time on the defensive end against Denver guard Julian Strawther, forward Hunter Tyson, and big man DaRon Holmes II. That level of defensive versatility can be Miller’s calling card and be what allows him to play at the NBA level going forward.
“I’m proud of Jordan on the defensive end,” said Jones. “I thought he competed defensively. He took on different challenges. He guarded bigger [players], he guarded smaller guys. But he competed on the defensive end of the floor and then he just took advantage of the shots that came to him. We did a good job of touching the paint and spraying out, and he got a couple catch-and-shoot 3s and then that just helped him build his game out. He attacked the paint, got to the free throw line a little bit. That’s who Jordan Miller is. He just took advantage of his opportunities that the game gave him.”
On top of the 36 points that Miller poured home, the competitive forward managed to add five rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 30 minutes. Miller made 11 of his 18 field goal attempts, including six 3s. Four of those six 3s came from the corner while the remaining two were at the top of the arc, including one to give the Clippers a lead they would not relinquish late in the fourth quarter.
If Miller keeps up this level of play throughout Summer League and carries it into the summer, there might be a good chance that the legitimate guaranteed NBA contract he so desperately craves will be waiting for him at the end of the rainbow.
The other story from Friday night was the debut of the No. 46 overall pick from June’s NBA Draft, sweet-shooting Cam Christie.
Christie, who won’t turn 19 until later in July, finished the night with eight points on 12 shots, but the shooting stroke and confidence remain there for the youngster.
“I think as long as I go out there and I play hard, I think I’m going to be happy with the way I play,” Christie told reporters after the game.
The guard’s first basket came on a catch-and-shoot triple from the top of the arc early in the first quarter. His final one was with roughly five minutes to go in the fourth, a wing 3-pointer to tie the game. In between, Christie struggled to make shots. However, the form and shot selection were exactly what the team and he liked.
“Obviously, I wish I made some more shots but that’s how it’s gonna be sometimes,” said Christie. “I’m not gonna get down on myself or anything like that. I have a great coaching staff and great teammates behind me to keep encouraging me to keep shooting and all that stuff, whether I make it or miss it. I have a great support staff in them. It’s kinda just going out there, playing as hard as I can and living with the results.”
But it’s Christie’s age that makes him so intriguing.
At just 18 years old, Christie was the youngest American-born player drafted in June, and the fourth-youngest prospect overall, as Christie told Russo Writes after the game.
“The sky’s the limit for Cam,” Clippers coach Dahntay Jones told reporters. “Cam is 18 years old. He’s out here competing with grown men. And he belongs. He’s very, very good. He can shoot the ball, he’s very skilled, he knows how to play without the basketball and he can compete on the defensive end as well. To be 18 and compete like he did when he took some switches, five-men rolled him down, he kept fighting. Cam is going to be a really good asset for our organization going forward because he’s going to grow and grow into his body, but also grow into his basketball game as well.”
Christie shot 39 percent as a freshman in college last year, and it’s that ability to shoot that is seen as the tantalizing carrot dangling on a string when it comes to the young man’s potential.
“Shoot the ball. And that’s his gift,” expressed Jones. “His god-given ability to shoot the ball when he’s open, to create space for others, and help him grow on the defensive side of the ball. Tonight he competed. That’s all you can ask for. He picked up full-court. He guarded bigger guys, took switches, didn’t complain at all. He had a lot of positive energy for his teammates. That’s the kinda guy you want in your organization.”
At one point, Jones joked that he had to ask Christie if the 18-year-old needed to sign a permission slip to make the trip to Las Vegas to partake in Summer League.
“I did not have to sign a permission slip,” a chuckling Christie remarked. “Dahntay’s a funny guy.”
Second-year forward Kobe Brown got the start and finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 27 minutes, shooting 5-for-16 overall. Brown missed all seven of his 3-point attempts but did look plenty aggressive taking the ball to the hoop and finishing through contact.
Moussa Diabate added 11 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. The Clippers’ 2022 second-round pick is fighting for another two-way deal with the team, and while he still possesses some raw elements to his game, the ability to understand what’s transpiring around him is at a good level. Not to mention that Diabate made all five of his free throw attempts, which is a nice sign of development.
On the Denver side, first-round pick DaRon Holmes II had plenty of impressive moments en route to 11 points and seven assists. The big man knocked down all three of his 3-point attempts. Unfortunately, Holmes hobbled off the court with a lower leg injury late in the fourth quarter. It was later learned that June’s No. 22 overall selection had suffered a torn Achilles.
Guard Julian Strawther led Denver with 25 points.
The Clippers shot 36.7 percent overall but won thanks in large part to their 16 offensive rebounds and ability to force 16 Denver turnovers, which they converted into 19 points.
The next game for the Clippers will be on Sunday afternoon when they meet the Brooklyn Nets, who themselves won a thrilling game on Friday evening when former LA Clippers first-round pick Keon Johnson drilled a turnaround jumper in overtime to give the Nets a 97-95 triumph.