Summer League is the greatest.
The Memphis Grizzlies won the Orlando Summer League championship in the most dramatic fashion possible against the Orlando White on Friday. In order to prevent games from running too long, Summer League contests that go to a second overtime period get played under sudden-death rules, and the Grizzlies and White did just that.
Borrowing from the NHL and school yards everywhere, next basket wins.
Grizzlies hopeful Russ Smith, fighting for the team to keep him and his non-guaranteed salary as their third point guard, got the chance to make as big a statement as a player can make in Summer League:
Boom. Buckets. Rings.
Amazingly, this is the second time Smith has hit a sudden-death floater in the tournament. He averaged 14.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 3.2 steals for the tourney, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and making a strong case for inclusion on the Grizzlies' roster beyond July 25, when his deal becomes guaranteed.
