The first team in the NBA's Summer League will face off against Paolo and the other two picks. There is a time and a place for it.
Paolo Banchero had a tattoo on his right arm.
"It's not pressure."
In the opening game of the NBA's annual summer league, the No. 1 pick in last month's NBA draft said that he was excited for his first game in an NBA uniform, but that he was also looking forward to a battle with the No. 3 pick in the draft
"I got it tattooed on me, I finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in 25 minutes to help the Magic beat the Houston Rockets 91-77," he said after the game. No pressure at all.
I have always been able to deal with pressure. It is just basketball at the end of the day. There's going to be a lot of pressure, but at the end of the day you have to go out there and play basketball.
It didn't take long for Banchero to show off his skills after being selected over Smith with the top pick in the NBA draft.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward, who many expected to be the most ready to play NBA prospect, showed off a well-rounded combination of scoring, passing and rebound that will make him one of the favorites to win the league's rookies of the year award.
He hit a couple of 3-pointers, one on a catch-and-shoot opportunity on the wing and the other on a difficult step-back from the top of the key over Smith. He spent most of the game playing the role he will have for the Magic this season, which is basically being the team's defacto point guard. He fired off several nice passes, including two lasers inside for layups.
"That I can be a go-to guy and impact winning at the same time, not a guy who's going to hurt the team," he said.
He said that he feels like he has the ball in his hands a lot. It's just doing that and being better on defense. I think I did well, but I could be better.
Smith looked like a 19-year-old who had just turned 18. He had a couple of nice moments, including two nifty drives on the left side of the lane for layups, one in each half, and a nice catch-and- shoot 3-pointer on the wing.
He was mostly quiet. He finished with 10 points, seven rebound and three assists in 31 minutes as he became the latest non-guard to fall victim to the pace of summer league play.
Smith admitted to having nerves coming into it. It was difficult, you know what I mean? It's figuring it out. It's the first NBA game and it's just a different style. It was enjoyable but I'm ready for the next one.
Smith's high, quick release on his jump shot is one of the highlights of his game. He has good feet for a defensive player.
Smith admitted after the game that he became more involved as the game went on.
Smith said it was up to him to be more involved from the jump.
He thinks he could have been more involved. I found more ways to get involved on the offensive side. I'll learn the offense and the system with that. I think I was involved. I need to open shots and crash the glass more.
Both players made their summer league debuts on Thursday night. They were happy to have their first NBA games under their belt.
"You have to be aware of it, but you can't worry about it too much," Smith said of the attention he and his opponent received. You just need to have fun and let the rest take care of themselves.
Smith smiled and said it was fun. I would prefer it to be that way.
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