It is never fun dropping three straight games in any setting so the Suns were looking for some vindication in their final Summer League game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
This game seemed to have a better offensive flow that the previous four.
The team got up and down the floor more behind the promising play of rookie Kendall Marshall. It didn't take long for the Suns to establish an up-tempo style as the first quarter was a back and forth affair with each team getting into a rhythm.
When the season starts the duo of Marshall (15 points 10 assists) and Markieff Morris (25 points 11 rebounds) will be playing a lot together on the second unit. They showed a lot of chemistry and flow on offense while on the court together.
"I tried to learn his game quick and get him in position to be successful," said Marshall after the game about Morris. "He is a great player so it makes it easy."
Building that chemistry came in several loses, but culminated in a victory against Memphis. The final score ended up with the Suns (2-3) on top of the Grizzlies (2-2) 96-87.
Extremists are going to run with this game -- as they did the three previous subpar games - saying that Marshall is a budding superstar after this performance. Overall this was a solid showing for Marshall mainly because of the confidence he played with.
Having the proper amount of expectations after a Summer League game is tough because of the excitement of watching the future of basketball. This was against some quality athletes in Josh Selby (23 points 6 assists) and Anthony Wroten (19 points 2 assists) so there is something to his performance in this game more than others.
This was his first double-double as an NBA player, but the points and assists were not the most impressive aspects of his game. Marshall was very active on the glass (4 rebounds), which he used to create fast break opportunities. That combined with his shot falling (3-4 from deep) for the first time in Vegas and Marshall was as effective as can be.
"I am going to do whatever it takes to win," said Marshall about his performance. "Defenses weren't respecting me at all this week so I just have to adjust to the game and do whatever it takes to win."
Beyond Marshall having his best performance this was overall the best game Morris played. He was able to play off of the playmaking of his point guard and scored inside out. Whether it was from three or in the paint Morris was able to score in a dominant fashion.
"Markieff's great, he has been playing great," said Majerle after the game. "He has to keep working on his overall game and not settle."
That about summed up the way Morris played out there. He was able to facilitate off of the elbow for teammates keeping the defense on their heels. This bodes well for the future of the team as they now have two young players that have some chemistry and will play a pivotal part of the teams present and future.