The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off their stint in the Las Vegas Summer League with a matchup against the Orlando Magic on Friday, and forward Emoni Bates had an up-and-down performance in Cleveland’s 27-point loss.
Social media reacted accordingly, with users on X sharing positive and negative reactions.
Emoni Bates is a hooper pic.twitter.com/dpyngL2RyC
— Mack Perry (@DevaronPerry) July 12, 2024
The Emoni Bates downfall needs to be studied in a lab
— 🌲🐺 (@minnyshowtime) July 12, 2024
Intriguing flash of playmaking from Emoni Bates pic.twitter.com/WItq860Nfm
— Tony Pesta (@Tony_Pesta) July 12, 2024
I'm sitting here thinking of the dumbest debates I've seen on this app. There are so many beauties. As a hoop junkie, my personal favorite had to be those pounding their fist on the table for Emoni Bates to not only play significant minutes, but to start at the 3 last year pic.twitter.com/fWxzQZJzkc
— Mobland Redux (@racjac24) July 12, 2024
Emoni Bates deep three pic.twitter.com/18dLF8olvk
— Dylan🔮🪼 (@dillybar2145) July 12, 2024
Emoni Bates pic.twitter.com/FVVQD1gzZ7
— Dylan🔮🪼 (@dillybar2145) July 12, 2024
Emoni Bates with the screen work jumpers 👀 pic.twitter.com/4M31myzJqN
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) July 12, 2024
Bates trended on X during the game.
When all was said and done, Bates finished with an impressive stat line at first glance. He led the way for the Cavaliers from a scoring standpoint, as he dropped 20 points while also grabbing three rebounds.
But playmaking and scoring efficiency stand out as two areas where Bates left a lot to be desired against the Magic. Starting with his playmaking, he registered just one assist for the game compared to two turnovers despite having the ball in his hands quite a bit for the Cavaliers.
In addition, while Bates scored 20 points, he needed to take 17 shots to reach that number. He shot just 7-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-8 from 3-point range in the matchup.
It’s worth noting that Bates had a hard time scoring the ball efficiently during his stint with the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate — the Cleveland Charge — at times this past season. He appeared in 17 games for the Charge in the G League’s regular season and converted 38.7 percent of his looks from the field and 34.6 percent of his shots from deep during that span. But to his credit, he was far more efficient during the G League’s Showcase Cup.
Bates played fewer games with the Cavaliers during the 2023-24 season than he did with the Charge, as he suited up in just 15 of the NBA squad’s 82 regular-season contests. He averaged 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per contest in his inaugural NBA season.
While there’s no denying Bates’ knack for putting the ball in the hoop, if he isn’t able to shoot the ball at a more efficient clip during the remainder of the Cavaliers’ time in Las Vegas, he could be in jeopardy of spending much of the upcoming season in the G League again.
