It’s a slow news day for me as I continue to come up with some story ideas but this is something I could not pass up.
While scrolling through Twitter today I stumbled across a post from one of my favorite accounts, Ballsack Sports, which showed a fake Emoni Bates stat line from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Summer League match-up with the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
The fake statline reads as shown: 27 points on 8 for 12 field goals and 6 for 7 from three point range. I also liked the fact there were no assists in the stat line as it’s true to his game.
Bates shared this stat line to his Instagram story shortly after the tweet went live and fans, including myself, could not believe he unironically posted it. What I can’t wrap my head around like many others is the fact that HE PLAYED IN THE GAME. Wouldn’t you think he would know how many points he scored?
Bates actually finished that game with 12 points (5-12 FG, 1-5 3PT), eight rebounds and two assists. It’s just such a drastic difference that there’s no way he actually thought he put up 27 having gone six for seven from downtown.
I like Bates and hope he turns out to be a good player in the NBA but this definitely isn’t the start to his career he was hoping to have. I mean that in the sense of people clowning him, he’s not been playing horrible basketball as of late.
To be fair to him and the Cavs, they’re currently 3-0 in the Summer League having just defeated the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. Bates put up 21 points (7-11 FG, 5-8 3PT), four rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the Clevelands 100-77 win over Memphis. It’s Bates’ best Summer League game to date as he looks like he’s finding his groove with each passing game.
He was active on both ends of the floor and definitely showed some more poise and maturity against the Grizzlies. While there are still questions about his shot selection I thought all the shots he took tonight were pretty good. He maybe forced only one or two as opposed to chucking up a three whenever he crosses half-court so there is definitely some progress there.
Having signed a two-way contract with the Cavs, he will continue to develop his game this season and hopefully we get to see a performance like this in the big leagues.
As an Emoni Bates enthusiast I have no doubt that he will torch teams in the G League, the main concern would be if his game translates to the NBA. Only time will tell if Bates fulfills his potential but for now, he should really keep track of his stats for his own sake.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
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