Early results from the “Replace Victor Oladipo with Edmond Sumner” experiment were very negative. Sumner went from being in the G-League to being in the starting lineup for the Pacers against the Warriors. I was watching that game, and I do remember him hitting a shot from it, but that was the only one, as he went 1-for-10 as the Pacers got blown out. Stephen Curry probably torched him, poor guy. Things got a little better for him after that, but only slightly, and he quickly lost his barely-earned starting gig to… Cory Joseph.
Safe to say, his confidence probably wasn’t very high going into tonight. Little did he know he would be facing the Lakers (he probably knew that part) who are in the process of totally imploding. The perfect team to get some buckets (and the resulting confidence) against. He hit a three at the first-quarter buzzer, but did most of his damage in the fourth quarter with the Pacers already up by a ton. Again, the perfect time to show your stuff, to show that the Pacers were right to keep you after you only made one basket all of last year.
I should probably put “Career High” in the title of this video, since there’s a decent shot he will never break this mark, but I’m feeling optimistic. I’m feeling a 20-burger before the season is out. Then, and only then, will I put “Career High” in the title. He’ll have earned it.