Orlando Summer League recap: Thunder lose first game of summer to Clippers, 80-63

Orlando- The OKC Thunder lost their first summer league game against the Los Angeles Clippers, 80-63.  The Thunder accumulated zero points out of the eight up for grabs. That means OKC lost all four quarters, as well as the entire game.

It was a quiet outing for Mitch McGary.  While he displayed his knack for distributing the ball, he only scored 7 points on 3/7 shooting.  His stat-line could have looked more full if his teammates were able to finish the good looking passes he was giving them.  He played with tape on his shoulder and iced it regularly, but this soreness doesn't seem too serious.

Turnovers proved to be the biggest issue for the Thunder.  As a team, there were 21 total turnovers; Dakari Johnson added 4 to that number.  But besides the turnovers, Dakari Johnson was one of the brighter spots in the lineup tonight.  He scored 10 points, grabbed 10 rebounds (5 offensive, 5 defensive) and showed his trademarked toughness throughout the game.

OKC's leading scorer was Frank Gaines, who has put together a string of solid scoring days.  He scored 12 points and shot 3/5 from three.  He hit all of OKC's threes.

CJ Wilcox and his 22 points were too much for the Thunder to handle.  Coach Darko Rajakovic described the loss as simply a "lack of effort."  He added that the Thunder seemed to be "one step behind" of the speedy Clips.  Semaj Christon had a rough day, shooting 4/16 with three turnovers.  He did a nice job facilitating but failed to stop Nate Wolters, who ran circles around the inexperienced point guard.

The Thunder have struggled with their field goal percentage all summer, and this game was no exception.  They could never get the offense going.  The team shot 36.2% from the field, 18.8% from behind the arc, and 58.8% from the free throw line.

The next game is on Thursday at 4 PM against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Extra Notes:

- Mitch McGary passed the ball like a point guard.  That can be a serious weapon next season.

- Dakari Johnson has a future in the NBA, perhaps with the Thunder.  He was great on the boards today.  Coach Rajakovic praised his efforts in a post-game interview.

- Quinn Cook was a nice backup to Semaj.  He's very quick and is fearless when driving to the basket.

- Christon is just a jump shot away from being an NBA-worthy guard. He also needs to make smarter passes.  His defense isn't bad.  He just needs to have some confidence in his shot.  He is always looking to pass the ball if he's open on the perimeter.

- Dakari can be a nice pick and roll player.  He's got a huge frame and a nice touch around the hoop.