Pelicans: 3 things to watch in Summer League matchup vs. Thunder

New Orleans Pelicans: Kira Lewis Jr. vs. Theo Maledon

The matchup I am looking forward to the most is Kira Lewis Jr. vs. Theo Maledon.

It’s likely that both will be the backup point guards for their respective teams this season and Maledon should offer a good early test for Lewis Jr. defensively.

Maledon is a big guard at 6-foot-5 and looked impressive in his first game, scoring 15 points and adding 11 assists while only turning the ball over two times.

Lewis Jr. was fairly impressive as well, though he didn’t have the best shooting night, as he notched seven assists and didn’t turn the ball over at all.

Lewis Jr. has the quickness and hands to be an elite on-the-ball defender and the Pels need him to become one to make maximum impact off their bench.

It will be a good test to see if he can keep Maledon out of the lane, where he is very good at setting up teammates.

Summer League should always be taken with a grain of salt the size of Mount Everest, but there are still some things we can learn from these early games.