Some Vipers hoping to cash in at Showcase

The NBA Development League Showcase begins today in Reno. General managers and personnel executives from all 30 NBA teams are expected to be there. The idea behind the Showcase is to allow players from the league to display their talents in hopes of getting a call-up to the NBA.

The Showcase could be vital for Vipers like 6-8 forward Greg Smith (Houston Rockets), 6-8 forward Damian Saunders (Houston Rockets), 6-7 forward Tyren Johnson (Indiana Pacers) and 6-6 forward Marshall Brown (Portland Trail Blazers) who were in NBA training camps this season.

"We are all trying to get called up to the next level," said Smith, who averages 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in five games. "It’s a big thing. You just put yourself out there and do your thing."

The Vipers (11-7) play against Reno at 9 p.m. tonight. The Vipers play against Springfield on Thursday.

Vipers coach Nick Nurse said while the Showcase has importance, there’s a lot more involved in getting an NBA call-up.

"On the Showcase, the players make a bigger deal out of it than it really is," Nurse said. "It’s about the body of work and my opinion of that is usually more important than a couple of games in Reno."

MORRIS REPORT

Houston Rockets assignee Marcus Morris’s two-game tenure with the Vipers has been nothing less than stellar. Morris, a 6-8 rookie forward from Kansas who was drafted 14th overall in the 2011 NBA draft, is averaging 32.5 points and 14.0 rebounds with the Vipers.

The biggest challenge for any coach when he gets an NBA assignee is to make sure the player gets the playing time he needs and balancing it into what the team is trying to achieve. The case with Morris and the Vipers isn’t any different.

"It’s not so much hard for him," Nurse said. "He gets in the flow of the game and his talent carries him a long way. It’s a little harder for the other guys to watch him and have him inserted and to figure out what they are supposed to do."

WARREN REPORT

Oklahoma product Willie Warren, a 6-4 guard, made his Vipers’ debut in Saturday’s 114-100 victory over the Dakota Wizards. Warren flew into the Valley earlier that morning. Warren scored seven points in 17 minutes.

"He’s got a lot of game to him," Nurse said of Warren. "Just trying to get him to fit in with what we want is going to be huge, but he’s certainly a big talent."

COACH ‘MO’

Reno coach Paul Mokeski will face the Vipers for the first time since he was hired as the Bighorns coach. Mokeski served as Chris Finch’s assistant for the previous two seasons with the Vipers. Mokeski was not retained when Finch left the Vipers over the summer to become Kevin McHale’s assistant with the Houston Rockets.

David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com