Royce White Starts, Becomes Facilitator in NBA D-League Action

It wasn’t a pretty showing for Royce White in back-to-back games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers over a week ago against the Texas Legends, but the team hit the road last Friday and Saturday for another back-to-back series against the Santa Cruz Warriors. With a little playing time under his belt, White got the nod to start in both games, playing around 25 minutes per night.

Oct 15, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Bernard James (5) guards Houston Rockets forward Royce White (30) during the fourth quarter at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Rockets 123-104. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Offensively, the production was better netting seven points each night. Shooting was efficient going 2-4 and 3-7 in both nights, respectively. White looked to be an all-around performance player, shooting less and getting his team involved. He had five assists and six rebounds in a 131-100 victory, but that lowered to just one assist and two rebounds the next night in a 130-112 loss.

The rust is still there with five fouls each night and turning it over seven times. Despite White’s production in the first game his +/- ratio was even. Considering the former Iowa State forward has admitted to playing little ball during his holdout, not having this much production at the start makes sense.

Both games had the tone set early in the first quarter. The Vipers had a 41-20 lead after the first 15 minutes in game one but trailed 40-22 in the same amount of time the following night.

Upcoming games for Rio Grande Valley include the Iowa Energy this Tuesday night and Austin Toros this Wednesday at home.