Grades: Spurs vs. Hawks - Summer League Game 1

[ChumpDumper]

Jospeh played good D, but it was mostly against a former teammate who is playing point guard for apparently the first time in his life. I'll be interested to see how he does against more seasoned point guards.

The best thing about his game was he wasn't forcing anything and letting the game come to him. He had a good deal of space in which to take most of his shots.

[Obstructed_View]

I actually kind of forgot one guy in my notes:

Kawhi Leonard is something special. He did some really impressive things on both ends, and I'm pretty sure he had what he would classify as a bad shooting night. To go from a guy who was considered to have a weakness handling the ball to running point in the fourth quarter last night, I'm very happy with the gym time he's put in. He actually was able to create so much space with his first step that he ended up driving a bit too often and forcing it once he was among the trees. A few times he still managed to find a clever way to score. Last year my "unrealistic comparison" was Bruce Bowen. This year, it's looking like it might be Scottie Pippen. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

[Ditty]

I've been a huge fan on Anderson and always believed he was more talented, and better upside then Green, but I'm starting to lose all hope.

He seems to be a good player when he makes something happen, but he looks like he never wants the ball in his hands now.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

James Anderson must have just been hot his rookie year when he was nailing a few 3s in the handful of games he played.
I believed in him last year, but sometimes you gotta call a spade a spade

[BackHome]

Most of us haven't had the chance to really see Richards play. As Timvp stated, he has the tools to be an NBA player, but will he actually be able to replace a certain other big currently on the Spurs roster? The kid is long, athletic, fast, and has 3pt range. I don't think anyone expects him to be a superstar, just a sandwich enthusiasts replacement. As for James Anderson, that broken foot really ed him over. His jumper completely disappeared and it looks as if he lost a step as well.

So far, Leonard looks good (but needs to get his jumper going again) and Joseph looks like a different player. He seemed downright y on the court at times. Gave me some good laughs. Dawson looks like he could actually make the team. The man is consistent and deserves another shot at the big league.

+1

In regards to big's they take longer to develop the only reason I didn't like Ian was not that he wasn't talented but that he was always injured. If Richardson can stay healthy then I think that playing in our D-League and getting good coaching will make a huge difference.

I love that they have Kawhi playing point just for the fact that ball handling is something he needs to work on and playing the point well help him. If Green is reading this you better be working on your ball handling skills to so what ever pick up game you play call dibs on point!

Dawson just gets the job done nothing fancy but a bring your lunch pail to work kinda guy. I would rather have this guy on our team then Boner...he is a better re bounder, shot blocker, and has a great outside shot.

I have hated on CJ but he played good and I am glad for him I hope he can continue and improve..

[DPG21920]

He still intrigues me defensively. That was the most impressive thing to me with regards to JA that very promising stretch; it was his defense.

[timvp]

James Anderson must have just been hot his rookie year when he was nailing a few 3s in the handful of games he played.
I believed in him last year, but sometimes you gotta call a spade a spade

I really do think it all goes back to the broken foot. That specific injury is a career-ender for a lot of players. Even young players have seen their careers collapse after that injury. Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Roddy Buckets, etc.

For whatever reason, if you break that bone in your foot, you're usually toast. And JA has broken that same bone in each foot. So, unfortunately, he's probably toast.

[tomtom]

Nice to see CJ showing some life, maybe he can prove us all wrong. The highlights showed some really nice moves by Kawhi. I'm very interested what his ceiling is.

[AFBlue]

Thanks to O_V, DPG and Chump for the additional insight on CJ.

[gambit1990]

i didn't catch the game.

there's only two kawhi plays in there, but they're really interesting drives. and they're both and 1's.

[Southwest Texas Fan]

I really do think it all goes back to the broken foot. That specific injury is a career-ender for a lot of players. Even young players have seen their careers collapse after that injury. Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Roddy Buckets, etc.

For whatever reason, if you break that bone in your foot, you're usually toast. And JA has broken that same bone in each foot. So, unfortunately, he's probably toast.

Timvp what part of his foot did he break?

[timvp]

Timvp what part of his foot did he break?

Fifth metatarsal. In this thread I gave a rundown of players who have suffered similar injuries.