duncan228
07-16-2009, 11:30 PM
Summer League notes, Take 3 (http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2009/07/summer-league-n.html#more)
By Jeff McDonald
OK, Spurs fans, you can officially start to get excited about your summer league team. The guys are 3-0, on the way to a mythical summer league championship sure to pack the river for another title parade.
Or maybe not.
But, after the Spurs won their third straight game here in Vegas tonight, besting Oklahoma City 85-76, there are legitimate reasons to celebrate what it all might mean in the games that count later this year.
For instance ...
* DeJuan Blair. President Obama was right. The guy is a beast. In his first summer-league start, the newly signed Blair went for 20 points to go with five rebounds. Yes, the rebounding numbers are low, but let's not quibble. The guy flashed an offensive game tonight most of us didn't know he had. Even though most of his points in the NBA are going to come on putbacks, he showed tonight he can be crafty in the post-up game. His first basket of the night came on a dribble drive. The guy can play. He's the Spurs' third-best big, right now.
* George Hill. Three games in, he's making us forget about the 2-for-25 last year in Vegas. He's been one of the best guards here at summer league, and possibly the best point guard. Another 20-point night, this time complemented with eight assists. It was easily the best game he's ever played in July.
* Malik Hairston. The guy looks like a cheaper, younger, more athletic version of Ime Udoka. Which can't bode well for the actual Ime Udoka.
* Ian Mahinmi. He's played exactly three games since November, all of them here in Vegas. Two of them were good, one was not so good. He's beginning to show signs that he can be a helpful NBA big. If nothing else, he is tall and athletic enough to alter shots in the lane. The Spurs really don't have one of those guys on the roster, unless you count Tim Duncan. Mahinmi doesn't have a very diversifed offensive game, but he's adept at getting to the line and making free throws (he's hit 17-of-20). He could be a rotation player for the Spurs yet.
* Marcus Williams. Williams isn't playing in Vegas, having undergone offseason wrist surgery. But he is here, and he is under contract with the Spurs for training camp. The Spurs brass loves him, so he will have every opportunity to make the roster in the fall.
By Jeff McDonald
OK, Spurs fans, you can officially start to get excited about your summer league team. The guys are 3-0, on the way to a mythical summer league championship sure to pack the river for another title parade.
Or maybe not.
But, after the Spurs won their third straight game here in Vegas tonight, besting Oklahoma City 85-76, there are legitimate reasons to celebrate what it all might mean in the games that count later this year.
For instance ...
* DeJuan Blair. President Obama was right. The guy is a beast. In his first summer-league start, the newly signed Blair went for 20 points to go with five rebounds. Yes, the rebounding numbers are low, but let's not quibble. The guy flashed an offensive game tonight most of us didn't know he had. Even though most of his points in the NBA are going to come on putbacks, he showed tonight he can be crafty in the post-up game. His first basket of the night came on a dribble drive. The guy can play. He's the Spurs' third-best big, right now.
* George Hill. Three games in, he's making us forget about the 2-for-25 last year in Vegas. He's been one of the best guards here at summer league, and possibly the best point guard. Another 20-point night, this time complemented with eight assists. It was easily the best game he's ever played in July.
* Malik Hairston. The guy looks like a cheaper, younger, more athletic version of Ime Udoka. Which can't bode well for the actual Ime Udoka.
* Ian Mahinmi. He's played exactly three games since November, all of them here in Vegas. Two of them were good, one was not so good. He's beginning to show signs that he can be a helpful NBA big. If nothing else, he is tall and athletic enough to alter shots in the lane. The Spurs really don't have one of those guys on the roster, unless you count Tim Duncan. Mahinmi doesn't have a very diversifed offensive game, but he's adept at getting to the line and making free throws (he's hit 17-of-20). He could be a rotation player for the Spurs yet.
* Marcus Williams. Williams isn't playing in Vegas, having undergone offseason wrist surgery. But he is here, and he is under contract with the Spurs for training camp. The Spurs brass loves him, so he will have every opportunity to make the roster in the fall.