Gary Neal Filling Needed Role for Spurs

[timvp]

Gary Neal Filling Needed Role for Spurs (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/san-antonio-spurs-news/gary-neal-filling-needed-role-for-spurs/)
By Kori Ellis (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/author/admin/) | San Antonio Dispatch
(http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/)
Prior to this past summer, Gary Neal wasn’t much of an NBA prospect. The 26-year-old was undrafted out of Towson and had never been in an NBA training camp. In fact, he had never suited up for an NBA summer league team.

While he was making waves in Europe as a multi-purpose guard who could drill an open jumper, his name wasn’t mentioned very often when discussing potential imports. His lack of height and lack of explosion in his legs had most scouts pegging him as a European basketball league lifer.

Neal’s big break came when he got an invitation to join San Antonio’s summer league team. Although he didn’t play much right away, eventually it become increasingly difficult to keep the Baltimore native off the court.
Gary Neal Spurs

By the end of the five games, Neal had left his mark. Not only did his 16 points per game lead the Spurs squad in scoring, he nailed 17-of-34 three-point attempts. In the fifth and final contest, Neal was 6-for-10 on three-pointers on his way to 25 points in 27 minutes.

A few days later, with multiple teams from around the world interested in acquiring his services, Neal signed a partially-guaranteed three-year contract with the Spurs.

Following an uneventful preseason in which Neal admitted to being nervous, nobody quite knew what to expect. Privately, Spurs staffers wondered whether Neal could make the transition from the European three-point line to the NBA three-point line. Another worry was that his lack of size (he’s listed at 6-foot-4 but he’s closer to 6-foot-2) would make it impossible to get clean looks against the long, rangy athletes that litter the NBA landscape.

Six games into Neal’s NBA career and all worries are, at the very least, on hold. He’s shooting 47.2% from the floor and has buried half of his 24 three-point attempts. Against the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night, Neal had his best game yet.

In 14 minutes, Neal made 5-of-7 threes to register 15 key points off the bench.

“Tonight was a total team win,” said Neal to the Fox Sports Southwest broadcast team of Bill Land and Sean Elliott after the game. “Manu and Tony, they’re our two leaders and they carried us. A lot of the shots I got today were because Tony and Manu — their defense was just so drawn to them. That makes my job easier; I get to shoot open shots. Hopefully I keep making them.”

Early on, one characteristic of Neal’s game that stands out is his confidence in taking shots. Perhaps more so than any player on the team, he’s letting it fly without hesitation when he catches the ball. Neal credits those around him with forcing him to develop the trait.

Said Neal: “They just keep telling me to shoot it. It started with Coach Pop when I got here. He said if you’re open, shoot the ball. And when you have that type of confidence from the coaching staff, you don’t have any other choice other than just to shoot it.”

“It’s great because Coach Pop has confidence in me,” Neal continued. “In timeouts, he’s drawing up plays for me. If you’re a shooter and you have the green light with people telling you to shoot, shoot — you have no choice but to feel good and shoot the ball.”

Last season, one glaring weakness for San Antonio was a lack of reliable outside shooting. Especially against the Phoenix Suns in the postseason, the Spurs had a lot of difficulties finding a role player willing to take and make shots from beyond the three-point arc. When the Spurs invited Neal to participate on their summer league team, all parties involved knew Neal’s attributes fit the bill as someone who could possibly help the Spurs.

But this much, this quickly?

Neal’s impact on the 95-91 victory over the Bobcats wasn’t lost on Manu Ginobili.

“Huge,” explained Ginobili when asked about Neal’s play. “Huge for us. Those five threes gave us a lot of air offensively. It took a lot of pressure off of us.”

Once desperate for a chance to prove himself, Neal now fills a void the Spurs desperately needed to address this past summer.

Said Ginobili: “I’m looking forward to seeing him play like this more often.”

http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/san-antonio-spurs-news/gary-neal-filling-needed-role-for-spurs/

[DespЏrado]

Neal is going to win the 3 point competition... (hey I'm just going to throw it out there because if it does happen, it'll make me look good.)

Edit- Very well written article by the way Kori... That's better than anything I've read in the Express in a long while.

[The Truth #6]

I thought our young players Hill and Blair would be the difference for us this year. Instead, it's been Anderson and Neal playing way better than expected, as well as Jefferson.

But if Neal is open, his form and technique are so good, it seems crazy that he'll miss.

Timvp, is his defense and mobility any better in the regular season then what you remember from Summer League? From what I remember reading, you weren't confident in him.

[AussieFanKurt]

Neal is going to win the 3 point competition... (hey I'm just going to throw it out there because if it does happen, it'll make me look good.)

fingers crossed he gets nominated for it haha

[mookie2001]

if you really think about, neal is our best player, and its not even close

[Ross Parrot]

if you really think about, neal is our best player, and its not even close

PG: Gary Neal
SG: Gary Neal
SF: Gary Neal
PF: Gary Neal
C: Gary Neal
:lobt2:

[DespЏrado]

if you really think about, neal is our best player, and its not even close

Best role player. He has a role to play and he is the best at it right now, but Anotonio McD. is really close to him in terms of how much impact they are having on the game.

[elbamba]

Neal is looking great right now. I echo the sentiment that Blair and Hill have been disappointing to say the least. Neal, Anderson and Tiago have looked great and have shown great growth over the first six games. I love how fearless Neal and Anderson are. Part of being a great shooter is just taking the dang shot. Last year, only Manu and Bonner had this ability. this year, it looks like we could be one of the elite three point shooting teams again.

[The Truth #6]

He's the kind of player we've always needed. We've had enough interesting, effete jump shooters with great resumes and high grade point averages and intellectual interests in poetry and architecture. That's fine for the twelth man type who doesn't play.

To his credit, Neal doesn't seem overly complex and introspective. Perhaps the locker room discussions of Kierkegaard aren't the same now that he's around, but I'm just happy to see productivity on the court. Thank you Pop for believing in this guy.

[duncan228]

He’s a stone-cold shooter. We get him open looks, and he’s going to knock them down for us. That’s what we brought him here for, and it’s panning out very well.

[ducks]

mason used to be that guy tell pop made him him run point

[timvp]

:makeout Nicely done, Mrs. Ellis.

[EricB]

Now he's making shots in close games in the fourth quarter against good defensive teams. Still very skeptical he will keep it up...

[mookie2001]

he doesnt have the constant turnovers, stupid passes, bad shots and lost championships skins on the wall like manu. although still great duncan is past his prime and we dont even run plays for him. and your PG (who cant shoot 3s) shouldnt be your best player anyway. with hill sucking, through 5 games in 2010 neal is our best player- fact

[Spursfanfromafar]

The first professional journalistic and reporter article, I think from the SA-Dispatch stable, apart from the nice Game Thoughts by LJ Ellis. Nice job on the context, the subject and the report about the present.

[mookie2001]

syntax error

[Spur|n|Austin]

Thanks Kori!

[PuttPutt]

[QUOTE=timvp;4731227]Gary Neal Filling Needed Role for Spurs (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/san-antonio-spurs-news/gary-neal-filling-needed-role-for-spurs/)
By Kori Ellis (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/author/admin/) | San Antonio Dispatch
(http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/)

Early on, one characteristic of Neal’s game that stands out is his confidence in taking shots. Perhaps more so than any player on the team, he’s letting it fly without hesitation when he catches the ball. Neal credits those around him with forcing him to develop the trait.

Said Neal: “They just keep telling me to shoot it. It started with Coach Pop when I got here. He said if you’re open, shoot the ball. And when you have that type of confidence from the coaching staff, you don’t have any other choice other than just to shoot it.”


FINALLY!!! A player that understands. Good find. :toast

[TDMVPDPOY]

gary neal > roger mason

[Libri]

Now he's making shots in close games in the fourth quarter against good defensive teams. Still very skeptical he will keep it up...

Well, all shooters go into slumps. So I guess it's bound to happen. So my question is, how will he handle when it happens. If he's the real deal, he won't let it discourage him and will snap out of it.

[Obstructed_View]

Now he's making shots in close games in the fourth quarter against good defensive teams. Still very skeptical he will keep it up...

I've been as critical of him as anyone, and I just can't see how he'd have problems continuing this way. He's not going to hit at a high percentage every game, but you leave him in when he does and give someone else a chance when he doesn't. You loved what Michael Finley brought to the team and he couldn't (or wouldn't) defend 90 percent of the time. This kid hustles, shares the ball, rebounds and gets in position far better than Fin or Mason ever did.

[DJB]

gary neal > roger mason

Agreed. I don't do a face palm when Neal puts the ball on the floor like I did with Roger. RMJ just didn't even look comfortable dribbling the ball. Neal's actually got a pretty good floater in his game as well.

[DespЏrado]

Well, all shooters go into slumps. So I guess it's bound to happen. So my question is, how will he handle when it happens. If he's the real deal, he won't let it discourage him and will snap out of it.

The point with Neal, that I have tried to stress is that he takes the next shot ...it doesn't matter whether the last six went in or clanked out. He takes the next shot, fluidly and quickly.

Slumps are all in the mind, and Neal is the kind of shooter that it never occurs to think about a slump. The shot is so text-book and quickly-released that it's an automatic process for him. So he will miss ten shots in a row, but he will take the 11th exactly the same way he took the other ten.

It's why I think he might have a shot at the 3 pt competition. It's so quick and natural to him to hit the shot that he would flourish under the big lights.

[Leonard Curse]

damn i didnt even realize that kori wrote this until the first poster mentioned, good work!!!

[Cessation]

I think hell get better, as he gets more comfortable with the team. He was a great shooter in college and europe, thats 7 years of experience, its definetly showing.

[jjktkk]

mason used to be that guy tell pop made him him run point

So thats what Mason told his therapist is the reason his life is in shambles now with the Knicks?

[benefactor]

“It’s great because Coach Pop has confidence in me,” Neal continued. “In timeouts, he’s drawing up plays for me."
This doesn't surprise me at all. Pop loves his off the bench gunners and has been looking for a fearless, Eddie House type shooter for what seems like forever.

I'm happy for Neal. I said when the SL roster came out that he was the most interesting prospect and he has more than validated that claim. Keep on lettin' it fly, young man.

[Killakobe81]

Gary Neal Filling Needed Role for Spurs (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/san-antonio-spurs-news/gary-neal-filling-needed-role-for-spurs/)
By Kori Ellis (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/author/admin/) | San Antonio Dispatch
(http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/)
Prior to this past summer, Gary Neal wasn’t much of an NBA prospect. The 26-year-old was undrafted out of Towson and had never been in an NBA training camp. In fact, he had never suited up for an NBA summer league team.

While he was making waves in Europe as a multi-purpose guard who could drill an open jumper, his name wasn’t mentioned very often when discussing potential imports. His lack of height and lack of explosion in his legs had most scouts pegging him as a European basketball league lifer.

Neal’s big break came when he got an invitation to join San Antonio’s summer league team. Although he didn’t play much right away, eventually it become increasingly difficult to keep the Baltimore native off the court.
Gary Neal Spurs

By the end of the five games, Neal had left his mark. Not only did his 16 points per game lead the Spurs squad in scoring, he nailed 17-of-34 three-point attempts. In the fifth and final contest, Neal was 6-for-10 on three-pointers on his way to 25 points in 27 minutes.

A few days later, with multiple teams from around the world interested in acquiring his services, Neal signed a partially-guaranteed three-year contract with the Spurs.

Following an uneventful preseason in which Neal admitted to being nervous, nobody quite knew what to expect. Privately, Spurs staffers wondered whether Neal could make the transition from the European three-point line to the NBA three-point line. Another worry was that his lack of size (he’s listed at 6-foot-4 but he’s closer to 6-foot-2) would make it impossible to get clean looks against the long, rangy athletes that litter the NBA landscape.

Six games into Neal’s NBA career and all worries are, at the very least, on hold. He’s shooting 47.2% from the floor and has buried half of his 24 three-point attempts. Against the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night, Neal had his best game yet.

In 14 minutes, Neal made 5-of-7 threes to register 15 key points off the bench.

“Tonight was a total team win,” said Neal to the Fox Sports Southwest broadcast team of Bill Land and Sean Elliott after the game. “Manu and Tony, they’re our two leaders and they carried us. A lot of the shots I got today were because Tony and Manu — their defense was just so drawn to them. That makes my job easier; I get to shoot open shots. Hopefully I keep making them.”

Early on, one characteristic of Neal’s game that stands out is his confidence in taking shots. Perhaps more so than any player on the team, he’s letting it fly without hesitation when he catches the ball. Neal credits those around him with forcing him to develop the trait.

Said Neal: “They just keep telling me to shoot it. It started with Coach Pop when I got here. He said if you’re open, shoot the ball. And when you have that type of confidence from the coaching staff, you don’t have any other choice other than just to shoot it.”

“It’s great because Coach Pop has confidence in me,” Neal continued. “In timeouts, he’s drawing up plays for me. If you’re a shooter and you have the green light with people telling you to shoot, shoot — you have no choice but to feel good and shoot the ball.”

Last season, one glaring weakness for San Antonio was a lack of reliable outside shooting. Especially against the Phoenix Suns in the postseason, the Spurs had a lot of difficulties finding a role player willing to take and make shots from beyond the three-point arc. When the Spurs invited Neal to participate on their summer league team, all parties involved knew Neal’s attributes fit the bill as someone who could possibly help the Spurs.

But this much, this quickly?

Neal’s impact on the 95-91 victory over the Bobcats wasn’t lost on Manu Ginobili.

“Huge,” explained Ginobili when asked about Neal’s play. “Huge for us. Those five threes gave us a lot of air offensively. It took a lot of pressure off of us.”

Once desperate for a chance to prove himself, Neal now fills a void the Spurs desperately needed to address this past summer.

Said Ginobili: “I’m looking forward to seeing him play like this more often.”

http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/san-antonio-spurs-news/gary-neal-filling-needed-role-for-spurs/

Kudos, Kori. :toast this dispatch looks good to me from afar ... do they have a strong website and what is their circulation like?

[Ginobilly]

The basketball gods have finally answered our prayers! How long has it been since we had a pure 3 point shooter on our team? Hopefully he keeps this up, oh, and I wouldn't be surprized if Pop puts him in crunch time with the starters against certain teams.

[rjv]

before i get too excited about him i have to remind myself that in the beginning roger mason seemed to be the real deal too.

but so far so good!

[Dr Cox]

I love gary neal

[Bruno]

Nice article :tu


Said Neal: “They just keep telling me to shoot it. It started with Coach Pop when I got here. He said if you’re open, shoot the ball. And when you have that type of confidence from the coaching staff, you don’t have any other choice other than just to shoot it.”

Pop puts some players in the "great shooter" category and ask them to shoot the ball when ever they are open. It's a good news for Neal that he is in this category because Pop he rightfully? very tolerant with this kind of player. Mason or Finley had some major shooting slumps and Pop continue to give them minutes with the instruction to keep shooting. What Pop hates is a good shooter not taking an open shoot like Brent Barry sometimes did. Neal shouldn't have a problem with that given his fearless attitude.

I don't expect Neal to continue with these numbers. He leads right now the NBA in 3 pointer taken by minutes. If he continue to shoot at a great percentage, teams will adjust and leave him less open. However, it won't be a bad news for Spurs because it will open more the paint and Spurs have a lot of players who are great at scoring in the point. It's a "pick your poison" case.

Neal isn't also that bad in the other areas of his game for a shooting specialist. He can put a little the ball on the floor and plays hard on the defensive end even if his physical limitations really hurt him.

Spurs have locked him with an awesome contract. 3 years at a low salary with the 2 last year fully non-guaranteed. If he continue to be great, Spurs will have him at a bargain price for 3 years. If he sucks, Spurs will be able to cut him for free. It's a damn sweet deal for Spurs.

[wildbill2u]

Simply put, we don't win that last game without Neal playing hard and scoring. I can't think of one game that you could say the same about Hill or some of our more prized and popular rotation players.

This kid could turn into one of those 'steals' that has given the Spurs such a good reputation for scouting unknown and unproven players.

[Obstructed_View]

I don't expect Neal to continue with these numbers. He leads right now the NBA in 3 pointer taken by minutes. If he continue to shoot at a great percentage, teams will adjust and leave him less open.

He could be the first Spurs shooter to actually "spread the floor".

[hater]

he is Filling the Hole?

[romsho]

Now he's making shots in close games in the fourth quarter against good defensive teams. Still very skeptical he will keep it up...

The one thing Neal has going for him is his stroke...which is very technically sound. Unlike a guy like Bonner, who is more prone to shooting slumps simply because of his mechanics, Neal is far less likely to go into prolonged droughts with his shot.

[it's me]

he is Filling the Hole?


Chu ... chu................chu ... chu.......................

[Prodigal]

Neal is exactly what the Spurs were missing last year...someone to come off the bench and drain three's. The guy is super hot right now and is bound to cool off, but he sure looks like the real deal.

[Spurs Brazil]

Neal has been a great surprise.

Props to the Spurs scouts that believed in his game

[silverblackfan]

I would not expect Neal to keep playing like this. I think he is just hot right now. He never played anywhere near this well when he was in Europe, particularly when he was in a high level league and team.

I could be wrong, but I think he is just hot right now.

This may be true, but he has never had 4 other teammates pulling all the defensive attention in Europe either. This role is made for Neal.

[AlleyOopNazi]

What did you think was going to happen? Did anyone watch summer league?

[Texas_Ranger]

I would not expect Neal to keep playing like this. I think he is just hot right now. He never played anywhere near this well when he was in Europe, particularly when he was in a high level league and team.

I could be wrong, but I think he is just hot right now.

Gary Neal was a monster in Benetton last year. He was just great in Italian league and the Euro cup. Just look at his stats

ITALIAN L. : 33 min, 19.4 pts, 4.2 reb, 2.8 ast, 2 stl. 51.7 FG%, 36.8 3FG%

EUROCUP: 32.7 min, 19.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 2.5 ast, 2.1 stl. 41.5 FG%, 34.6 3FG%

Later Gary played 5 games for Unicaja in Spain. There he was playing less minutes, but he was still very good.

The best year he had in 07/08 season in Turkey with Pinar Karsiyaka. He was Turkish league leading scorer.

STATS: 23.6 pts, 5.2 reb, 3.5 ast. 47.1 FG%, 43.8 3FG%

[JustinJDW]

People need to stop comparing Mason to Neal because Neal is a much better player.

Neal is a hell of a lot faster than Mason.
Neal is a better ball-handler than Mason.
Neal already looks like a much better defender than Mason.
Neal can put the ball on the floor much better than Mason.
Neal has much more athleticism than Mason.
Neal is much better at making decisions.
And Neal has more chemistry with the wing players, (Manu, Hill, Anderson) then Mason ever did.

Overall, Neal is a much better player than Mason. Don't just call it a wash and say they are the same because they both can shoot.

[mexpurs21]

Gary Neal sort of reminds me of Anthony Morrow.

[DespЏrado]

Benetton is not a big team and does not play in a high level league. The level he was playing at in Turkey was very low, playing in such a small Turkish club and only in domestic league.

Even playing for Malaga in ACB is not that high of a level because Malaga is just a mediocre team and the ACB sure is not close to the Euroleague. The only time he played in a big Euroleague club was when he played with Barca. There he averaged 2.3 points per game in the Euroleague and 3.3 points per game in the ACB.

I know he had a very good year with Benetton, but that's not a top level in Europe by any stretch of the imagination. Again, I may be wrong, but this appears to just be a hot stretch. He has never performed this well before in any serious club or league.

Can you give us the context of what you are talking about?
Like when did he play for each team and what were his points per game?
Thanks for taking the time on our forum, if you are not native to the english language you are doing very well. Thanks.

[benefactor]

What did you think was going to happen? Did anyone watch summer league?
See Tolliver, Anthony.

[tlongII]

He's filling the rapist role. Kinda like Kobe with the Lakers.

[BackHome]

I would not expect Neal to keep playing like this. I think he is just hot right now. He never played anywhere near this well when he was in Europe, particularly when he was in a high level league and team.

I could be wrong, but I think he is just hot right now.


I don't think Omri Casspi played that great or was in a great league but he sure had a great first year in the NBA......I still wish he was we could have gotten him.

[ChuckD]

Benetton is not a big team and does not play in a high level league. The level he was playing at in Turkey was very low, playing in such a small Turkish club and only in domestic league.

Even playing for Malaga in ACB is not that high of a level because Malaga is just a mediocre team and the ACB sure is not close to the Euroleague. The only time he played in a big Euroleague club was when he played with Barca. There he averaged 2.3 points per game in the Euroleague and 3.3 points per game in the ACB.

I know he had a very good year with Benetton, but that's not a top level in Europe by any stretch of the imagination. Again, I may be wrong, but this appears to just be a hot stretch. He has never performed this well before in any serious club or league.

Again, he's playing off of three All Stars/All NBA players. That makes life easy and shooting more relaxing than if you're one of the focal points.

[Ice009]

The one thing Neal has going for him is his stroke...which is very technically sound. Unlike a guy like Bonner, who is more prone to shooting slumps simply because of his mechanics, Neal is far less likely to go into prolonged droughts with his shot.

I said this same thing about 1 or 2 season ago. I don't trust Matt Bonner to shoot with the game on the line or in high pressure situations because of his shooting mechanics.

I always used to use Stephen Jackson as an example because I think Stephen has very good shooting mechanics and he can release his shot quickly with good mechanics in high pressure situations.

From what I've seen from Neal so far I'd have to say that early on right now I am feeling the same thing about Neal's shooting. I'm not saying he is the same as Sjax, but I do like what I've seen so far.

[Sean Cagney]

Keep it up Neal! I am rooting for you.
I said this same thing about 1 or 2 season ago. I don't trust Matt Bonner to shoot with the game on the line or in high pressure situations because of his shooting mechanics.

.

This and dude is flat out horrible in big games, he freezes up and dissapears! Why did they resign him?

[lrrr]

Problem with supposed "pure" shooters for the Spurs in the past (see Hedo, Fin and Mason) was that they needed to get regular/consistent minutes and starting positions to get in their groove.

So far Neal has shown otherwise. 16 points in like 15 minutes? When did Finley EVER do that? Maybe he had a 15 minute stretch where he put up big points, but that would only ever be in the context of 35 minutes (20 minutes of non production and 35 minutes of terrible defense).

Hopefully Neal can fill the Steve Kerr role of 2003.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I like his huthle. And his muthle. And his sthwagger.

[ManuTastic]

As long as Pop doesnt make him play point... Or PF in a small ball lineup.

That was a joke, Pop. Please don't try these things.

[duncan228]

Monroe chimes in.

Unheralded rookie Neal giving Spurs outside boost (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/10/unheralded-rookie-neal-giving-spurs-outside-boost/)
by Mike Monroe

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/11/10/unheralded-rookie-neal-giving-spurs-outside-boost/