timvp
10-06-2018, 07:57 PM
https://i.imgur.com/3SwNRwN.jpg
-Unfortunately, the Spurs second preseason game was overshadowed by a knee injury to Lonnie Walker IV. He was diagnosed with a torn medial meniscus in his right knee (the same injury he suffered last year before his freshman season at Miami) and will reportedly be sidelined up to eight weeks. In his five minutes of action before getting hurt, Walker once again looked really damn promising. We knew from his play at Miami and in summer league that he’s a very good athlete but it’s a great sign that his athleticism is so striking even when he’s going up against NBA players. In the little we’ve seen, there are no doubts that Walker is explosive enough, powerful enough and coordinated enough to become a quality NBA player. The Spurs have to hope he can overcome the injury bug that continues to bite him early in his career. If he can prove to be sturdy, improve his decision-making and refine his perimeter skills, it’s not an overstatement to say that the 19-year-old has All-Star potential. GWS, LW4.
-It might be time to get excited about Dejounte Murray. The 22-year-old dominated at times, particularly in the first half – and it’s how he did it that is the cause for the excitement. Of his seven made field goals, six were from the midrange.
https://i.imgur.com/fVqEpsZ.gif
-It doesn’t look overly impressive, but if Murray can just make simple midrange jumpers off of pick-and-rolls, that would drastically change his potential. Last season, Murray was extremely hesitant to even attempt midrange jumpers – and he hit less than 33 percent of those he did attempt. Murray with a legit jumper (combined with his elite defense and rebounding) is a building block you can build a contending team around. I wouldn’t put him in the Hall of Fame just yet but the early returns from his summer working on his jumper with Chip Engelland are encouraging.
-LaMarcus Aldridge looked good offensively. He took advantage of his touches and was comfortable even though he had limited spacing around him due to the number of non-three-point shooters on the court. His pick-and-roll game is ready for the regular season to begin. Aldridge’s defense hasn’t been taken out of first gear yet but that will probably change later in the preseason.
-DeMar DeRozan is still holding back in terms of looking for his own shot. When he does get aggressive, he has shown glimpses of being able to score with ease within San Antonio’s offensive sets. Against the Pistons, his ballhandling and passing stood out more than anything. He’s far and away the best playmaker on this team and, despite him passively picking his spots, that’s already clear as day.
-Starting at center in the second preseason game was Jakob Poeltl. Though he didn’t make much of an impact, he also didn’t give the coaching staff any reason to think it’s a bad idea for him to be the full-time starter. The fact that he can run the court so well meshes well with both Murray and DeRozan. And while I thought he could have put a bit more effort into grabbing defensive boards this game, that shortcoming was covered by Murray gobbling up rebounds at a prodigious rate.
-Patty Mills rounded out the starting five. Honestly, I didn’t love what I saw. While Mills does help Murray on offense at times since Murray isn’t exactly a pure point guard, Mills’ defensive weaknesses are heightened by DeRozan also being weak on that end. And while Mills is good at moving on offense, his movement actually seemed to get in the way rather than open up lanes. I wouldn’t rule him out completely as an option to insert into the starting lineup but it’s not a natural fit at this stage of the preseason.
-The biggest development off the bench (besides Walker’s injury) might have been who wasn’t part of the second wave of players on the court: Davis Bertans. After being one of the first players off the bench in the first preseason game and starting the scrimmage, Bertans was the 11th player to hit the floor for San Antonio. And when he did get out on the court, he only last a couple minutes before Pop yanked him for a blown defensive assignment. I thought Bertans played pretty well during his 11 minutes; he continues to space the floor, run the court and endlessly hustle. I’m assuming this was just a one-game experiment by Pop to test out different lineups but I am a bit surprised that Bertans isn’t cemented as a part of the rotation already. He’d be an expensive 11th man.
-After a few disappointing performances, I liked what I saw from Derrick White. He legitimately looked like a point guard on this night. His passing was really good, he didn’t have much trouble handling the ball and avoided embarrassing turnovers. Once again, Pop used him as the backup point guard. It appears as if the coaching staff is sold on White being the team’s backup point guard – and I’m okay with that. White as the backup PG gives the bench unit a defensive boost it desperately needs and carves out a niche for a promising player . . . even if White will have to learn how to be a full-time point guard on the fly.
-Pau Gasol looked good with the second unit. If the Spurs are going to extract value out of him this year, using him as a bench focal point might be the best way. Even at this stage of his career, Gasol is still talented enough to run an offense through for a handful of possessions per game and it’s easier to do that when he’s coming off the bench.
-As Marco Belinelli has aged, he has lost that inner voice in his head that told him to wisely pick and choose when to shoot. Nowadays, Belinelli doesn’t hesitate to launch even when he’s off-balance with only a glimmer of daylight between him and the basket. Considering how inept the Spurs were offensively last season, I don’t mind. Belinelli is always looking to make things happen and that’s a trait these Spurs need.
-Rudy Gay and his healthy body were once again a bright spot for San Antonio. He’s moving and jumping really well. Not only did he score seven points in 12 minutes against Detroit, he had a couple nice passes and played admirable defense. In the first preseason game, he started at small forward. In preseason game number two, he came off the bench at power forward. He looks like he will help this season regardless of the role he finds himself in to begin the year.
-Though Bryn Forbes didn’t sink shots like he did in the scrimmage, he played pretty damn well. The muscle he added over the offseason really helped him on defense – both in terms of moving his feet on the perimeter and holding his ground in the paint. He rebounded well, he passed the basketball really well and overall just looked comfortable, which was something that was lacking during his first two seasons in the league.
-Dante Cunningham was the 12th player to enter the game for San Antonio and he once again looked like a useful addition depth-wise. He appears to be in really good shape as he’s moving his feet well and running the court relentlessly. I haven’t seen anything out of him that tells me Pop should make room for him in the rotation but he’ll be useful as an injury fill-in here and there.
-Chimezie Metu continues to intrigue with his toolset. He’s a mobile big who was able to stay in front of small players on defense while long enough to challenge shots in the lane (including one emphatic swat). On offense, he doesn’t look out of place playing on the perimeter. In fact, he authored a few stellar passes with guard-like precision. I’m not sure what Metu will turn into after some seasoning but it’ll be entertaining to find out.
-Jaron Blossomgame stood out again when he was on the court with the other end-of-benchers. He passes the eye test as a new age swingman between small forward and power forward. He’s light on his feet yet plays with force. Drew Eubanks is worth keeping in Austin for a year. Bouncy bigs with some some raw skill are always worth a looksy.
-I continue to not see anything from Quincy Pondexter that indicates he’s still an NBA player. He’s just no longer nimble enough to survive on the perimeter.
-Unfortunately, the Spurs second preseason game was overshadowed by a knee injury to Lonnie Walker IV. He was diagnosed with a torn medial meniscus in his right knee (the same injury he suffered last year before his freshman season at Miami) and will reportedly be sidelined up to eight weeks. In his five minutes of action before getting hurt, Walker once again looked really damn promising. We knew from his play at Miami and in summer league that he’s a very good athlete but it’s a great sign that his athleticism is so striking even when he’s going up against NBA players. In the little we’ve seen, there are no doubts that Walker is explosive enough, powerful enough and coordinated enough to become a quality NBA player. The Spurs have to hope he can overcome the injury bug that continues to bite him early in his career. If he can prove to be sturdy, improve his decision-making and refine his perimeter skills, it’s not an overstatement to say that the 19-year-old has All-Star potential. GWS, LW4.
-It might be time to get excited about Dejounte Murray. The 22-year-old dominated at times, particularly in the first half – and it’s how he did it that is the cause for the excitement. Of his seven made field goals, six were from the midrange.
https://i.imgur.com/fVqEpsZ.gif
-It doesn’t look overly impressive, but if Murray can just make simple midrange jumpers off of pick-and-rolls, that would drastically change his potential. Last season, Murray was extremely hesitant to even attempt midrange jumpers – and he hit less than 33 percent of those he did attempt. Murray with a legit jumper (combined with his elite defense and rebounding) is a building block you can build a contending team around. I wouldn’t put him in the Hall of Fame just yet but the early returns from his summer working on his jumper with Chip Engelland are encouraging.
-LaMarcus Aldridge looked good offensively. He took advantage of his touches and was comfortable even though he had limited spacing around him due to the number of non-three-point shooters on the court. His pick-and-roll game is ready for the regular season to begin. Aldridge’s defense hasn’t been taken out of first gear yet but that will probably change later in the preseason.
-DeMar DeRozan is still holding back in terms of looking for his own shot. When he does get aggressive, he has shown glimpses of being able to score with ease within San Antonio’s offensive sets. Against the Pistons, his ballhandling and passing stood out more than anything. He’s far and away the best playmaker on this team and, despite him passively picking his spots, that’s already clear as day.
-Starting at center in the second preseason game was Jakob Poeltl. Though he didn’t make much of an impact, he also didn’t give the coaching staff any reason to think it’s a bad idea for him to be the full-time starter. The fact that he can run the court so well meshes well with both Murray and DeRozan. And while I thought he could have put a bit more effort into grabbing defensive boards this game, that shortcoming was covered by Murray gobbling up rebounds at a prodigious rate.
-Patty Mills rounded out the starting five. Honestly, I didn’t love what I saw. While Mills does help Murray on offense at times since Murray isn’t exactly a pure point guard, Mills’ defensive weaknesses are heightened by DeRozan also being weak on that end. And while Mills is good at moving on offense, his movement actually seemed to get in the way rather than open up lanes. I wouldn’t rule him out completely as an option to insert into the starting lineup but it’s not a natural fit at this stage of the preseason.
-The biggest development off the bench (besides Walker’s injury) might have been who wasn’t part of the second wave of players on the court: Davis Bertans. After being one of the first players off the bench in the first preseason game and starting the scrimmage, Bertans was the 11th player to hit the floor for San Antonio. And when he did get out on the court, he only last a couple minutes before Pop yanked him for a blown defensive assignment. I thought Bertans played pretty well during his 11 minutes; he continues to space the floor, run the court and endlessly hustle. I’m assuming this was just a one-game experiment by Pop to test out different lineups but I am a bit surprised that Bertans isn’t cemented as a part of the rotation already. He’d be an expensive 11th man.
-After a few disappointing performances, I liked what I saw from Derrick White. He legitimately looked like a point guard on this night. His passing was really good, he didn’t have much trouble handling the ball and avoided embarrassing turnovers. Once again, Pop used him as the backup point guard. It appears as if the coaching staff is sold on White being the team’s backup point guard – and I’m okay with that. White as the backup PG gives the bench unit a defensive boost it desperately needs and carves out a niche for a promising player . . . even if White will have to learn how to be a full-time point guard on the fly.
-Pau Gasol looked good with the second unit. If the Spurs are going to extract value out of him this year, using him as a bench focal point might be the best way. Even at this stage of his career, Gasol is still talented enough to run an offense through for a handful of possessions per game and it’s easier to do that when he’s coming off the bench.
-As Marco Belinelli has aged, he has lost that inner voice in his head that told him to wisely pick and choose when to shoot. Nowadays, Belinelli doesn’t hesitate to launch even when he’s off-balance with only a glimmer of daylight between him and the basket. Considering how inept the Spurs were offensively last season, I don’t mind. Belinelli is always looking to make things happen and that’s a trait these Spurs need.
-Rudy Gay and his healthy body were once again a bright spot for San Antonio. He’s moving and jumping really well. Not only did he score seven points in 12 minutes against Detroit, he had a couple nice passes and played admirable defense. In the first preseason game, he started at small forward. In preseason game number two, he came off the bench at power forward. He looks like he will help this season regardless of the role he finds himself in to begin the year.
-Though Bryn Forbes didn’t sink shots like he did in the scrimmage, he played pretty damn well. The muscle he added over the offseason really helped him on defense – both in terms of moving his feet on the perimeter and holding his ground in the paint. He rebounded well, he passed the basketball really well and overall just looked comfortable, which was something that was lacking during his first two seasons in the league.
-Dante Cunningham was the 12th player to enter the game for San Antonio and he once again looked like a useful addition depth-wise. He appears to be in really good shape as he’s moving his feet well and running the court relentlessly. I haven’t seen anything out of him that tells me Pop should make room for him in the rotation but he’ll be useful as an injury fill-in here and there.
-Chimezie Metu continues to intrigue with his toolset. He’s a mobile big who was able to stay in front of small players on defense while long enough to challenge shots in the lane (including one emphatic swat). On offense, he doesn’t look out of place playing on the perimeter. In fact, he authored a few stellar passes with guard-like precision. I’m not sure what Metu will turn into after some seasoning but it’ll be entertaining to find out.
-Jaron Blossomgame stood out again when he was on the court with the other end-of-benchers. He passes the eye test as a new age swingman between small forward and power forward. He’s light on his feet yet plays with force. Drew Eubanks is worth keeping in Austin for a year. Bouncy bigs with some some raw skill are always worth a looksy.
-I continue to not see anything from Quincy Pondexter that indicates he’s still an NBA player. He’s just no longer nimble enough to survive on the perimeter.