Summer League Game 1 - Game Thoughts

Nice summary, and really appreciated. Hill and Blair are obviously the bright spots. Which is good, because those two are probably the most important. I'm especially happy to see the two of them getting to the line so effectively. That was one of the most glaring deficiencies on the team last year. If they can get to the line in the regular season, it's going to be a big improvement.

I hope some of the other guys settle in and pick things up a little bit. I wonder if some of us are expecting Mahinmi to be something he's not? If we had Channing Frye, for instance, I think we might be talking about him a lot the same way. I don't think Frye is the perfect complement for Tim in the low post, but in the right system he has value. Maybe the same is true for Mahinmi.

Thanks for the recap. Didn't want to spend the whole night reading the game blog.

George Hill's Second Act

July 12, 2009 9:05 PM

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

The Spurs' George Hill was horrible in 2008 Summer League.

How bad?

He shot 8% from the field.

You read that correctly.

But a year with the Spurs' coaching and development staff can do wonders for a young guard. The results were evident on Sunday in the Spurs' first Summer League game. Hill scored 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field, and a perfect 11-for-11 afternoon from the stripe. Hill was aggressive going to the hoop, and a menace in transition.

We caught up with him after the game.

http://sports.espn.go.com/videohub/v...deo?id=4322884

From espn

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timvp

∞

---

+1
You're the best timvp!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by duncan228

McDonald's thoughts.
* Speaking of Hill ... he was 7-of-13 from the field and scored 25 points, but what the Spurs have to be most encouraged about was the way he ran the team. He had the look of an NBA point guard, which is what the Spurs need him to be.

---

I'm very glad to hear this. Do you think he had the look of a NBA point guard?

I thought Hill looked good. He's not your typical PG, and his assists numbers reflect that.
He definitely looks more seasoned than the rest of the players, but you kinda expect that with a full NBA season under his belt.
I expect his assist numbers to increase as everyone on the team get to know eachother a little better, and Hill also learns what's the best situation for each one of his teammates.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ElNono

I thought Hill looked good. He's not your typical PG, and his assists numbers reflect that.
He definitely looks more seasoned than the rest of the players, but you kinda expect that with a full NBA season under his belt.
I expect his assist numbers to increase as everyone on the team get to know eachother a little better, and Hill also learns what's the best situation for each one of his teammates.

---

Thanks for your opinion! Yeah, I agree, he's not your typical point guard, and I do hope his assist numbers increase.

Hill looks more like a shooting point guard than a pass first point guard. I'm hoping the ability to set up plays with passes is a skill he'll acquire as he goes along.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Spurs_9_20_21

Do you think he had the look of a NBA point guard?

---

I didn't see today's game, but I liked how Hill performed as a rookie. I think he's got potential, and expect him to grow this season in any role Pop gives him.

OMG Hasheem Thabeet only had 2 rebounds in his debut he must be a bust like Mahinmi...

Probablly the game I looking forward to the most is on thur. against OKC..I think they have the best talent in LV and watching blair and Mahinmi go against Ibaka, mullins, and harden should be fun

Thanks much Timvp! Great summary, as always.

After reading the blurb about McClinton, I'll say that I'm glad that he wasn't the Spurs first choice at pick #37. I know it's way early and he certainly has time to redeem himself, but there's just no question that the Spurs getting Blair at that pick and having him as a rotation big is going to really benefit the team much more than having a 6ft SG.

romel beck cant dribble worth shit we all saw that

it looked like me trying to dance on thispego like my name was zab judah

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by yavozerb

Probablly the game I looking forward to the most is on thur. against OKC..I think they have the best talent in LV and watching blair and Mahinmi go against Ibaka, mullins, and harden should be fun

---

They got owned today, but it will be interesting to see how hill plays against Westbrook.

Great write up!:toast

Very informative!

Blair is on the road to being everything Spurs fans expect.

George Hill will be a more than capable backup PG, and maybe more.

Hairston should step into Udokas old role rather well, and should be able to do things Udoka couldn't: drive, and hit the 3 with some consistency.

I hope Ian turns it around and puts together a strong showing.

I agree about McClinton: the Spurs may invite him to camp even with a bad showing, if they think he can hit the open 3 well, which he can. I think he'd have to at least be solid defensively in SL, which he hasn't been yet.

Romel Beck may well steal an invite to camp if he can take his game up a notch.

What's really encouraging from this Summer League game is that if you think about the way playoffs work, we are already looking at a roster that's getting pretty deep for playoffs.

PG - Parker, Hill
SG - Mason, Manu
SF - Jefferson, Manu
PF/C - Duncan, McDyess, Blair, Bonner (still can drain the 3 so I think we have to add him for now).

That's deeper than some teams run in the playoffs. We have the ability to absolutely abuse teams if they try to put in subs against our top 5 players. I could see Blair really Ding up Bynum very well if it comes to that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kbrury

OMG Hasheem Thabeet only had 2 rebounds in his debut he must be a bust like Mahinmi...

---

What were his total stats?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cry Havoc

What's really encouraging from this Summer League game is that if you think about the way playoffs work, we are already looking at a roster that's getting pretty deep for playoffs.

PG - Parker, Hill
SG - Mason, Manu
SF - Jefferson, Manu
PF/C - Duncan, McDyess, Blair, Bonner (still can drain the 3 so I think we have to add him for now).

That's deeper than some teams run in the playoffs. We have the ability to absolutely abuse teams if they try to put in subs against our top 5 players. I could see Blair really Ding up Bynum very well if it comes to that.

---

It's July dude.

That better had been rust with Ian.

Shit.

Thanks Timvp for the game thoughts. It's always nice to have a summary like that.

I was impressed mostly with Blair's physicality and the presence he brings to the court. We know he's a beast on the glass, and you can see he has a natural feel for the game.

I think Hill's passing needs to improve still much more, but he did a great job overall. He looked more confident and his shot has clearly improved. Thanks Chip.

McClinton's play was really disappointing. RC said of all the guys at the pre-draft camps, Pop was most impressed by McClinton's defense. Of course, RC said, they thought he was the best shooter in college, as well. Well, we didn't see any D from him and we didn't see him hit any shots.

Fortunately, it's only one game , so he has time to improve. Can't wait for the next game.

Thanks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ElNono

It's July dude.

---

So I'm being incredibly optimistic. Shoot me. I see a team with the potential to challenge for the NBA title.

Sounds like all was great.

I think McClinton is in for a tough summer league just because how the games are played. McClinton's game at the NBA level (assuming he gets there) is going to depend on defenses giving him open looks because they're more worried about guys like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. In the summer league those opportunities do not exist because the defense is damn near exclusively plain old man to man. There are no zones, no double teams. Teams just don't have time to put together complicated team defensive schemes, and they pretty much just want to see how guys do as individual defenders. That's going to leave McClinton in a lot situations where he's guarded and if he wants to score he's going to have to create his own shot. Creating his own shot isn't his game though. He's undersized, he doesn't have exceptional athleticism and he's not that great at putting the ball on the floor. That's going to make it tough for him to impress us in the summer league. That doesn't mean he's not capable of being a useful piece though. Put him on the floor with someone who commands a double team and he'll be the guy who will kill you if you take your eye off him for a second. But in summer league there aren't going to be that many times someone takes their eyes off of him.

Basically what I'm going to be looking for out of McClinton is how good is he at finding open spots in situations where the defense isn't set and how good is he at knocking down the clean looks he does get. And his defense of course.

Summer League Notes: SAS vs. NOLA


San Antonio Spurs 92, New Orleans Hornets 86


It makes absolutely no difference who wins or loses these games but I guess it feels better to win.

It’s difficult to believe the George Hill I just watched play is the same player who turned in such a mediocre performance during the 2008 summer league. Hill had 25 points on 7-13 shooting and turned in a pristine 11-11 mark from the line. He also led the team with 3 assists.

Hill’s ball-handling has improved noticeably. He looks particularly confident when headed into the lane. In the first half he threw down a nice dunk, and continued to reach the rim and finish smoothly throughout the game. In the words of David Thorpe, “[Rodrique] Beaubois is the best pure pg I’ve seen this summer. Until George Hill.”


If you like reading shameless praise of DeJuan Blair, than you have come to the right place. Blair turned in an impressive double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) during a productive 22 minutes of floor time.

I’ll be frank: I love watching Blair work under the boards. He has a mature sense of spacing and soft, accurate hands. His rebounding was particularly notable on the offensive end, where he consistently turned misses by his teammates into open layups and trips to the line (where he went 5-6). As will be the case with during the regular season, Blair was by no means the tallest player on the floor. But he was the only player on either team whose rebounding count reached double digits.

Blair’s offensive contributions weren’t limited to put-backs; he showed promising signs that a well-rounded offensive game may be in his future. On the first play we ran specifically to him, Blair turned and hit a smooth 12 footer. On the next play, he received the ball at almost the exact same spot and used his defenders over-adjustment to take him off the dribble and draw the foul. Blair’s mechanics are a little loose, but the origins of a reliable offensive arsenal are there.

Jack McClinton did not play well this afternoon. His 2 turnovers, 4 fouls and 2 points during 15 minutes did not exactly resemble the offensive spark I had hoped to see in him. He struggled to create space with or without the ball in his hand. His first FGA was well-contested; his second was blocked.

After his performance today, I can see why the Spurs went ahead and signed Malik Hairston this past week. He was easily the best Spur on the floor behind Hill and Blair. His 16 points on 11 attempts came a variety of ways: At the rim, beyond the arc, catching and shooting, dribbling into shots. He even showed a bit of poise as he nailed a 3-pointer to put the Spurs ahead by 4 with 10 seconds left. If he can continue to play at this level, the Spurs might be deeper at the small forward position than we thought.

Ian Mahinmi, although very talented, has a reputation for being soft. This afternoon, he didn’t do much to dispel that reputation. He was consistently out-muscled on both ends of the floor. This is partly because of his sheepish attitude but it’s also caused by his weak lower body. Mahinmi’s arms and chest are strong but, if he is going to consistently establish position beneath the basket, he is going to have to develop below the waist.

Although there is almost zero chance that either Alonzo Gee or Romel Beck will be on the Spurs next year, both played well today. If either of them ended up on the Toros this upcoming season, that’d be just fine.

Our next game is against the Nuggets on Tuesday night at 10 Eastern/9 Central.

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/...s-sas-vs-nola/