McDonald: Spurs' Mahinmi Gets The Best Of Thabeet In Summer League Finale

Spurs' Mahinmi gets the best of Thabeet in summer league finale
Jeff McDonald

LAS VEGAS — Midway through the third quarter of the Spurs' summer league finale Sunday night, Ian Mahinmi found himself posting up Hasheem Thabeet, the Memphis Grizzlies' 7-foot-3 human flyswatter from Connecticut.

Out on the perimeter, one of Mahinmi's teammates chimed in with some helpful advice.

“Bust him!” he hollered. “Bust him!”

Promptly, Mahinmi did, corkscrewing around Thabeet to finish a layup over his opponent's long, flailing limbs.

It wasn't the first time Mahinmi had taken the draft's No. 2 overall pick to school during the Spurs' 76-75 loss to Memphis at UNLV's Cox Pavilion. In one of his best all-around games of the summer, Mahinmi finished with 15 points, much of them coming on aggressive drives at Thabeet, and grabbed nine rebounds.

“I like to compete,” Mahinmi said. “When I play against someone like that, I like to go at him and see if he can guard me.”

Thabeet couldn't. At least not consistently and at least not without fouling eight times.

The former UConn All-American created more questions than answers for the Grizzlies with his uneven summer league play.

Thabeet finished with nine points and grabbed five rebounds, numbers that were actually better than his averages coming in. He is a project, which is not something a team wants to hear about a high lottery pick.

But Sunday's game also said something about Mahinmi. In the past, the knock on Mahinmi has been an aversion to contact.

There was no such knock Sunday. Mahinmi charged Thabeet almost from the jump.

“He was certainly aggressive,” said Spurs assistant Don Newman, who coached the summer league team. “Here's this guy perceived as one of the top guys to come out, and Ian was up to the challenge. That's what you want to see.”

Mahinmi went at Thabeet and drew back-to-back fouls on the Spurs' first two possessions. Moments after that, he spun past Thabeet for a driving hook shot.

Using his explosive first step, Mahinmi went to the line eight times, making seven foul shots. His activity wasn't limited to offense, either, as Mahinmi also logged four blocked shots.

“He's pretty big, and he's got long arms,” Mahinmi said of Thabeet. “It was hard to get my shot way up there. It's good to play against those kinds of players.”

Sunday's game was supposed to feature the much-anticipated rematch between Thabeet and Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair. As an All-American at Pittsburgh last season, Blair made his name busting Thabeet.

Instead, Blair sat out the second night of a back-to-back. He left Thabeet-busting duties to Mahinmi.

Blair did give Mahinmi some advice.

“He told me to go at him and get into his chest,” Mahinmi said. “He likes to jump, so pump-fake and all that. It was good advice.”

Asked afterward how well his new Thabeet-busting protégé had taken his advice, Blair grinned like a proud papa.

“Look at the numbers,” Blair said. “Just look at the numbers.”

It was a significant achievement for Mahinmi, who had hoped to use the summer to show the Spurs he can be a useful big man in a rotation that also will include Tim Duncan, Blair, Antonio McDyess and Matt Bonner. Mahinmi missed all but one game last season dealing with a nagging ankle problem.

Mahinmi is already under contract for the upcoming season, but the Spurs must decide by Oct. 31 whether to pick up his option for another season.

He is only 22, same as Thabeet. And he appears to be more ready for prime time than Thabeet.

“We wanted him to come out this week and show us what he could do,” Newman said. “I certainly think he helped himself.”

That's all Mahinmi wanted out of nine days in Las Vegas. Closing it with a Thabeet-busting was only icing on the cake.

“I like to compete against the best, and he's one of the upcoming best,” Mahinmi said. “I told myself to be aggressive from the start, and we'll see what happens.”

4 blocked shots is promising. We could certainly use a young, athletic presence on that end of the floor every night.

I like him but Ian still has a long way to go, a long way.

Damn, it sounds so good to hear that Mahinmi is holding his own against one of the top picks in the draft. He's really developed and even passed some lessons from Blair. Them two have developed some really good chemsitry. That's not even including Malik, George, James, and Williams(?). We have a damn good set of young players.

So is the last game over? When do they name the SL MVP, etc.?

Never mind, they already named Blake Griffin MVP.

Mahinmi outplays a fellow 22-year-old center prospect who was the 2nd overall selection in the most recent draft. Mahinmi sucks! Waive him immediately! I'm sick of the Spurs wasting 8 years on him! They could have had Dwight Howard!

Nice.

I play him over Bonner........ Id rather Have A Presence Down low, then Another perimeter Guy.... We have Enough Perimeter players....

Ian seemed proud of bulking up earlier this year, I hope he continues over the summer. It would be nice if he could gain another 15 pounds or more of muscle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by duncan228

Sunday's game was supposed to feature the much-anticipated rematch between Thabeet and Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair. As an All-American at Pittsburgh last season, Blair made his name busting Thabeet.

Instead, Blair sat out the second night of a back-to-back. He left Thabeet-busting duties to Mahinmi.

Blair did give Mahinmi some advice.

“He told me to go at him and get into his chest,” Mahinmi said. “He likes to jump, so pump-fake and all that. It was good advice.”

Asked afterward how well his new Thabeet-busting protégé had taken his advice, Blair grinned like a proud papa.

“Look at the numbers,” Blair said. “Just look at the numbers.”

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I was hoping that Blair would share some tips on how to go at Thabeet with Ian. It's good to see that he did and that it paid off.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by duncan228

It was a significant achievement for Mahinmi, who had hoped to use the summer to show the Spurs he can be a useful big man in a rotation that also will include Tim Duncan, Blair, Antonio McDyess and Matt Bonner. Mahinmi missed all but one game last season dealing with a nagging ankle problem.

Mahinmi is already under contract for the upcoming season, but the Spurs must decide by Oct. 31 whether to pick up his option for another season.

He is only 22, same as Thabeet. And he appears to be more ready for prime time than Thabeet.

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You can say that again. It's clear that Ian is MUCH further along than Thabeet. While he still has a ways to go, Ian looks primed and ready. I'm glad he impressed the Spurs coaches . It's going to be fun watching him contribute this year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by duncan228

“I like to compete against the best, and he's one of the upcoming best,” Mahinmi said. “I told myself to be aggressive from the start, and we'll see what happens.”

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I wouldn't say Thabeet is one of the best. In fact, had they both been in the same draft class, I believe Ian would've and should've went ahead of Thabeet.

Good for the french.

-yawn- -yawn- -sigh- big deal...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by timvp

Mahinmi outplays a fellow 22-year-old center prospect who was the 2nd overall selection in the most recent draft. Mahinmi sucks! Waive him immediately! I'm sick of the Spurs wasting 8 years on him! They could have had Dwight Howard!

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:lol

Mahinmi, Blair, and Splitter are each lottery level bigman talents the Spurs obtained shrewdly using nothing higher than a 28th pick. There just might be life after TD.

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Originally Posted by Marcus Bryant

There just might be life after TD.

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That would be incredible.
We lose the best PF in history and don't go down dramatically.
Damn. As much as I don't want to think about losing him, I can't help it.
We could be looking at the Spurs frontcourt rotation for the next 10+ years.
Imagine that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr.Bottomtooth

That would be incredible.
We lose the best PF in history and don't go down dramatically.
Damn. As much as I don't want to think about losing him, I can't help it.
We could be looking at the Spurs frontcourt rotation for the next 10+ years.
Imagine that.

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Bonner's only 29...i'm sure he's got 7-8 good years left in him....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marcus Bryant

Mahinmi, Blair, and Splitter are each lottery level bigman talents the Spurs obtained shrewdly using nothing higher than a 28th pick. There just might be life after TD.

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We could be really deep next year if Splitter comes over. I'm not sure what the rotation would be to accommodate all the talent.

Code:

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Splitter    Mahinmi    McDyess
Duncan        Blair    Haislip
Jefferson    Hairston  (1st rounder)
Mason        Ginobili   
Parker        Hill      Williams

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Of course there are a lot of assumptions; we re-sign Ginobili, etc., but we could be really deep if some of our players with potential pan out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by timvp

Mahinmi outplays a fellow 22-year-old center prospect who was the 2nd overall selection in the most recent draft. Mahinmi sucks! Waive him immediately! I'm sick of the Spurs wasting 8 years on him! They could have had Dwight Howard!

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French players = the suck.

If he plays well, of course it won't be RC or Pop that get the credit.

Sam Presti.

Duh.

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Originally Posted by __JaG__

Bonner's only 29...i'm sure he's got 7-8 good years left in him....

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__JaG__... that lineup at the bottom of your profile looks absolutely beautiful..

I chimed in late, but I was glad that I caught Ian vs Thabeet. I saw 3 plays where Ian posted and either scored or drew the foul.

Ok, good for Ian, if he can come in and provide 10-15 solid minutes off the bench ALA Chris Anderson of the Nuggets... that would help alot.

So uh, where is the poster called "50 cent". I wanna know if still trading Mahinmi off for Sefa-loofus,...

Really, how stupid would the spurs be to do that.... do we need another defensive wing that badly? It already upgraded with Jefferson. They also most likely will have Hairston to fill that role. So, why would u get rid of the only guy on the team that is a 7 footer outside of Duncan, and the only one that has ANY shot blocking ability for something you already have two guys providing?

Great game by Ian, props. Hopefully this is the year he gets some burn in the NBA and becomes a rotation player.

i would hardly call thabeet one of the best. all signs point to bust and diop clone. he was drafted at least 10 picks too high. but it's still nice to see mahinmi do well against someone bigger and taller than him.

Poor Thabeetch. Four times a year he's going to be going up against a line-up consisting of Duncan/Blair/Mahinmi. He may never recover from the psychological beat downs.

Too early to judge Thabeet..either way though, there aren't many guys in the NBA that have his size, so it's a good test..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by z0sa

4 blocked shots is promising. We could certainly use a young, athletic presence on that end of the floor every night.

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That fact stuck out to me too.

Very much looking forward to the preseason. We may get to see Marcus Williams in action and more of Blair, Ian, Hill, Hairston, and even Haislip.

Dang that's a lot of new guys, not to mention Jefferson and McDyess. This year's going to be very interesting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TJastal

Ok, good for Ian, if he can come in and provide 10-15 solid minutes off the bench ALA Chris Anderson of the Nuggets... that would help alot.

So uh, where is the poster called "50 cent". I wanna know if still trading Mahinmi off for Sefa-loofus,...

Really, how stupid would the spurs be to do that.... do we need another defensive wing that badly? It already upgraded with Jefferson. They also most likely will have Hairston to fill that role. So, why would u get rid of the only guy on the team that is a 7 footer outside of Duncan, and the only one that has ANY shot blocking ability for something you already have two guys providing?

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So Mahinmi beat down a very highly ranked draft pick. Awesome. I hope he can contribute and seriously becomes a great player in this league. But you act like this is the sign of the second coming. Get over yourself.

Besides, it wasn't a "dump Mahinmi" thread. Sometimes you have to give up talent to get talent. But I'm sure you think we could move Bonner+Finley and get Dwight Howard, right? Getting Sefolosha would have given us one of the best SF rotations in the league. Just because you don't follow enough basketball to know his name doesn't mean hes a scrub. It was a worthy consideration, albeit probably unrealistic in the end.

And in light of the fact that Mahinmi is finally both healthy and developed to the point that he might contribute consistently it would probably be foolhardy to part ways before we looked at him closer against good competition anyways. I'm not really sure what beating up on a raw prospect like Thabeet means, but it's obviously a good sign considering his natural gifts. But lets get Ian in some real games now and hope he continues playing well.

So to make a long story shot: STFU.

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Originally Posted by Darkwaters

So Mahinmi beat down a very highly ranked draft pick. Awesome. I hope he can contribute and seriously becomes a great player in this league. But you act like this is the sign of the second coming. Get over yourself.

Besides, it wasn't a "dump Mahinmi" thread. Sometimes you have to give up talent to get talent. But I'm sure you think we could move Bonner+Finley and get Dwight Howard, right? Getting Sefolosha would have given us one of the best SF rotations in the league. Just because you don't follow enough basketball to know his name doesn't mean hes a scrub. It was a worthy consideration, albeit probably unrealistic in the end.

And in light of the fact that Mahinmi is finally both healthy and developed to the point that he might contribute consistently it would probably be foolhardy to part ways before we looked at him closer against good competition anyways. I'm not really sure what beating up on a raw prospect like Thabeet means, but it's obviously a good sign considering his natural gifts. But lets get Ian in some real games now and hope he continues playing well.

So to make a long story shot: STFU.

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You're a bit harsh with him (the poster). Indeed Thabo is a nice asset to have in the rotation but so will be Ian. We certainly could use an 22 athletic center don't you think? I'm not saying he's the second coming of Wilt but he obviously could be a shot alterer/defensive presence that can run the floor.

Good signs.

i can see Darkwaters point in that Ian is a couple years away and it may be worthwhile trading him for a ready made player that can help the next 2 seasons.

When eveluating Ian the closest comparison i can find is Amir Johnson

Amir also tore up the D-League and some think he has star potential.
The problem is he needs time to learn the NBA game and ground himself defensively. He simply was not ready to contribute to a contending Detroit team and was buried at the end of the bench in favor of the more experienced guys.

In the end Detroit salary dumped him but im pretty sure they could have landed something valuable if they used him as bait 2 years ago and we have the same option right now with Ian.

Dont get me wrong... a Bigman that potentially has lottery type talent is great but i dont think he's untradable like some suggest.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ceds

i can see Darkwaters point in that Ian is a couple years away and it may be worthwhile trading him for a ready made player that can help the next 2 seasons.

When eveluating Ian the closest comparison i can find is Amir Johnson

Amir also tore up the D-League and some think he has star potential.
The problem is he needs time to learn the NBA game and ground himself defensively. He simply was not ready to contribute to a contending Detroit team and was buried at the end of the bench in favor of the more experienced guys.

In the end Detroit salary dumped him but im pretty sure they could have landed something valuable if they used him as bait 2 years ago and we have the same option right now with Ian.

Dont get me wrong... a Bigman that potentially has lottery type talent is great but i dont think he's untradable like some suggest.

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For Mahimni's contract +age + ceiling it would be premature to get rid of Mahimni for a wing that won't even play more than 12 minutes a game. (Manu +RJ = 60-65 mpg + Mason 20 mpg= 85 mpg at the 2/3. Which leaves only 11 minutes for Finley/ Hairston. Only way I'd trade him right now is to include him in a deal to bring over a big that splits time with McDyess and is the clear cut 2nd or 3rd best bigman.

I guess it depends on the wing...

I would seriously consider Finley/Mason + Bonner + Ian if it could land us Cap Jack or a 3/4 like Nocioni

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ceds

I guess it depends on the wing...

I would seriously consider Finley/Mason + Bonner + Ian if it could land us Cap Jack or a 3/4 like Nocioni

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If we were to do that and if Blair would get hurt then we would be left with just Haislip as our only big off the bench. Not smart.

well if one of those trades somehow went down then the LLE would be used to get the insurance bigman.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ceds

well if one of those trades somehow went down then the LLE would be used to get the insurance bigman.

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That wouldn't be an " insurance" big man considering Haislip hasn't proved to be a NBA player and how Blair hasn't proved anything either and is playing on no ACL's. Trading Mahimni plus Bonner for a wing would be really dumb and premature on the Spurs behalf right now.

Your assuming Ian can give meaningful minutes on championship contender.

Bonner is the only known quantity here and 90% of the board want him traded.

Its simple really. If its a good trade like

Mason/Finley + Bonner & Ian for Cap Jack or Nocioni + scrub


Then you use the LLE for the last Bigman.. Rasho / Wallace etc and bring in Gist

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ceds

Your assuming Ian can give meaningful minutes on championship contender.

Bonner is the only known quantity here and 90% of the board want him traded.

Its simple really. If its a good trade like

Mason/Finley + Bonner & Ian for Cap Jack or Nocioni + scrub


Then you use the LLE for the last Bigman.. Rasho / Wallace etc and bring in Gist

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Or you can do the logical thing and hold onto the trade fodder, so you wouldn't be put the situation you presented above. Which would be obtaining a roster with a frail front-line.

Wait out with our current roster as of now and see which of our prospective big's sinks or swims the first 2 months of the year. If they swim then we would possibly package up Mason/ Bonner for a wing. But if they sink then we can use that trade bait for a big. Either or.

I'm just happy to see him healthly and happy to play, the kid has spent almost 2 shitty years, props to him.

Finally I might be able to get rid of the thing under picnroll.

Nice to see Ian having a good SL. The true test that will determine his future as a Spurs is the training camp.

OT: A question for non-French posters on ST:
French NT campaign (with De Colo and Parker) has started one week ago, are you interested in a thread with infos about it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Nice to see Ian having a good SL. The true test that will determine his future as a Spurs is the training camp.

OT: A question for non-French posters on ST:
French NT campaign (with De Colo and Parker) has started one week ago, are you interested in a thread with infos about it?

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I am not french but i am interested in anything related to the french NT as i support them. IMO an official thread for it would rock :tu

It sure looke like if Ian can stay on the floor (health and PFs), he will make a significant contribution.

And his confidence and aggressiveness should grow as he learns the system better and his teammates start to count on him.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Nice to see Ian having a good SL. The true test that will determine his future as a Spurs is the training camp.

OT: A question for non-French posters on ST:
French NT campaign (with De Colo and Parker) has started one week ago, are you interested in a thread with infos about it?

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Yes, I am, but how would you define "non-French"?

Ian will hopefully be able to prove himself this year. I can't wait to watch!

This is really good to hear. I hope his game translates into the NBA though. But it's good to see he has made strides, gives me something to look forward to in the season. And this might be the year we'll have a real center alongside Duncan, has been a while.

Ian showed a lot of nice things, but I cannot believe how people are acting like Thabeet completely sucks? Even though Ian outplayed Thabeet overall, I thought Thabeet's "highs" looked better than Ian's, at least from a defensive stand point.

But very, very good game from Ian and I really hope he continues to be hungry/aggressive. I do not care about mistakes as long as they are aggressive mistakes. Same goes for Hill.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ceds

Your assuming Ian can give meaningful minutes on championship contender.

Bonner is the only known quantity here and 90% of the board want him traded.

Its simple really. If its a good trade like

Mason/Finley + Bonner & Ian for Cap Jack or Nocioni + scrub


Then you use the LLE for the last Bigman.. Rasho / Wallace etc and bring in Gist

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With this trade we would get smaller in the frontcourt, if Rasho doesn't sign. Also,what if Ian becomes a solid or very good big man. The first thing fans will say "How can the Spurs FO be so stupid".


I'm glad to see Ian with 4 blocked shots. Ian as active big man could be a big help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dc_spursfan

With this trade we would get smaller in the frontcourt, if Rasho doesn't sign. Also,what if Ian becomes a solid or very good big man. The first thing fans will say "How can the Spurs FO be so stupid".


I'm glad to see Ian with 4 blocked shots. Ian as active big man could be a big help.

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That is part of the deal if you are in win-now mode. You might have to give up future contributors in order to do so. If the Spurs could get a proven/productive player for Ian I think they would do it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr.Bottomtooth

That would be incredible.
We lose the best PF in history and don't go down dramatically.
Damn. As much as I don't want to think about losing him, I can't help it.
We could be looking at the Spurs frontcourt rotation for the next 10+ years.
Imagine that.

---

You don't think the spurs will get any better frontcourt players in the next 10 years?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stéphane

You're a bit harsh with him (the poster). Indeed Thabo is a nice asset to have in the rotation but so will be Ian. We certainly could use an 22 athletic center don't you think? I'm not saying he's the second coming of Wilt but he obviously could be a shot alterer/defensive presence that can run the floor.

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Yea, you're right, I was harsh. But you're pretty retarded if you're going slam my trade idea when you don't even have a clue who the guy is we'd be getting in return. I mean, for all he knew he could have been the greek T-Mac or something :rolleyes (I couldn't help myself).

The thing that gets me is that people are treating that trade idea like it was a "dump Mahinmi" thread when it was just a simple trade idea. Mahinmi is definitely looking like a very solid prospect for the future, but the level of dick sucking on this guy is greater than even the vaunted James White! of yesteryear.

I'm still not sure how much Mahinmi will help us this year, but he definitely looks like he'll help us at some point. But that hardly means he isn't tradeable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DPG21920

That is part of the deal if you are in win-now mode. You might have to give up future contributors in order to do so. If the Spurs could get a proven/productive player for Ian I think they would do it.

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I understand but we would be trading big for small. Those kind of trades rarely ever work out well. If it was to get someone like Kaman or another center I would be okay with it. LA has two 7 footers and they could easily shoot over a small lineup ala the Denver series.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by picnroll

Finally I might be able to get rid of the thing under picnroll.

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:lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rascal

You don't think the spurs will get any better frontcourt players in the next 10 years?

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We might not need to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by marcus bryant

yes, i am, but how would you define "non-french"?

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Intelligence Quotient > 70

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Agloco

Intelligence Quotient > 70

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:rolleyes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Nice to see Ian having a good SL. The true test that will determine his future as a Spurs is the training camp.

OT: A question for non-French posters on ST:
French NT campaign (with De Colo and Parker) has started one week ago, are you interested in a thread with infos about it?

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:toast

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Agloco

Intelligence Quotient > 70

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Yeah considering the IQ of a poster is inversely proportional to the size of the boobs of the chick in your avatar.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Agloco

Intelligence Quotient > 70

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lame

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Darkwaters

Yea, you're right, I was harsh. But you're pretty retarded if you're going slam my trade idea when you don't even have a clue who the guy is we'd be getting in return. I mean, for all he knew he could have been the greek T-Mac or something :rolleyes (I couldn't help myself).

The thing that gets me is that people are treating that trade idea like it was a "dump Mahinmi" thread when it was just a simple trade idea. Mahinmi is definitely looking like a very solid prospect for the future, but the level of dick sucking on this guy is greater than even the vaunted James White! of yesteryear.

I'm still not sure how much Mahinmi will help us this year, but he definitely looks like he'll help us at some point. But that hardly means he isn't tradeable.

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:tu
Yeah I like Thabo a lot too but I just find us thiner in the frontcourt than on the wings. The key question in your statement being can Ian provide help now. He sure can help us but we need to win in the next two years.
The other thing to bear in mind is Splitter's situation. If the staff clearly know that he ain't coming next year keeping Ian is a better option.

Ian mihamommy isn't a bad player.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by __JaG__

Bonner's only 29...i'm sure he's got 7-8 good years left in him....

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:lol God HELP us

Thabeet's not the kind of player who is going to match up statistically to his opponents. He has been "outplayed" by almost every center he has faced this summer, the whole time putting up unimpressive numbers... but he has also been the defensive foundation for a team that went 5-0. I was impressed by Mahinmi's aggressiveness, which seems to make an appearance every other game. In game one of the summer league, his first after a very long time off, he looked uninterested, followed by game two where he looked great. In the game before yesterday's, he grabbed one rebound in an uninspired effort... he still looks very good for a guy picked at the end of the draft's first round, but his wildly uneven effort from game to game is mystifying to me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by timvp

Mahinmi outplays a fellow 22-year-old center prospect who was the 2nd overall selection in the most recent draft. Mahinmi sucks! Waive him immediately! I'm sick of the Spurs wasting 8 years on him! They could have had Dwight Howard!

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Agreed, well put:lol

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Originally Posted by SpursNextRomanEmpire

__JaG__... that lineup at the bottom of your profile looks absolutely beautiful..

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A certain readhead is missing???????:downspin:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by __JaG__

Bonner's only 29...i'm sure he's got 7-8 good years left in him....

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As long as he isn't a Spur a year from now.