Game Blog: Spurs vs. Lakers - Summer League Game 2

It's always a good thing when the Spurs beat the Lakers -- even in summer league. Unfortunately, this year won't be a challenge because the Lakers suck on a historic level. L.A. is 0-3 in summer league with their three losses coming by a combined 102 points. Their last game was a 50-point loss at the hands of the Heat, which went down as the worst loss in summer league history.

Needless to say, the Lakers prospects have been horrible. Darius Morris, Andrew Goudelock, Darius Johnson-Odom and Christian Eyenga -- arguably their four best players -- are all shooting under 28% from the field. Robert Sacre, the 60th pick in the 2012 draft (the selection after the Spurs went with Marcus Denmon), is also on the team but hasn't been impressive thus far. In fact, in the Heat blowout, the seven-footer had one rebound in 32 minutes.

If you want to tune in to the Spurs beating the Lakers, you can watch on NBA TV. It's the only Spurs game of summer league that will be broadcast live. The game starts at 5:30 PM CST.

For the Spurs, the most interesting aspect will likely be who ends up playing. Will Alexis Ajinca get a shot? Will Ryan Richards get a longer look? Will the charity minutes for Luke Zeller go away? Additionally, it'll be interesting to see if Cory Joseph can prove the success he had in the first summer league game wasn't a fluke.

Great LJ, ya jinx'd us.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Will Alexis Ajinca get a shot? Will Ryan Richards get a longer look? Will the charity minutes for Luke Zeller go away? Additionally, it'll be interesting to see if Cory Joseph can prove the success he had in the first summer league game wasn't a fluke.

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I canceled all my plans just to witness the unfolding of these cosmic events. :toast

I want Denmon to outplay Sacre.

my only interest this summer is Richards, always thought he has the tools to succeed in the Spurs system. the spurs organization really needs some players that can rebound and get second chances for the grizzled ones.

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Originally Posted by Drom John

I want Denmon to outplay Sacre.

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Honestly, I'm as happy with JaMychal Green as Sacre, despite the fact that Green didn't look very good in the first game. Green is the guy we should be comparing with Sacre, and we got to bring him in without spending a pick.

That said, I definitely hope Denmon rebounds and has a good game. I like him as a prospect, the first game notwithstanding.

calling it Leonard-30 points or more.

Leonard is certainly capable of dropping 30, but I would rather see some of the other guys get some more burn tonight.

We're fully aware of Leonard's abilities, and so is the Spurs staff. Now we should get to see how some of the wild cards (Denmon, Green, Richards) play out.

And the less said about Zeller, the better.

true. Still needs those reps tho.

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Originally Posted by CitizenDwayne

Leonard is certainly capable of dropping 30, but I would rather see some of the other guys get some more burn tonight.

We're fully aware of Leonard's abilities, and so is the Spurs staff.

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But we're not. The Hawks game was his first chance since he joined the Spurs to really get a chance to try and create with the ball in his hands -- it's not something he got a chance to do in the NBA last year, where his role was D-and-3 plus rebounding.

same starting line up and we get Brent Barry for commentator!!!

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Originally Posted by ace3g

same starting line up and we get Brent Barry for commentator!!!

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Amazing! One of my favorites.

Fuck Zeller!! I have had three acl surgeries and Im sure I ball more than him

apparently RJ is there watching the game

zeller :idiot

Ajinca time

monster dunk by Kawhi

Joseph plays great help D.

Zeller should not see the floor again.

live boxscore: http://www.nba.com/summer-league/gam.../gameinfo.html

Ajinca still huge. Zeller still sucks.

With the OP, I was testing whether it's possible to jinx a summer league game. Maybe it is possible :lol

I jinxed Kawhi

like others have said, looks like Ajinca wants to stay around the perimeter (he had a chance on fast break to roll to the basket and he didn't).

Mik:lol Br:lolwn

lets see some Richards.

Ajinca showing a bit more effort on D than usual. His mobility is also pretty good for such a huge guy.

I wonder when Vaughn is going to figure out the Spurs suck at the beginning of halves because Zeller doesn't belong on a basketball court . . .

Denmon for 3

Zeller should just give the fuck up already. You fucking suck, quit stealing minutes from legit prospects.

nice drive and kick from joseph, good stroke by denmon for three

Joseph split the hedge quite nicely on that drive and kick to Denmon.

Beautiful euro step by Leonard.

Damn Kawhi :tu

euro step from kawhi :wow

He was doing that last year as well, Manu taught him well

"Lots of practice with Manu helps" on Leonard's eurostep - Barry :lol

not sure if it is nerves but Denmon hasn't done a good job at the FT line first 2 games

Denmon's shot is ugly for a guy who wold have to make his living shooting the ball.

leonard on pace for 32

Richards

watta fkn joke are the bigs invited

I don't feel bad that hook got blocked because of how smooth the move looked.

Wow ... my eyes almost vomited watching Richards try to finish at the rim.

Jim Buss doing the work while daddy is at the craps table :lol

Kawhi beastin again

:lol Richards

lol that Fakers fan with his gold bandana and purple jacket

Poor Kobe, for the better part of 16 years, all he wanted was another player he trust with the basketball.

:wowkawhi coast-to-coast

Cory Joseph looks really comfortable out there. JA looks better too. I want to see if Richards can do anything..

Leonards handles and footwork look really good, dude is gonna be special.

Kawhi for 3!!!

domination

Kawhi again!!!

Cow-eye just beasting

yup. yup.

Pop looks bored.

lol Brent "RC isn't on the phone with other execs, he is ordering another pizza" lol

My goodness, KL. CJ just got worked over.

kawhi jumpers going this game

I think Leonard can score OK.

Brent giving some praise to Nando

Not impressed or surprised by Kawhi's ability to penetrate. The truth is he should be carving up D league competition. I am however, super impressed with Kawhi's ability to control the tempo, handle the ball and make plays at the point and the fact that he just nailed two big time jumpers to halt the Lakers momentum.

whi doing everything

CJ with a nice three. He is playing with a lot more confidence.

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Originally Posted by ace3g

lol Brent "RC isn't on the phone with other execs, he is ordering another pizza" lol

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Yeah I got a good laugh out of that too. :lol

Is it me or CJ's defense has not been that tight?

CJ with his patent, penetrate step back jumper

Should Leonard play all the summer league games or sit out the last one or two?

Nice CJ

This Leonard kid isn't that bad. :hat

Prob sit Leonard on the b2b game.

lol interviewing Leonard.

Some thoughts:

-Kawhi's a beast. If his outside jumper is dropping, it's game over.

-Still impressed with Joseph. Showing good explosion. Good penetration. Willing passer. When he shoots, it looks so much better than last season. Props CJ for the stunning improvements :tu

-James Anderson playing much better. Unfortunately, I see no explosion. Without explosion and an iffy outside stroke, he's not an NBA player.

-Denmon better but it's a stretch to imagine him as a SG.

-Ajinca moves well but he didn't make an impact in the first half.

-Richards still moving well but he showed some softness in these minutes. He's also painfully raw.

Ajinça was pathetic and it looks like he didn't even want to be on the court.

So far Kawhi, CJ, Dawson, and Wilkerson are the only ones I've been impressed with through 1 1/2 games.

First Half
Started this in the middle of the 2nd I think. By all means, I should be studying, but this is more fun.FTIW
Richards
-Richards bad finish trying to go top shelf, gets rebound does a nice hook, gets blocked. So RAW
-displays good athleticism on boards, too weak and loses control of board.
Joseph
-telling ajinca where to be on D. leading on the court
-Good help D
-showing 3 pt range on assist from leonard with his man playing decent close out D
-Good pull up to end QTR.
Kawhi
-not playing hard D, probably to avoid injury.
-trouble finishing at rim to start game off.
-gets blocked at top sometimes once inside.(happened sometimes during the season)
-His arms are so long that it gives the D enough time to recover when hes extending
-displaying Great athleticism- eurostep AT FULL SPEED
-nice crossover to raw spin move
-leonard nice 3 of the dribble, gave him self time to set up
-nice pull up at the 3 pt line…well on his way to the 30 points I predicted.
-assist to joseph for 3…similar to the kind of assists George hill got
Dawson-
Cant create own shot.
Anderson
-nice 3 that he didn’t think about
-playing the pick n roll well
-showed good vision again but Green was out of bounds when he received the pass.
Denmon
-EH

Kawhi is a beast.

Richards and Ajinça are really painful to watch, even by Summer League standards.

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Originally Posted by MR-Clutch

First Half
Started this in the middle of the 2nd I think. By all means, I should be studying, but this is more fun.FTIW
Richards
-Richards bad finish trying to go top shelf, gets rebound does a nice hook, gets blocked. So RAW
-displays good athleticism on boards, too weak and loses control of board.
Joseph
-telling ajinca where to be on D. leading on the court
-Good help D
-showing 3 pt range on assist from leonard with his man playing decent close out D
-Good pull up to end QTR.
Kawhi
-not playing hard D, probably to avoid injury.
-trouble finishing at rim to start game off.
-gets blocked at top sometimes once inside.(happened sometimes during the season)
-His arms are so long that it gives the D enough time to recover when hes extending
-displaying Great athleticism- eurostep AT FULL SPEED
-nice crossover to raw spin move
-leonard nice 3 of the dribble, gave him self time to set up
-nice pull up at the 3 pt line…well on his way to the 30 points I predicted.
-assist to joseph for 3…similar to the kind of assists George hill got
Dawson-
Cant create own shot.
Anderson
-nice 3 that he didn’t think about
-playing the pick n roll well
-showed good vision again but Green was out of bounds when he received the pass.
Denmon
-EH

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In other words, Richards hasn't progressed. I looks like his stint in Europe isn't helping him.

Now that Joseph doesn't play with a hunchback, he's actually a pretty decent athlete :tu

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Originally Posted by Libri

In other words, Richards hasn't progressed. I looks like his stint in Europe isn't helping him.

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Nope. Might as well bring him to the D-league. The podcast on 48minutes of hell talked about a way to bring him to the d league, without the spurs signing him.

Second time this game I've seen Joseph masterfully split that hedge/double. There's no question he's made progress from last year.

The Joseph from last year would come off a pick (often with poor spacing) and almost exclusively look to pass around the horn. No dribble penetration. No penetration via passing either.

whi is so sick :rollin

good decision by Joseph

Richards is green as hell. He needs to find a place where he can get a steady diet of good competition. Be it the D league or in a better league in Europe.

CJ so far looks like he is going provide some competiton for that backup PG spot next season.

Kawai is to good for these scrubs

Lol can he do that??

ajinca is a fkn scrub

Man, Ajinca is a lazy S.O.B.

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

ajinca is a fkn scrub

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No joke. We aren't gonna find a big man on that team

There appears to be a valid reason why every team passed on Ajinca.

You know who CJ reminds me of? Mike Dunleavy.

Ajinca gave no effort to rebound

Too bad the Spurs are set at SF, Wilkerson would be a nice cheap option to bring in.

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Originally Posted by ace3g

Too bad the Spurs are set at SF, Wilkerson would be a nice cheap option to bring in.

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Despite being undersized, Wilkerson is definitely a PF.

Denmon would help himself by making a wide open shot... just sayin...

Denmon would have to be something special to make it in the league at his height. Don't see it unfortunately.

Cory wheelin and dealin

Joseph's ability to run a pick-and-roll has taken about 28 steps forward since last season.

So who has the best chance for backup pg? Cj, Neal, mills?

Ajinca the only guy on the squad with a negative +/- against the Laker scrubs. :lol