Quick Thoughts - 2015 Summer League Quarterfinals (Spurs vs. Celtics)

http://i.imgur.com/Ola3H4I.jpg

-It was another rock solid game for Kyle Anderson. What continues to impress is his decision-making and patience on the offensive end. Given the number of touches he had in this hectic affair, it's amazing that Anderson finished without a turnover. When he takes his time, utilizes his height advantage and avoids crowds, he has been nearly unstoppable in Vegas. I didn't think he was as good on defense as he was the previous two or three games but he helped out by crashing the boards. All in all, Anderson is playing about as well as could have been imagined heading into Vegas.

-Jonathon Simmons continues to be the lightning bolt that supercharges this summer league squad. While he had a few mental errors against the Celtics, he was yet again very effective. His ability to drive to the hoop and finish has been breathtakingly good as of late. On top of that, when he gets in trouble, he has proven to be a really good passer. On defense, he was active and disruptive yet again. Like Anderson, Simmons is playing as well as a Spurs fan could have reasonably expected heading into Vegas.

-Man, Jarell Eddie is such a conundrum. He can't defend. He has the worst hands I've ever seen on a perimeter player. He's painfully unathletic in most every situation. But the man can shoot the damn basketball. He is really good at using screens to get open, he sets his feet really fast and his release has to be measured in milliseconds. Live I've said previously, I hope he gets invited to training camp. He's about as one-dimensional as one-dimensional shooters get but that one dimension could really be useful on the big boy team.

-I thought this was Cady Lalanne's best game. He's played under control, exhibited physicality, cleaned up on the glass and altered shots in the lane. He needs a lot of polish but he looks like a good roll of the dice at the end of the second round. I still don't think he's worth a roster spot but hopefully the Spurs can retain his rights until next summer at least.

-Even before his game-winner, I thought Shannon Scott was playing really well. He was a beast on the defensive end and was in the middle of just about every loose ball situation when he was on the court. Scott can't dribble that well and I haven't seen any playmaking skills from him but he plays hard – can't deny him that. He'd be worth a spot on Austin to see if he can turn into Reggie Geary 2.0.

-Hey, Youssou Ndoye is pretty decent. He has very good size and isn't a total stiff on offense. His hands look decent and his touch is somewhat impressive. On defense, he's not afraid to bang.

-If he can get in great shape, Brandon Davies has a strong chance to make it in the NBA. His skill-set is rather complete for a power forward.

-I was expecting more out of Will Cherry in Vegas. He continues to show very little.

-Neither Darion Atkins nor Treveon Graham played particularly well today but they've shown enough flashes to be worthy of an Austin signing.

-Becky Hammon can coach. Once again, her rotations made a lot of sense and the playcalling was strong. It's pretty amazing this current Spurs summer league team has made it this far in the tournament considering they only have two players on the team who were drafted. The Celtics team they just beat, for example, had six draft picks. Well done, coach.

Thank you for the great write up!

Thank

Wish we would have seen LJC and Bretans play more this summer league.

:tu

Thanks for write up, I'm gonna watch the re-run in a couple of hours.

Thanks..I haven't caught any of the games, but every time I look at the box score, Simmons has a nice game:lol..I keep expecting a dud, but doesn't seem like it's going to happen, which is pretty surprising, inconsistency is generally the biggest problem for players at this level, even in SL..

Thanks for the write up!

Kyle has shown he can play, but like a lot of people has said, he should mold his body and position similar to Diaw, He will never be able to defend small forwards with his lateral quickness.
Impressed with Simmons, even in a sort of bad game for him, he still produced very well, but it seems he's always in foul trouble.
If we could live with Neal and his defense in the past, We could live with Eddie, and he is not so unpredictable with his shoot like Neal. So I think he deserves like you said at least a training camp invite.

Thanks for the write up TIMVP, I sure hope you continue during the regular season. Hopefully the board can be reclaimed by real Spurs fans instead of the idiots that have done their best to ruin it the past couple of years.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Escawun3

Thanks for the write up!

Kyle has shown he can play, but like a lot of people has said, he should mold his body and position similar to Diaw, He will never be able to defend small forwards with his lateral quickness.
Impressed with Simmons, even in a sort of bad game for him, he still produced very well, but it seems he's always in foul trouble.
If we could live with Neal and his defense in the past, We could live with Eddie, and he is not so unpredictable with his shoot like Neal. So I think he deserves like you said at least a training camp invite.

---

I haven't watched him, can he create his own shot?

Living with all of Neal's flaws was much easier, considering he was probably the 3rd best player on the Spurs at creating his own shot(behind Parker and Ginobili), at the time..

I wasn't really on the Eddie bandwagon but he has a lightning quick release. He wouldn't be a bad guy to put on our bench and hope his game rounds out a little bit. With the way the league has fell in love with the 3 ball, he will make some NBA roster if it isn't ours.

Eddie has horrible mechanics. He's always off balance and kicks his right leg out wide. It's ugly

Becky almost pulled a Boylen there at the end of the game, benching Simmons nearly the whole 4th quarter. Other than that she's done a good job especially with her plays coming out of timeouts.

Kyle Anderson, that dude can draw fouls with the best of them. I'd prefer if he stayed at his position just for the fact that he's good enough to take advantage of his size. (like he did against Portland last year)

I put this in the game thread. But Jarell Eddie seems very similar to RJ Hunter who a lot of people wanted us to draft. Maybe that is why we didn't. Their game and size is very similar. And both are very good shooters with quick releases.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheGreatYacht

Becky almost pulled a Boylen there at the end of the game, benching Simmons nearly the whole 4th quarter. Other than that she's done a good job especially with her plays coming out of timeouts.

Kyle Anderson, that dude can draw fouls with the best of them. I'd prefer if he stayed at his position just for the fact that he's good enough to take advantage of his size. (like he did against Portland last year)

---

It might have been done on purpose to see how other guys will react. This is SUMMER league, not the regular season NBA. They are evaluating players. Simmons has already showed himself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by palangi

It might have been done on purpose to see how other guys will react. This is SUMMER league, not the regular season NBA. They are evaluating players. Simmons has already showed himself.

---

You have a better chance at evaluating talent if you keep playing games, tbh. Although I do think Blackshear should be getting more minutes, Graham's minutes.

Thanks man. Keep missing all these games simce they are played in the afternoon, they are always early morning games here. Happy to hear KA and Simmons game keep on improving. Hope these 2 can be the backups of whi and dg in the long run. Im definitely on the simmons bandwaggon with the 1 game Ive watched.him play :lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37

I haven't watched [Eddie], can he create his own shot?

---

No, not at all. He can't dribble with a defender in the area. Hell, catching the ball with a defender near him isn't automatic. Think homeless man's Dale Ellis but even more one-dimensional.

Dat stroke doe.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheGreatYacht

Becky almost pulled a Boylen there at the end of the game, benching Simmons nearly the whole 4th quarter. Other than that she's done a good job especially with her plays coming out of timeouts.

---

In Becky's defense, Simmons was waiting to check in for like three minutes before he got the chance.

What was impressive about Eddie was he drained shots off the dribble and while in motion. He's not just a set shooter. If the Spurs can improve his defense from atrocious to just sucks, he could be a net positive. At a minimum, his shot has earned him an invite.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mookie2001

Eddie has horrible mechanics. He's always off balance and kicks his right leg out wide. It's ugly

---

That leg kick drew a couple fouls, tbh.

Does Eddie could be a kyle korver type? They have similar shooting stroke...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Spurs9

Wish we would have seen LJC and Bretans play more this summer league.

---

Bertans, anyways. LJC struggled too much when he was getting minutes.

One reason our summer league team has been so successful is the fact that we played in the Utah Summer League. Though the rosters aren't exactly the same, that allowed our guys three extra games to play together and build chemistry.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by timvp

In Becky's defense, Simmons was waiting to check in for like three minutes before he got the chance.

---

Yeah he was there for a couple of minutes and I don't blame her for not calling a timeout because the team kept scoring IIRC. Hopefully there's an earlier stoppage next game to get Jonathon in, because Graham is pretty terrible tbh.

Thanks for the write up.

Eddie can shoot but that's it. He's the guy you don't want to go against at Dave and Busters basketball shooting game but put him on a court with other players and he will hit shots, he just doesn't do anything else.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37

I haven't watched him, can he create his own shot?

Living with all of Neal's flaws was much easier, considering he was probably the 3rd best player on the Spurs at creating his own shot(behind Parker and Ginobili), at the time..

---

i've watched most of the Vegas games. Eddie makes Neal look like Kawhi on defense, and Green look like Manu creating. He's literally terrible at everything but catch and shoot. I think even calling him a one way player would be an overstatement, since his offensive skillset is limited to only catch and shoot.

Thanks for the write up as always.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Escawun3

If we could live with Neal and his defense in the past, We could live with Eddie, and he is not so unpredictable with his shoot like Neal. So I think he deserves like you said at least a training camp invite.

---

I really don't understand why everyone seems to think Neal was some charity project on the Spurs part. He was an over-achiever for certain - but the guy was clutch and brought a lot to the floor. Most people's issues with him stem from the fact that he was thrust into a PG role for which he really wasn't suited. That and his defense was quite poor (and that wasn't helped by the fact that he often played with Dejuan Blair a lot either). But he was a 42% 3-point shooter his first two years here. Thats not an unpredictable "shoot" at all. For a summer league find that played on a bare minimum deal for 3 solid years he was amazing. On today's Spurs he might have been a 13th or 14th man, but at the time he was an asset for a team that seriously lacked shooting.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darkwaters

I really don't understand why everyone seems to think Neal was some charity project on the Spurs part. He was an over-achiever for certain - but the guy was clutch and brought a lot to the floor. Most people's issues with him stem from the fact that he was thrust into a PG role for which he really wasn't suited. That and his defense was quite poor (and that wasn't helped by the fact that he often played with Dejuan Blair a lot either). But he was a 42% 3-point shooter his first two years here. Thats not an unpredictable "shoot" at all. For a summer league find that played on a bare minimum deal for 3 solid years he was amazing. On today's Spurs he might have been a 13th or 14th man, but at the time he was an asset for a team that seriously lacked shooting.

---

He was also able to create his own shot, unlike most spot shooters..in his best season with the Spurs(2012), only 42% of his shots were assisted, which was 2nd to Parker..a lot of people seem to have forgotten that aspect of his game..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darkwaters

I really don't understand why everyone seems to think Neal was some charity project on the Spurs part. He was an over-achiever for certain - but the guy was clutch and brought a lot to the floor. Most people's issues with him stem from the fact that he was thrust into a PG role for which he really wasn't suited. That and his defense was quite poor (and that wasn't helped by the fact that he often played with Dejuan Blair a lot either). But he was a 42% 3-point shooter his first two years here. Thats not an unpredictable "shoot" at all. For a summer league find that played on a bare minimum deal for 3 solid years he was amazing. On today's Spurs he might have been a 13th or 14th man, but at the time he was an asset for a team that seriously lacked shooting.

---

That is very well said. He was certainly a value for what we paid him, and useful for a team that was not as deep at the time. He also had that big game 3 against the Heat in his final year. Certainly a good find. He is damned a bit, because Danny Green emerged soon after and not only was as good a shooter, but an infinitely better defender.

As far as Eddie, I think he's certainly worth a training camp invite, but I think he's a long shot to make the team. He might have made the 2010 Spurs, not the 2015 ones.

Thanx again for the great write-up...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37

He was also able to create his own shot, unlike most spot shooters..in his best season with the Spurs(2012), only 42% of his shots were assisted, which was 2nd to Parker..a lot of people seem to have forgotten that aspect of his game..

---

Gary Neal was the shit. Loved that guy.
Clutch scoring guard. Miss him and always wish him the best.

One thing that you know translates to the next level for Kyle is that rebounding. Dude combines the size and length with excellent anticipation and timing. Probably his most unheralded skill tbqh.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darkwaters

I really don't understand why everyone seems to think Neal was some charity project on the Spurs part. He was an over-achiever for certain - but the guy was clutch and brought a lot to the floor. Most people's issues with him stem from the fact that he was thrust into a PG role for which he really wasn't suited. That and his defense was quite poor (and that wasn't helped by the fact that he often played with Dejuan Blair a lot either). But he was a 42% 3-point shooter his first two years here. Thats not an unpredictable "shoot" at all. For a summer league find that played on a bare minimum deal for 3 solid years he was amazing. On today's Spurs he might have been a 13th or 14th man, but at the time he was an asset for a team that seriously lacked shooting.

---

Yeah you’re right about his offense, what I mean with unpredictable shoot is that he took shoots too quickly without a play, not only 3’s. Don´t get me wrong I loved Neal, but is like the ex girl friend who dump you and you only remember the good things . The thing is that he wasn´t bad on defense, he was terrible, that’s why I said if we could live with his bad defense, we could give Eddie a chance. Personally I prefer Rasual Butler, I watched some games of Wahington last year, and he still plays very well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Escawun3

Yeah you’re right about his offense, what I mean with unpredictable shoot is that he took shoots too quickly without a play, not only 3’s. Don´t get me wrong I loved Neal, but is like the ex girl friend who dump you and you only remember the good things . The thing is that he wasn´t bad on defense, he was terrible, that’s why I said if we could live with his bad defense, we could give Eddie a chance. Personally I prefer Rasual Butler, I watched some games of Wahington last year, and he still plays very well.

---

Do you mean his shot selection? If so, I agree... He was a gunner that never met a shot he didn't like and he's better suited to be more of a spot up shooter instead.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by palangi

I put this in the game thread. But Jarell Eddie seems very similar to RJ Hunter who a lot of people wanted us to draft. Maybe that is why we didn't. Their game and size is very similar. And both are very good shooters with quick releases.

---

RJ had more defensive and facilitating plays in that game than Eddie has shown his entire time in Vegas. Eddie is a gunner, but I just don't know he's an NBA player at the moment.

Thanks for the Thoughts as usual. Looking forward to today's game. Will be interesting who gets to go to training camp, but looks like KA and Simmons are the only ones getting a true shot for good reasons. Glad to see them both excelling.

Graham could be a Keith Bogans type...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kobyz

Graham could be a Keith Bogans type...

---

Agree on Graham. He could use a season in Austin, but he profiles well as a 3&D guy in the league. Needs more consistency on his jump shot, but I like his tools and effort.

Thanks for the writeup!

I really like the fire that Simmons brings and he definitely has some skills on defense and offense. That being said, it looked like he was playing a sagging zone on defense a lot the way he played so far off his man. While it helped clog the lane, he was leaving a man open on the perimeter and in the big leagues that guy is going to be a great 3pt shooter. Showed some nice athleticism on defense on a key block and his dropping off is strictly because he's trying to help out on defense.

On offense, his first inclination is to keep the ball and try to make something happen, ususally by driving. He has great body control and when he's seems to be covered up by defenders, he is often able to contort himself and use his left hand to get a shot off. He only passes the ball when he is hopelessly pinned under the basket and some of those passes looked to be very dangerous cross court or to the back perimeter--but he delivers them sharply and gets away with a lot of them so perhaps his court vision is better that it appears on TV.

Mentally, he made a big error at the end of the game with under 30 seconds to go, trying to drive against several defenders and he got blocked and they scored. A very un-Spurlike move since the smart move was to play out the time. But rookies will make mistakes in judgment and I doubt he'll be on the floor in real games in that situation.

I like him for a bench player and he'll be a fan favorite because of his energy. Reminds me of Patty when he first came to the Spurs in that regard. He wont hurt us if he plays a few minutes every game against the other team's bench.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kobyz

Does Eddie could be a kyle korver type? They have similar shooting stroke...

---

No, Korver is just better in virtually every way. He's at least active defensively, doesn't have poor hands (the catch aspect of the catch and shoot is something Eddie struggles with, especially if he's on the move). Korver can also put the ball on the floor a bit and is a good passer

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wildbill2u

I really like the fire that Simmons brings and he definitely has some skills on defense and offense. That being said, it looked like he was playing a sagging zone on defense a lot the way he played so far off his man. While it helped clog the lane, he was leaving a man open on the perimeter and in the big leagues that guy is going to be a great 3pt shooter. Showed some nice athleticism on defense on a key block and his dropping off is strictly because he's trying to help out on defense.

On offense, his first inclination is to keep the ball and try to make something happen, ususally by driving. He has great body control and when he's seems to be covered up by defenders, he is often able to contort himself and use his left hand to get a shot off. He only passes the ball when he is hopelessly pinned under the basket and some of those passes looked to be very dangerous cross court or to the back perimeter--but he delivers them sharply and gets away with a lot of them so perhaps his court vision is better that it appears on TV.

Mentally, he made a big error at the end of the game with under 30 seconds to go, trying to drive against several defenders and he got blocked and they scored. A very un-Spurlike move since the smart move was to play out the time. But rookies will make mistakes in judgment and I doubt he'll be on the floor in real games in that situation.

I like him for a bench player and he'll be a fan favorite because of his energy. Reminds me of Patty when he first came to the Spurs in that regard. He wont hurt us if he plays a few minutes every game against the other team's bench.

---

Nice write up:toast I agree he will be a Patty-esque energy guy off the bench. And I think Pop will iron out some of those mental mistakes he's making.

What to do with Jarrell Eddie? Obviously can shoot, no doubt about that. Not only can he shoot, he has a very fast release. Curry proved how valuable that can be.

So he can't do anything else? Is he just unskilled? Does he not have some level of athleticism? Does he not work hard enough? Is it an attitude issue?

A year ago, Simmons was a total nobody, can Eddie be a somebody with one more year under the Toros?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ceperez

What to do with Jarrell Eddie? Obviously can shoot, no doubt about that. Not only can he shoot, he has a very fast release. Curry proved how valuable that can be.

So he can't do anything else? Is he just unskilled? Does he not have some level of athleticism? Does he not work hard enough? Is it an attitude issue?

A year ago, Simmons was a total nobody, can Eddie be a somebody with one more year under the Toros?

---

Give him some camp money so he'll stay in Austin and see what happens. That's about the most that can be done.

Eddie is only 23, so he has some time. But shooting is usually the easiest thing to develop, so I don't think he has a ton of upside. He's just not very skilled or athletic. He's tall but not to the point that he could play inside. He'd be lucky to end up in Neal's class. If the Spurs end up cutting or trading Williams for a TE, I wouldn't mind Eddie hanging onto that last spot. But I wouldn't want that contract guaranteed. I think there are better 15-men prospects still unsigned.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chinook

Eddie is only 23, so he has some time. But shooting is usually the easiest thing to develop, so I don't think he has a ton of upside. He's just not very skilled or athletic. He's tall but not to the point that he could play inside. He'd be lucky to end up in Neal's class. If the Spurs end up cutting or trading Williams for a TE, I wouldn't mind Eddie hanging onto that last spot. But I wouldn't want that contract guaranteed. I think there are better 15-men prospects still unsigned.

---

Yes, shooting is teachable, but he's not just a shooter, he's a super shooter, his release is as fast as curry it seemed on one play last game, and he's hitting them at a VERY high %

Yeah, if shooting were so easily taught much more than 20 people would shoot over 40% from the arc in the NBA. I have never seen anyone develop that kind of release after joining the NBA, but maybe I missed something. Even if Eddie doesn't develop and just plays the way he did last season, he'll probably be called up again because his shooting is that good. I agree he won't be of any use to the Spurs if he doesn't develop though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shipupi

Yes, shooting is teachable, but he's not just a shooter, he's a super shooter, his release is as fast as curry it seemed on one play last game, and he's hitting them at a VERY high %

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChumpDumper

Yeah, if shooting were so easily taught much more than 20 people would shoot over 40% from the arc in the NBA. I have never seen anyone develop that kind of release after joining the NBA, but maybe I missed something. Even if Eddie doesn't develop and just plays the way he did last season, he'll probably be called up again because his shooting is that good. I agree he won't be of any use to the Spurs if he doesn't develop though.

---

I think you guys misinterpreted what I meant. I'm not saying Eddie's level of shooting was easy to obtain. What I am saying is that there is less hope of Eddie developing a broader game than there is to a non-shooter who checks the other boxes to develop a respectable jumper. So I have doubts that he's that great of a prospect simply because his path to being a well-rounded enough player is a lot harder than most.

Any way to catch a stream of the games? Especially internationally?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thiste

Any way to catch a stream of the games? Especially internationally?

---

Go to reddit and find the subreddit for nbastreams.... usually got some there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by steeledl

Go to reddit and find the subreddit for nbastreams.... usually got some there.

---

Thanks bro :toast