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Good stuff. I watched some highlights from Saturday's game and definitely liked what I saw. Really hoping these guys can contribute in the next couple seasons. We are going to need it.
http://espn.go.com/blog/san-antonio-...derson-simmons
From Becky:
For those who were hoping to see Anderson and Simmons sent home and other players being featured, it's unlikely to happen:"It's not so much about defending the le," Hammon explained. "We're gonna go in there, and we're gonna try to win. But the main thing is our guys get better, we don't get injured. For me, I need that work of managing that game, holding that clipboard, calling timeouts, dialoguing with these guys."
This to me sounds like Pop will look at the two of them to step up their games and take more significant roles for the team. Although a lot of fans have pitted them against each other and we all have our favorite, as I suspected they play better as a tandem and have undeniable chemistry. By now, Kyle and Simmons have developed together for 2 years. You can cry if you want to. Kyle and JSimms will play a lot more and be more important for the bench this season.Based on the team's moves thus far in free agency, it's become increasingly clear the Spurs expect to ramp up the minutes for Anderson and Simmons as the club scours the roster for an infusion of youth and athleticism on its aging bench, which has been decimated by recent losses of David West, Boris Diaw andBoban Marjanovic among others.
The Spurs asked Anderson and Simmons to attend three-hour sessions (2 hours and 20 minutes are dedicated to on-court work), four days per week (Monday through Thursday) at the team's facilities over the summer, and both have even voluntarily kicked up those sessions to five, and sometimes six days per week.
What Kyle said:
For Simmons:"It's a bunch of things, really [I'm working to improve]. I would say shooting is a big focal point, getting stronger, playing longer stretches of minutes. I'm not sure. There's a bunch of things we're working on."
I definitely noticed in the one game Simmons went off scoring that he was hitting the midrange jumpshot much better than I ever saw him do that.He's working to tweak his jumper by keeping the ball away from his face, which in turn will result in him being "taller" upon release. He stated of himself and Anderson: "We've put in a lot of work this summer because we're both looking to improve our games in as many areas as we can," Simmons said.
A reason why we see perhaps too much iso or specific sets or plays for them:
The guys being featured are for sure being evaluated.For the Spurs, summer league isn't so much about the overall team dynamic as much as individual improvement for the players they'd like to keep close tabs on during the games. The Spurs typically go into compe ion focused on a just few key players, and they're looking for each of those players to meet specific criteria.
What Becky said of both guys:
"This is a great experience for them. They get out on the court, and they're going against quality compe ion in an organized setting. It's not like you're just playing pickup in the summer time. This is a great setting for them to be in situations like this. That's how you build confidence in them, and that's how coaches get confidence in them, too. If they see that putting Kyle in as a decision maker at the end of the game is a good option for us… there's different things that we're always trying to pick up, learn on and also stretch them mentally, and get them better as well as work on their individual game."
Good stuff. I watched some highlights from Saturday's game and definitely liked what I saw. Really hoping these guys can contribute in the next couple seasons. We are going to need it.
Sorry but Simmons is trash.
Exciting stuff.
Good find!
Looks like Spurs are going to take seriously their 'rebuilding'.
It is indeed tough because Spurs are expected to compete at the elite level.
LOL... probably not the best time to talk about how SL is improving those two guys. Last night it turned them into junior college players.
All jokes aside, thanks for posting. It explains a lot of what the Spurs are thinking. And I really like knowing that they are putting those two guys through dedicated training sessions this summer, and that they are embracing it. That's exactly what I had hoped they would do with Boban, had he stayed. If it elevates KA and Simmons' games, that's a big plus for this season.
Sometimes when an athlete is in the middle of working on his/her game, things become awkward and mechanical, until the adjustments become second nature. I'm going to tell myself that's what we saw last night from those two.
Great OP. Really adds perspective.
Simmons hasn't looked great in SL and Anderson has had bad moments, especially jumping to make passes with nowhere to go. But they'll be able to eat minutes this year. I don't have strong faith that Simmons will improve too much - although this is the largest concentration of coaching he's received in his life - but he still is useful.
I've got a bad feeling about the bench this year.
I feel like it's going to be fast and furious. I'm thinking something like the Neal/Manu/Jack/Bonner/Splitter days. Only concern is that Manu/Simmons/Anderson is still an awkward fit (not too different than Murray/Simmons/Anderson in the summer league). Would rather see a shooter in place of one of those guys.
Nice analysis as usual.
Good synopsis OP, I really like both players. Hopefully in the upcoming season the Spurs don't sign any washed up vets who steal their minutes and still need to learn the system.
Good to hear that they are working on tweaking Simmons game.
These two players apparently have a license to 'ball-hog' in summer league. Everyone else really just needs to play their role. That's the problem with Murray, he thinks he needs to come in and show case his game. That's why he paid insurance to play in SL. He is desperate to show off, unfortunately, despite all his obvious talents, he needs a couple of years of seasoning in D-league. There's a reason why teams like the 76ers with loads of lottery pick talent lose so many games. It takes more than talent to play an efficient game.... Spurs are all about efficiency.
He bought insurance in order to show off? Dude, maybe you should sit out for a little while.
I miss the Mills-Manu-Belinelli-Diaw-Baynes days
Me too. There's so many question marks.
Can Mills regain his shot?
Can Manu lead the bench unit again?
Hoping Anderson and Simmons take the next step is frightening.
Dedmon will bring much needed energy and defense but can he stay out of foul trouble?
Obviously rooting for those guys to pull it together but if not I hope Bertans and/or Murray maybe force their way into that unit.
Random thoughts:
How about an experiment where the two of them feature in the SL:
So, Gasol and Lamarcus, then Leonard, Simmons and Anderson at point.....
why not??
----------------------------------------------------------------------
the bench would be deadly:
Parker, Manu and Green as bench core, with various templates .....
hows that??
just an opinion, dont get mad at me guys, haha
Good stuff. Hope they can contribute. We will need it.
How close can KA get to becoming new Manu? In passing at least.
I really think KA needs to start at PG because of his passing. Starting units got no passing, which really, everyone needs to improve upon. Dont see the advantage of Simmons over Green though. We need Greens 3 pt shooting.
The bench is the big question mark going into the season for sure.
I'm not a big fan of KA or Simmons. I think they are both fringe NBA players at this point and we are going to count on them a lot this year. Manu is a year older and cannot make up for the deficiencies of the bench unit anymore. Patty is solid but he can be very streaky and really is an undersized SG.
Bertans/Dedmon/Murray etc are all unknowns. So if KA and Simmons don't make the leap this year until legitimate 6th/7th men, then it's going to be a long year for the bench. (Assuming one of the unknowns is not able to jump into those rules if KA/Simmons fail).
I'm agreeing. I see this bench as our worst in a long time. Silver lining: we'll get a lot of practice trying to win close games now.
I think Diaw is a better comparison. The thing with Anderson is aggressiveness. He has it in summer league but not with the big club yet.
Simmons has hope. Kyle is just worthless, even though he seems like a good guy, as a player, I'm sorry. ..worthless. just watch okc series.
Simmons and Kyle dribble deep into the teeth of the defense over and over and over. It's maddening to watch. I can't see how that's by design.
Kyle's jumper looked like it had improved in Utah. After three more games, I'm thinking that beautiful three he hit in the first game was just a fluke. He's so crafty and aware of what's going on that it makes up for a lot of flaws in his game, but that just makes him a placeholder on the big team, which doesn't really do if the other team starts scoring points as soon as he comes into the game.
Simmons can't shoot, he can't defend, he can't pass, he can't make good decisions. Frankly he doesn't look like an NBA player at this point, which is really disappointing.
If anything you have it backwards. So I guess that's impressive.
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