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I was wondering when you'd ask that.
Anyone know what's up with Bryan Davis and why he didn't get any run yesterday?
I was wondering when you'd ask that.
Always nice to know there's a sicker puppy than myself, timvp (I was going to stay up and catch the replay, but not so much -- not for this game at least).
One correction or something that seemed out of context:
Pop's comparison was in their smoothness and fluidity as athletes on the court. It was of a physical nature, not in the ease in which they score. At least that's what I heard from the couple times I watched the video.
Where's Bryan Davis?
He is already in Pop's doghouse for supplying Trill Clinton with inside information.
Just watched the Game (recorded it) and to my untrained eye, there were two players that might make it:
Temple and Neal.
Problem, they are a bit small. (You almost never get a good big from the young FA pool, they're given, every, every chance to make it before they're ever cut free and forced to scramble like these guys.)
Temple has more all around game than Neal and might actually be somewhat valuable on perimeter D -- but he may be a tweener.
Neal is a flat out reflexive jump shooter. A natural ala Jack. You can tell he won't choke when he comes in just to shoot (like some we know).
I'd like to see both those guys in SA and get some time.
Gee and Gist will never make it under Pop's regime, IMO. That's why we have the draft and FA -- for bigs.
You know with us realy needing a SF I was suprised that our team wasn't full of guys playing SF?
For anyone watching other summer leagues is their a player that is looking good at SF that is not yet drafted/signed?
Elijah Millsap SF
Edwin Ubiles SF 6'6 ...6'10 wingspan
Mindaugas Kuzminskas SF 6'9
Bojan......
Doesnt seem like we have too many people that can run the point or handle the ball very well now that temple is out, but i didnt watch it that closely
Gee isn't a big.
Down to one pretty much.
Bryan Davis was injured in practice prior to the game. The MRI was negative, but I don't know if he's going to get another chance.
just to put things in perspective - when point guards do not know the rest of their teammates, it is very probable that they will turn it over a LOT. just look at wall - the second coming of chris paul - 8 turnovers in his first game, granted that he also had 8 assists. turnovers are to be expected.
Finally got around to watching this game this morning (sorry if I tend to be a bit behind during this entire summer league). Here are a few thoughts from my end:
Garrett Temple looked really good before his injury. He's very confident on both ends of the court, with a comfortable dribble bringing the ball up, and aggressive defense against opposing point guards, consistently meeting his man at half court. His size is a real asset against other guards, and he uses his long arms to shoot over players and get frequent steals and even occasional blocks. For a while he seemed like the most NBA-ready player on the court, and that included the athletic Wesley Johnson.
The only thing Temple really struggled with in my mind was pass selection. Like many young guys, he was far too aggressive with his passing, and tried to thread the needle on impossible or near-impossible plays. Typically when guys do things like this it's only 10% physical and 90% mental. Temple's passing mechanics look good and I've seen him make some nice passes in the past, but he needs to learn which passes are worth taking the risk on, and which ones are just not worth it when you start playing against superior athletes with freakishly long wing spans.
I agree with timvp that the biggest disappointment about his injury is that he could use a lot more experience running the point. However, he reminds me a lot of George Hill in that he definitely seems to have the intelligence and poise to learn the PG position. Like Hill, the question is whether he will have that combo-guard mentality on the offensive end his entire career. Only time will tell, but expect Temple to be playing a lot of 1 in the early pre-season games.
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Alonzo Gee has a lot of talent and athleticism in his 6-foot-6 frame, but for me that was really overshadowed by one thing: his ballhogging in the first half. He reminded me of Gerald Green in Utah a couple summers ago, looking to shoot every single time he touched the ball. This led him to over-drive and put himself in bad situations at times. In the second half he was much more of a team player and passed the ball frequently. I couldn't tell you if someone talked to him, he realized it himself, or if he was just tired from an active first half, but there was a marked difference.
In all honestly, the Spurs probably need Gee to be a blend of his first and second halves in this game. His aggression, especially paired with his athleticism and knack for scoring, can be a great asset. To jump to the next level, Gee needs to recognize where opportunities are, and where they are not. He also showed both physical and quick defense at times, something I'm sure the Spurs were pleased to see, and want to see more of.
While Gee still has a lot of opportunities in the summer league to show us what he's made of, in the end I think it will come down to Hairston vs. Gee, which may be a battle of polish vs. athleticism. While I like Gee's tools and think he has a lot of potential, I think in the long run he'll likely get caught up in the roster-space numbers game, and lose out to Hairston's experience.
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Despite James Gist's general lack of impact on the offensive side, I thought he generally had a very solid game. He displayed what we've come to expect from Gist on a good day: athletic blocks and rebounding. While he's never returned to that frantic rebounding style he displayed in his first summer league, he still has very beneficial length and a nose for the ball that helps him on the glass.
As timvp pointed out, Gist is really a man without a position on the offensive side. He knows he has to really display some perimeter game if he's going to make it on the Spurs with his current frame/weight, but he's always been much more comfortable in the paint, and actually has some nice moves within 10 feet of the basket when he gets the ball there.
As far as the possibility of making this Spurs roster, the only major asset Gist can rely on is his length. He's longer than any of the other 3/4s on this roster, and might fill a niche there defensively, despite the fact that he doesn't have a lot of bulk to work with. At this point, I think the Spurs only have two realistic options concerning Gist:
a.) Fully take him under your wing, taking responsibility for his development in training camp, practices, and/or in Austin. That's the only way I can see Gist developing a good perimeter game and becoming a true 3/4.
b.) Cut him loose and let him seek his own fortune on other teams who might have use for a thin but athletic 4 who can roam, block shots, and run the floor.
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Curtis Jerrells was seriously overshadowed by Garrett Temple in this game, but I thought he showed some good attributes. He's obviously much smaller than Temple, which puts him at a disadvantage against bigger players, but he's also quicker, which helps him on both ends of the court. I'll have to disagree with timvp a little bit and say that I was pleasantly surprised with Jerrells' passing in this game. He has a nice touch on the ball, and is a willing passer for someone trying to convert to PG.
While Jerrells will certainly get a much larger opportunity with Temple being out, his stock still took a hit in this game with Temple playing so well. I think there's only one roster spot available for Temple/Jerrells, and I think Jerrells only major chance at this point is to absoultely shine in summer league, and convince the staff that he's more of a pure point than Temple. I wish him well, but it will be a tough task.
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Gary Neal was the only non-roster player for the Spurs who really stood out in this game, and that's no surprise given his pedigree. It will be interesting to see what the Spurs intentions are with Neal and what his intentions are with the NBA. In his first game, he showed an excellent shooting touch and an aggressive mentality. At 6'4", he's definitely a 2, but he's got some strength to him and doesn't seem to back down from anyone.
Hopefully Neal will get more playing time in future games. If the Spurs miss out on Raja Bell, I think they'll take a long look at Neal to possibly fill that hard-nosed SG role. If the Spurs don't have room for him, look for another team to put him on a training camp roster at the very least.
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As a whole, the team played with defensive intensity typical of a Spurs team, trapping on picks and letting their big men protect the rim. They also got out and ran, outscoring the Timberwolves by quite a bit on fast break points. While the fast break mentality is very common in summer league, if a couple of these guys make the 12-man roster, you have to wonder if Pop might let his youth go off to the races once in a while.
Great read lurker23
thanks
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Gary Neal situation: a couple euro team are looking for him, and euro regular season will start usually in Oct so...no time for training camp for him if he's not sure about a shot in NBA. I could see him back to Europe after SL.
Thanks for the update. Any idea what kind of salaries he's looking at in Europe? Just curious if someone would have to throw a fully guaranteed contract at him, or if someone could get him by only guaranteeing $100,000. I assume the former, considering the roles he played on high level European teams last year.
Neal was impressive his first game. Would like to see him get some more minutes.
I can tell u, Neal should pick up 300k/year in europe, maybe something more.
I meant to mention in my synopsis that some of Gee's aggressiveness/ballhogging is entirely understandable. This is his big chance (as it is for several players on this team), and pressing a little bit and trying to impress is simply human nature.
What?? No Lomars takes?
Thanks for the recap timvp and lurker, I checked the boxscore and video highlights from the 2nd game, Gee seems to have played much better, although there was not much defense going on on Atlanta's side... Apparently he scored a few times on the fast break so that looks like a clear improvement compared to game 1.
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