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This guy seems to have made a lot of progress. Good defense + willingness to improve go a long way in my book. Do you think he has the potential to be the 3rd-string PG for the Spurs? Or is he still too far behind for that?
Going up against a much more talented Lakers squad that features a number of NBA-ready players, the injury depleted Spurs were able to stay undefeated with an 80-71 victory. San Antonio outscored L.A. 23-12 in the third quarter and never looked back.
Coming into summer league, the coaches talked about how winning wasn't important in these games. Instead, it was supposedly all about player development. But now that DeJuan Blair, James Anderson, Garrett Temple and James Gist are all sidelined with injuries, the victories are becoming rather impressive.
Alonzo Gee
31:54 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 turnovers
4-for-12 from the field, 0-for-2 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
Unfortunately, this game exposed a number of flaws in Alonzo Gee's game. The Lakers long, athletic swingmen gave Gee a lot of trouble. His dribble wasn't sturdy enough to get to the rim in the halfcourt setting and his shot was ineffective against the Lakers length. Looking back, Gee has seen offensive success almost exclusively in loose ball situations, on the break or against poor perimeter defenders (namely the rotting corpse of Luke Jackson of the Hawks). In the final two games, let's hope that Gee shows he can score against NBA-caliber players. Against the Lakers, he deserved credit for rebounding well, giving good effort on defense and playing with a lot more patience on the offensive end than we saw earlier in summer league.
Curtis Jerrells
29:14 minutes, 8 points, 4 assists
3-for-8 from the floor, 0-for-2 on three-pointers, 2-for-3 at the line
Curtis Jerrells seems to have two gears: either he's looking to score every time up the court or he's looking exclusively for the pass. Against Los Angeles, he was mostly in the second gear. Jerrells still has a long ways to go to learn how to remain a scoring threat while also running an offense. The good news is that Jerrells seems to be attempting to learn. On defense, Jerrells continues to impress. He can pressure the basketball and uses his strength and quickness to molest ballhandlers. If the Spurs opt not to invite Jerrells to training camp, he's done enough in Vegas to warrant an invite from another team.
Gary Neal
29:37 minutes, 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
8-for-16 from the field, 4-for-9 on three-pointers
Gary Neal continues to be an interesting prospect. He has a great stroke from distance -- both in catch-and-shoot situations and off the dribble. Neal had some issues dealing with the Lakers perimeter length in the first half but seemed to figure it out after halftime. I especially like how he runs the pick-and-roll. He takes his time, reads the defense and attacks like a miniature Brandon Roy. Since Neal is a star in Europe, he will likely ask for a sizable amount of guaranteed money to attend an NBA camp. Is he worth it? His offensive game has promise but his lack of height (6-foot-4) and his lack of athleticism makes the thought of guaranteeing him money a quandary.
Darryl Watkins
26:37 minutes, 10 points, 11 rebounds
3-for-7 from the field, 4-for-6 at the line
Early in the contest, Darryl Watkins wasn't moving well on defense and his bad hands were a liability on offense. As the game progressed, he found a groove and played a large role in the team's victory. He was dominant on the glass and his physicality limited the effectiveness of L.A.'s bigs. That said, Watkins didn't do himself any favors by entering summer league out of shape. His stamina is an issue and he's no longer much of a shot blocking presence.
Tyler Wilkerson
27:35 minutes, 20 points, 9 rebounds
9-for-13 from the field, 2-for-2 at the line
In the first two games, Tyler Wilkerson struggled mightily with his jumper. On Friday, Wilkerson's jumper was falling -- and that allowed the rest of his game to open up. He has a nice looking shot out to about 18-feet, which is mandatory for him to master since he's only 6-foot-8. Though he lacks quickness or mobility, Wilkerson is a powerful leaper who plays with a lot of energy around the rim on both ends. Overall, he definitely turned a few heads with his play against the Lakers. A job in Europe could be his if he wants it.
Dwayne Mitc
21:35 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 turnovers
2-for-4 from the floor, 6-for-7 at the line
Dwayne Mitc would be a legit NBA player if he were just a few inches taller. He's powerfully built, has no fear when attacking the rim, gets amazing elevation and has good touch around the hoop. On defense, he's good at playing the passing lanes and physically keeping the opposition from going where they want to go. But, at 6-foot-3, his skill-set just won't translate to the NBA.
Eric Dawson
10:31 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 blocks
0-for-3 from the floor
Since a quality first outing, Eric Dawson has all but disappeared. The D-League appears to be his ceiling.
Squeaky Johnson
13:31 minutes, 2 points, 2 assists, 1 steals
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
It was more of the same from Squeaky Johnson, whose best career path may be to remain the Jacque Vaughn of the Toros for the foreseeable future.
Josh Lomers
7:26 minutes, 4 fouls, 2 turnovers
0-for-1 from the field
Good guy. Bad basketball player.
This guy seems to have made a lot of progress. Good defense + willingness to improve go a long way in my book. Do you think he has the potential to be the 3rd-string PG for the Spurs? Or is he still too far behind for that?
If Spurs hadn't drafted Anderson, Neal chances would have been high to get a training camp invite if his contract needed to be fully guaranteed.
The problem is that Spurs have drafted Anderson: an offensive minded SG with a good shot. I don't see them spending money on Neal who will play the same role as Anderson.
Gary looked very impressive live. His shot was so good that you just expected everyone to go in. He really did not have a problem getting open or getting looks the majority of the time.
as anybody else annoyed that Ebanks is shooting a good percentage from three? I thought this kid was supposed to have no jumpshot? I mean, his college 3pt % was like 22 or something...
Ebanks was very, very good in SL. I like his game a lot.
If the Spurs don't some other NBA team will . . .
Neal was playing the passing lanes well in the first half too. One of the biggest knocks in the first few games was his defense, and I thought he did a fairly good job on this game with that couple of steals to initiate the fast break.
Can't Anderson be our Stephen Jackson and Neal be our Steve Kerr?
I figure we have 11 roster spot locks: Parker, Hill, Temple, Manu, Anderson, Duncan, Blair, Bonner, Splitter, Dice, Richards.
That leaves 4 spots left (and no SF) with the following options: Remainder of MLE, LLE, Jefferson, Gee, Hairston, Jerrels, Neal.
I'm assuming re-signing Jefferson and spending the rest of the MLE on another SF is a given. So that leaves 2 spots left from Gee, Hairston, Jerrels, Neal and LLE.
To me, it's Gee and Hairston that are too similar, and only one will survive there. Gee can get to the rim in an above average fashion. Neal can shoot in an above average fashion. Again Hairston is solid but I don't see his singular skill that is really above average.
If Neal keeps shooting the way he does, the last roster spot might come down to him or an LLE player.
One question because I always forget: if we assign some players to the Toros, does that free up their roster spot?
If the Spurs own their rights, it counts as a roster spot. Richards for example, even if playing in Austin, would count against the Spurs 15.
I agree with you that Spurs could keep only one of Hairston and Gee. Saying that, there isn't only the 15 roster players limit. There is also the 12 active roster limit.
Let's say Spurs 15 players roster is: Parker, Hill, Temple, Neal, Anderson, Hairston/Gee, Ginobili, Jefferson, vet SF (like James Jones), Duncan, Dice, Splitter, Blair, Bonner and Richards.
3 players needs to be put on the IL. Richards is a given but 2 players among Temple, Neal, Anderson and Hairston/Gee must be inactive. If you decides to put Neal in the IL, does it make sense to sign him?
I would say yes, mostly because as we have all stated ad nauseum, we have a very small window to win a le. Now, admittedly the likelihood of Neal affecting winning and losing a le is very small.
However, using your scenario above, the guard rotation would be Parker/Manu/Hill/Anderson/Temple/Neal. For argument's sake, let's say Anderson gets hurt or for some reason is ineffective. In that case, when we need shot-makers on off the bench, our alternatives are...
James Jones? (SF)
Matt Bonner? (PF)
Garrett Temple? (improving shot but not what I would yet call a "shooter")
As a safety net to Anderson, I would give Neal guaranteed money. I believe he is a better shooter than we would find off the scrap heap mid-season. Also, last year taught me that you can never have enough shooters on this team.
The only thing that would make me think twice would be if a Neal contract somehow pushed us over the tax threshold, in which case it's probably not worth it.
Last edited by Vic Petro; 07-17-2010 at 02:45 PM.
Wow. I had no clue Josh Lomers was on the SL team. I actually played church-league basketball (CYO) with him here in San Antonio. He had never played basketball up until when he joined our team, despite being a good foot or two taller than everyone else. He was a local star in Boerne and that sucks that the NBA game isn't working out for him.
Unfortunately, the dude has terrible asthma so even if he did have the talent the NBA game would still be hard for him. Sucks to hear he's not doing well.
Jerrels will not make it in the near future as a PG in the NBA. Neal might make another team's roster. Gee looks like another year in the NBDL, probably on another team He does not look like he will beat out Hairston at this point. His offense is too inconsistant (Hairston is too), which is the one place he needed to distance himself from Hairston.
IMO, Spurs have enough good 3 point shooter with Hill, Ginobili, Jones and Bonner if Anderson sucks. Now, your opinion that another shooter wouldn't be a luxury also makes sense. If you want another shooter, Neal id a good choice.
Chances are low that Spurs end up over the tax. Even if RJ get $7M in his first year, Spurs should still be below the tax.
There was a stretch where Squeaky played some real good defense and looked more like a point guard than Jerrells. Nevertheless, I don't think he has done enough to get invited to training camp.Squeaky Johnson
13:31 minutes, 2 points, 2 assists, 1 steals
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
It was more of the same from Squeaky Johnson, whose best career path may be to remain the Jacque Vaughn of the Toros for the foreseeable future.
Squeaky pretty much always looks more like a point guard than Jerrells. He could get an invite just to give him some cash for staying on the Toros.
Well, I disagree with you on that.
Gee has some huge flaws in his game but he also show in this SL that he has most upside than Hairston. If I had to cut one today, I would cut Hairston and keep Gee.
Oh I dunno about that Bruno. Hill and Ginobili are very streaky from behind the arc though I hope to see even more improvement of Hill's shooting range this coming season. Bonner can shoot 3's at a reasonable clip against sub .500 teams, but considering Tim Duncan has hit more clutch 3's than Bonner, I don't see him being reliable at all.
So really, I think it's crucial that Anderson be able to hit at least 40% of his 3's this season (along with Jones, who knows what kind of shape he is in now) otherwise we'll see a repeat of the Phoenix series all season long as teams pack the lane.
Here's why Neal makes sense to me:
Parker: not a 3pt shooter
Ginobili: great shooter
Hill: good shooter, a good bet his shot will be better. but he is not at a point yet where when he takes a big shot from 3, we expect it to go in, imo.
Jones: great shooter
Bonner: great shooter if it's November. playoffs...
Anderson is an unknown, and while I expect him to play very well, I don't think we can look at a team that sucked so bad shooting last year and say we've solved our problems with Jones and Anderson, one a rookie and the other with a horrible injury track record.
Neal might suck in the reg season or playoffs as well but he's another viable option who seems to have made his jumper into a legit weapon.
Now watch him fall on his face the next two games and make this all moot.
I agree with this. Again on a great team, which we all hope this will be, role players must have at least one skill that is above average. At least one skill that gives them an iden y.
Gee can get to the rim better than most. He forces the issue with his aggression and makes the defense react.
Hairston, imo, is a jack-of-all trades, master of none. At this point in his career, he'd be better suited to earn more minutes on a bad team than to fill a specific role for a championship contender.
I know his powerful leaping ability and energy around the rim at both ends disqualifies him from playing in Pops *system*, but when you say "definitely turned a few heads" do you think Wilkerson will probably make an NBA roster or still just a big ole maybe?
RC was just interviewed in the stands during the Wizards-Knicks SL game.
He said nothing of great significance, but here it is . . .
Richards is getting shoulder surgery, will play overseas.
TP was part of three championship teams. We hope he ends his career in SA.
Splitter was a productive player in Europe. Expectations are a bit overwhelming but we think he'll fit well.
Like I said . . .
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