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iirc kawhi only played like 2 games in the '12 summer league
I like Simmons as Kawhi's primary backup more than Anderson. Just don't see Anderson effectively guarding NBA SFs, and the second unit has desperately needed a slasher like Simmons since Manu lost the ability. Anderson can steal some minutes from Simmons depending on the matchups.
iirc kawhi only played like 2 games in the '12 summer league
Yeah, and Cory didn't really pick up steam until after that. He and Kawhi didn't have the same combined level of play that Anderson and Simmons do. Probably my favorite summer league since I've been able to watch them (started in 2009).
kawhi was so dominant they pulled him after 2 games because he had nothing left to show. he was running as a point forward quite a bit too
Anyone have stats?
That's not a dominant as I remember, but then again, Kawhi was already a starter. From a pure statistical standpoint, that doesn't seem any better than how Anderson has played in Vegas.
I can't wait to see SloMo send Ibaka to the bench with foul trouble. Ibaka is going to bite on those slow motion fakes every time.
I don't recall Leonard having a dominant game in SL. Those numbers just look like Anderson's numbers.
The guy who was dominant was Marco Belinelli ... 37 points:
that doesn't seem that dominant.
Amazing what adding an all-star level bigman while only losing one starter and a couple of bench players will do for a team that was already considered a championship contender.
Rofl Thissssssss! You made me laugh so much! Thanksssss
Yeah, watching this Anderson and Simmons combination is really fun. Simmons signing and then beasting from his first seconds on the summer league team has made this offseason even better. And even though he's not an NBA level prospect, I like watching Atkins play defense. Hopefully we get at least a couple more games to watch 'em.
This is one of the funnest summer league teams to watch since that 2001 Parker team. With Parker, he might have been the most shockingly good summer league player I've ever seen. A skinny prepubescent Frenchman stepped on the court and was got damn unstoppable. It's no wonder teams started offering up All-Stars for him after watching just one game. But, yeah, back then we had to wait like two weeks to watch the games on ESPN2 at 3 A.M.
I see this year's bench being different:
1) Ginobili can't be counted on as being a playmaker each and every play he's on the court with the bench ... which has basically always been his role. Ginobili needs someone to share playmaking duties with. And since it's not going to be Mills, Anderson will fit that role perfectly. Ginobili was still a good playmaker last year but his increase in turnovers point to the fact that it's not easy for him anymore. A year older and probably another step slower and Ginobili will welcome having Anderson at his side.
2) Usually, I advocate shooting above just about everything when it comes to bench players. But this year, the spacing is going to be so terrific that the Spurs actually need someone to take advantage of it more than they need yet another shooter. Imagine Mills and Ginobili on the court with two of Diaw, West and Aldridge. Defenses will need to be hugging out on the perimeter when Anderson has the ball. You could post him up, isolate him or put him in pick-and-rolls and then let him go to work.
3) With Aldridge in the fold, the Spurs will likely run more inside-out sets. Anderson has the tools to be one of the best post-up threats on the team, which would allow the Spurs to keep playing inside-out when Aldridge is on the bench.
I'm not 100 percent sold Anderson is going to make it -- his defense will be Danny Ferry-esque at best and he seemed to play nervous a lot of the time last year -- but I hope Pop gives him a chance. The bench needs to be more than simply Manu-go-do-your-thing and Anderson is the type of player who can help.
The numbers don't seem that dominant but at the time everyone on spurstalk was very impressed. I distinctly remember him being compared to Lebron on this board because of his sl performances.
He was dominant. He got fouled a lot, because they couldn't stop him. After those two games, nobody was surprised that the Spurs pulled him.
Then again, he already had an NBA season under his belt.
Anderson as the bench playmaker is an absolute joke. He won't create good looks for his teammates. It's better to have an athlete that can penetrate which will shift the defense. Passing the ball quickly will get the team more efficient shots.
Last edited by Nathan89; 07-17-2015 at 05:48 PM.
I don't disagree with the Manu part, but you don't think Anderson needs to make giant strides in the next 6 months for this scenario to pan out? I mean, right now, I think Simmons has way more tools to make something like that work (and I'm not sold yet he'll make it either).
Don't remember this...details?
rotoworld on kawhi's summer league in 2012
Kawhi Leonard - G/F - Spurs
Kawhi Leonard's Summer League run is over as of Wednesday night.
This apparently has nothing to do with his sore wrist, but rather that the Spurs saw what they needed to see from him. Leonard averaged 25 points, six boards and three dimes in his two games, and is primed for a full breakout season for the Spurs.
Source: Jeff McDonald on Twitter
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 10:06:00 PM
I don't think anyone disagrees with the fact that the Spurs pulled him because they had seen enough. It's just that it doesn't seem that great compared to Anderson. I think it was also because he was already an established starter whereas Anderson is fighting for a spot in the rotation still. I doubt the Spurs would have pulled Leonard after two games had he done that in a hypothetical 2011 summer league.
Seems to pretty much describe Anderson in Vegas. Difference is that Anderson is competing for a rotation spot, ironically with the other impressive SL Spur. There was really never a need to evaluate Leonard in 2012.
Anderson still has a lot to prove but it's not that much of a stretch. He was a PG in college so being a bench facilitator would be right up his alley if he lives up to the potential he's shown in summer league.
The most famous of those trade rumors was Gary Payton for Tony Parker. The Sonics GM at the time (Wally Walker, IIRC) watched TP's first summer league game and within hours made the trade offer. Considering that Payton was an All-Star the previous seven seasons, that was a pretty damn impressive offer for one game of summer league.
Anderson had a very slow start to the SL... dominant wouldn't be the word to use to describe him. Now, I admit I missed the last game, so I'll take another look tomorrow.
But, in a way, this is why I thought he was disappointing with his early showings: he already has a season within "the system", and he didn't really look that much different from a year ago.
He was (still is?) extremely ball dominant though, which I think it's the main reason it didn't work out with Manu last season (same thing happened with Cory). I actually still don't see a solution to this, as he's not been very good off the ball, and as far as posting him, it would be difficult to justify when you have West and Boris out there on the floor... tbh, trying to fit Kyle on our bench still gives me a headache... Simmons it's easier, he can penetrate and finish, play the pick and pop with Boris/West, or kick out... I envision his role closer to Gino's role as a two guard earlier in his Spurs career.
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