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He seems ideal for post up play. I like how he shoots over people for short shots. Nothing fancy, just using his length.
Probably not until Manu retires, but they have been growing him to make plays with the ball and I would expect to see him in that role more but not entirely yet.
For all the criticism he gets for not being an ideal off bail player, that was not his game coming into the league. It's not how he won his team's games. It's a credit to him how much he's added to his skills and how much he's worked on his shot bc he wasn't a prolific shooter. He wasn't a post up player either and maybe he's not great at right now, but he has improved a lot and is still getting better.
Bottom line, after thinking about it, I think he will be all over in positions again like last season bc he was already doing that when he was an inexperienced player with success. As he matures, and gets more saavy, why stop there? I bet it will allow Pop to play him with a variety of guys and lineups. He's versatile enough now having added 3 point shooting to fit in anywhere.
We will probably just see some growth, I am guessing, but I have tempered expectations on a breakout season bc Pop and his process likes to take the long road. Just look at Kawhi and how long it took him to take ownership of his role. It was a gradual growth over several seasons and Pop taking it easy and gradual was a big part of slowing that down. I expect the same gradual growth for Kyle and Dijon when it comes down to it. They all were drafted into a mature vet team while being very young which afforded the Spurs the ability to grow them into roles and let them develop at their own pace.
He seems ideal for post up play. I like how he shoots over people for short shots. Nothing fancy, just using his length.
I vacillate. Sometimes I am concerned that Pop will relegate Kyle to the same role as last season. But then I remind myself that Boris will not be on the team this season, and Kyle will almost certainly absorb most of those minutes. Consequently he should be utilized more in the role Diaw filled.
As for Dijon - I really fear that Pop will bridle him as he has practically every young player he has ever coached except Tony. I do not believe the team can afford to spend that much time. I have already gone on the record about my concerns about the timing of the team's development and Kawhi's next contract negotiation.
Reading that Zach Lowe article on Manu was bittersweet in the part where the article remarks that initially Manu was reduced to playing off Tim standing in a corner waiting to take a 3pt shot if he got the ball from Tim. Manu wasn't happy about that, he wanted to make plays with the ball. But Manu was 25, a mature player who had already played internationally and professionally, and he had confidence in himself and his game. He resisted Pop and eventually won out due to his tremendous talent. But we have to remember, he wasn't so much molded by Pop as already coming to Pop as he is and just getting better as he entered his prime. Pop himself had doubts he could coach him.
It was bittersweet to see Kyle playing off others parked in corners too, knowing that was not his game either. Here is a game where Pop had to go to Kyle. I expect his game without Diaw to look like this:
In the playoffs, I think Spurs parked Kyle in corners to their detriment, specially in the OKC series where the bench needed help from anybody. For better or worse, he wasn't involved in what the bench was doing. Other guys were taking shots. I agree with you that they will need him to attack mismatches and get in the paint and draw fouls, as well as take his open 3s. I do expect him to have a good individual season, but as you see I too vacillate bc how many seasons did we expect Kawhi to take that step and he didn't (who is a bigger talent and had more guaranteed playing time, role and the coach's vouching for his upside). Instead it was gradual increases with Kawhi and continued improvement, so that is kind of what I expect, but it could be different.
What helps Kyle and Dijon bottom line is that the team Kawhi joined when he was 20 was a different team, with the big 3 in the backend of their careers but still producing at a high level and good two elite years from Tony. The team Kyle joined in 2014 was stacked and looking to repeat and even last season's team was extremely deep with too many quality forwards, pushing him to play as a guard at times.
This particular team is not that stacked in forwards, or guards. There are old guys at both spots, and the Spurs need to push their young players along. Its just really hard to say with Pop and his process and whether he intends to play Lee as part of the rotation or not.
Fathead is not Manu talent for 's sake.
Anderson's not the play-maker Manu is -- and he never will be. That didn't come from experience. But he is one of the best passers among guys his height, and he has great vision. I don't think he'll ever "be Manu" in the sense that he'd be Mozart with the ball or even a legit primary ball-handler. But he can be an above-average scorer and a well-above average passer for an above-average scorer.
The passes Lowe points on in his most recent articles are ones that I think Anderson could make with regularity. But I don't think he'd be able to invent something like that. A post-Manu bench would be more prose than poetry, but it should still flow nicely.
Well said Chinook!
There will be still lots of lovely bench passing, just not the holy moments we love Manu for.
My hope is Manu takes Murray under his wing bc I think he's capable of the same derring do passing we've come to expect from the bench squad.
The Manu spot up shooter story makes sense coming out of the four down era. I'd park Jordan in the corner too if I had prime Duncan.
Regarding Kyle, I feel like he's been told to focus on defense more than offense. While his offensive role is uncertain his defensive role is pretty clear. Parking him in the corner might of been to get him to focus on that weak defense he had. It would be pretty bad for him to be bench leader and not play average defense. He obviously made gains on the defensive end.
bleacher report: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...-season/page/3
They do a review of players due to break out this season, not in the traditional sense necessarily of becoming MIP player candidates but, as they put it:
They then review backcourt and frontcourt reserves, as well as 6th MOY honors (they predict Crabbe), and different starters. They predict Norman Powell, Kyle's past UCLA teammate will break out as a rotation player in Toronto and had this to say about Anderson as a frontcourt reserve:These rises can be difficult to define. They usually pertain to players 25 and under but are not specific to those barreling their way toward immediate s om.
Ascensions of players such as Paul George (2013), Jimmy Butler (2015) and C.J. McCollum (2016) resulted in Most Improved Player honors. That isn't the case for everyone; there are many more smaller-scale leaps that deserve recognition.
Some of these players, make no mistake, will get there. It may even happen next season. But our primary focus is singling out those who are about to make the transition from budding prospect or project to household name.
Think along the lines of Evan Fournier and Rodney Hood last season. They drastically improved their standing without inciting superstar expectations.
Kyle Anderson, San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan's retirement, Boris Diaw's trade to the Utah Jazz and David Lee's relative inability to stop anyone at the rim all create an opportunity for Kyle Anderson to make regular-season noise for the first time in his career.
Many laugh at his lack of speed, but he's a cerebral player. He doesn't crowd ball-handlers and prefers to defend off reads. He has the size (6'9", 230 lbs) and ambition to body up in the post, and his passing off the bounce borrows from Diaw and Tony Parker.
Anderson just needs extended spin to prove himself outside the NBA D-League and NBA Summer League. And with the Spurs thin on frontcourt defensive versatility for the first time in a long time, he should get it next season.
wow. almost exactly what anyone who follows spurs thought - KA is older, and in combination with lack of depth will get more minutes. Put that trash on 48MOH
Anderson w game winner banked in 3!
It's actually a very nicely written article, about one of Kyle's best friend committing suicide during preseason of 2014 when Kyle was a rookie. I read it when it was still available in SA Express, but I am sorry that this one is behind a pay wall. He has had a charitable event for two years now to raise awareness between kids in his community about signs of depression in their young friends and develop life skills... with the attraction being the basketball camp.
As an awareness raising fact: suicide is the second highest cause of death for kids/young individuals ages 15-24.
Wow. I had no idea. Thanks for sharing this. No telling how much additional weight the loss placed upon his shoulders that rookie season... But his response is just one more indication of the kind of leadership the Spurs will get from Kyle some day very soon. This season, in Boris' absence I more and more believe Kyle will really break out.
This ain't the time to be making Fathead jokes.
This may be the best executed "Fathead" pun of all time.
Salute.
Haha! It was pretty good, wasn't it? I really can't take credit, however, because (as much as I hate to admit it) it was unintentional. I like the guy.
Offseason gets really boring....
some highlights from Dyckman recently.
The question is did he call bank on the game winner? He mustve because if not he was way off.
This is the year the team needs him to step up and play 14-20 productive minutes a night. He's a smart player with a range of skills and I think he can do it, but we shall see.
This one is really, really hilarious.
This could be his break-out season.
Could be............
.....all I am saying.
Kyle should watch the games of Paul Pressey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmO4HeqkoOU
Hes the one who has the ability to make everything gel, and figure out how LMA and KL can coexist and prosper....if....
Worst offensive player on the team. Can't get a rebound 5 feet away from him and gets blocked by pg s on fast breaks.
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