Grades: Spurs at Magic - Oct. 10, 2021

[Dex]

I know I've been hard on Luka lately but yeah, I just don't see where a B- is coming from. He was absolutely pitiful out there. I re-watched the last 4 minutes focusing solely on Luka.

3:48 - Luka Samanic enters the game for Drew Eubanks

3:36 - gets danced on and gives up an open mid-range jumper to Ross which misses

3:03 - sets a weak screen against Forbes' man, then rolls out of the play. Forbes throws the ball off defenders foot

3:00 - another weak pick, almost a moving violation on the roll, doesn't get back in the play to contest for the rebound

2:50 - doesn't close out on Bamba in time, three-pointer for Mo

2:30 - Primo turns the ball over trying to pass to Samanic at the top, more of a bad pass by Primo but Luka could've come to the ball better

2:27 - gives up on chasing his man after the turnover, wide-open dunk in transition

2:16 - sets a screen for Forbes on the wing, then almost runs into Forbes while rolling. Doesn't contest for the rebound.

2:04 - loses sight of the ball and doesn't rotate to prevent the dunk from Carter Jr. despite being like 2 steps away

1:35 - decent box out but still can't grab the board, multiple Magic players there so not really his fault

1:08 - nice fake from the top to get an open drive to the basket, ball gets poked away from behind by Bamba

1:10 - decent handoff to KBD for assist on a three

0:47 - gets stuck in no man's land defending a pick and roll, loses touch with Bamba who gets an easy lob and dunk

0:37 - sets two "screens" which make zero contact with the defenders since Luka keeps trying to slip the screen

0:25 - nearly loses his dribble driving into two defenders, then throws out to KBD in the corner with 1 second left, shot is blocked

:07 - moves his feet well defending Suggs causing him to trip and lose the ball, clock expires during the ensuing scramble

Like obviously I'm being critical here and there were some positive plays including the one that sealed the win, but that is a lot of negative action in a 4 minute span. It would be one thing if this was just a bad stretch by a guy who has otherwise proven himself to be a good player, but that is not the case.

It honestly looks like Luka has checked out. Instead of fighting for his NBA life, he is just taking up space on the floor. Really sad to see for a 19th pick who had high expectations, but sometimes you just can't squeeze blood from a stone.

[DPG21920]

Lonnie Lonnie Lonnie!

[NK123]

- After reading your grades, I still don't know how Luka deserves a B. He is done. He does not have the will to face difficulties. He quits or lacks aggressiveness.

- I think that White should lead the bench. He and Dejounte cancel eachother on offense. Derrick looked a lot more comfortable playing with the second unit.

- Lonnie NEEDS to have the ball in his hands to be effective. This game showed that his confidence grew, the more he controlled the offense.

- Vassell can be a SOLID player. I see a 18pts/7rbs guy. He is a less athletic version of Shawn Marrion to me. He has been one of the most consistent players.

- Bryn has been great. Hope he keeps like this.

- Joshua Primo needs to start at the 2. He has the 3 level shooting we need to open the game for both Dejounte and Keldon. He is more composed than Lonnie which is amazing for such a young kid. He is not a defensive liability and can provide instant scoring by himself.

- Eubanks is a solid player. the problem is that he is not imposing enough on defense. I think that the offense played better with him at the 5 over Poeltl. Our team is too small to have him starting and playing as the sole legit big.

- Jock is player that might be the best option over both Poeltl and Eubanks in the future. He is big enough to defend and get rebounds. He can create offense from inside, mid post and stretch to the 3. He needs to let the game come to him more but more playing time will help.

[rjv]

white has been the biggest disappointment of the preseason and i'm not sure what is going on with him. he looks tentative and lacking in confidence. obviously, if white is as pedestrian during the season has he has been in camp, this will hinder the spurs success. and it sure was nice to see lonnie have a good game. i hope that wasn't an anomaly.

[raybies]

- After reading your grades, I still don't know how Luka deserves a B. He is done. He does not have the will to face difficulties. He quits or lacks aggressiveness.

- I think that White should lead the bench. He and Dejounte cancel eachother on offense. Derrick looked a lot more comfortable playing with the second unit.

- Lonnie NEEDS to have the ball in his hands to be effective. This game showed that his confidence grew, the more he controlled the offense.

- Vassell can be a SOLID player. I see a 18pts/7rbs guy. He is a less athletic version of Shawn Marrion to me. He has been one of the most consistent players.

- Bryn has been great. Hope he keeps like this.

- Joshua Primo needs to start at the 2. He has the 3 level shooting we need to open the game for both Dejounte and Keldon. He is more composed than Lonnie which is amazing for such a young kid. He is not a defensive liability and can provide instant scoring by himself.

- Eubanks is a solid player. the problem is that he is not imposing enough on defense. I think that the offense played better with him at the 5 over Poeltl. Our team is too small to have him starting and playing as the sole legit big.

- Jock is player that might be the best option over both Poeltl and Eubanks in the future. He is big enough to defend and get rebounds. He can create offense from inside, mid post and stretch to the 3. He needs to let the game come to him more but more playing time will help.

great post man. post more. i agree with most of this.

[exstatic]

LJ, do better. Luka gets an F, for the matador defense alone.

[couchman]

Forbes has actually been good this preseason. I can't believe I just wrote that but it's true.
I'm worried about White. His shooting last season was the worst of his career and his shot looks broken right now. He has enough talent that I expect him to ramp up once the season begins but I'm a bit anxious about it. We really need him to play well.

[jermaine]

I normally like All the grades an agree with them. But this Luka grade... Makes me question your judgment. That fool is a quitter. His grade definitely should be D-.

[itzsoweezee]

Posters getting hyperbolic off of just 3 preseason games — this is what happens when you don’t play young players in real games so that you can go full speed into the lottery trying to ride a bunch of washed vets into the playoffs

What a waste the last three years have been.

[wildbill2u]

LJ, do better. Luka gets an F, for the matador defense alone.

Is Luka a player who needs a lot of minutes to orientate himself on court? Can he be sent to Austin for a long time to get those minutes or would that be impossible under his contract? I just hate to see him go without ever having gotten enough minutes to reveal his worth or not

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I know I've been hard on Luka lately but yeah, I just don't where a B- is coming from. He was absolutely pitiful out there. I re-watched the last 4 minutes focusing solely on Luka.

3:48 - Luka Samanic enters the game for Drew Eubanks

3:36 - gets danced on and gives up an open mid-range jumper to Ross which misses

3:03 - sets a weak screen against Forbes' man, then rolls out of the play. Forbes throws the ball off defenders foot

3:00 - another weak pick, almost a moving violation on the roll, doesn't get back in the play to contest for the rebound

2:50 - doesn't close out on Bamba in time, three-pointer for Mo

2:30 - Primo turns the ball over trying to pass to Samanic at the top, more of a bad pass by Primo but Luka could've come to the ball better

2:27 - gives up on chasing his man after the turnover, wide-open dunk in transition

2:16 - sets a screen for Forbes on the wing, then almost runs into Forbes while rolling. Doesn't contest for the rebound.

2:04 - loses sight of the ball and doesn't rotate to prevent the dunk from Carter Jr. despite being like 2 steps away

1:35 - decent box out but still can't grab the board, multiple Magic players there so not really his fault

1:08 - nice fake from the top to get an open drive to the basket, ball gets poked away from behind by Bamba

1:10 - decent handoff to KBD for assist on a three

0:47 - gets stuck in no man's land defending a pick and roll, loses touch with Bamba who gets an easy lob and dunk

0:37 - sets two "screens" which make zero contact with the defenders since Luka keeps trying to slip the screen

0:25 - nearly loses his dribble driving into two defenders, then throws out to KBD in the corner with 1 second left, shot is blocked

:07 - moves his feet well defending Suggs causing him to trip and lose the ball, clock expires during the ensuing scramble

Like obviously I'm being critical here and there were some positive plays including the one that sealed the win, but that is a lot of negative action in a 4 minute span. It would be one thing if this was just a bad stretch by a guy who has otherwise proven himself to be a good player, but that is not the case.

It honestly looks like Luka has checked out. Instead of fighting for his NBA life, he is just taking up space on the floor. Really sad to see for a 19th pick who had high expectations, but sometimes you just can't squeeze blood from a stone.

Not really giving a sh!t cost him. Lots of talent but no heart. We want the guys that don't accept losing. I'd take heart over talent any day...certainly would rather have both. That's what separates championship players like Tim, Tony, Manu and role players like Bruce from the guys that can never get their teams over the hump. Luka doesn't appear to have that winning mindset.

[Brazil]

White is becoming slow mo 2.0

loved dat Tear drop ala Parker by josh late in the game

[Mr. Body]

Luka Samanic B- grade

Pretty astounding

[TD 21]

If White's not scoring, I'm not sure the team can afford to start him. The defense is nice, but relying on only Murray and Johnson to get first-contact points feels like a set-up to put the Spurs in holes, and the Forbes/Walker bench may not be able to compensate. Starting one of those guards for White fixes multiple problems, and it leaves open the idea of starting Vassell for McDermott to shore up the defense. I don't think Eubanks or Landale are bad players at all, but I also worry that the bench doesn't really have the players to make them work any more. Young's fit with either has been awkward, and the general lack of size both guys have combined with the bad defense from Walker/Forbes and potentially slow feet of Young means the bench defense may not be very good. If the team starts Murray/White and plays a nine-man rotation, you'd think one of the most common players to remove from the rotation would be the back-up center and just run with Thad. It's not great how many centers they wouldn't be using at that point, but I also feel like despite the investment, the Spurs still need to look for a long-term center prospect anyway. If there's a value trade for Eubanks, I'd be tempted to move him. He's a real NBA player and obviously has chemistry with the other guys. But I just don't know that it's worth it to keep four centers given their short-comings, and Drew is easily the most moveable member of that group.

As I said months ago, they should re-route Young before the season to avoid injury, decline and his being an awkward fit (not only the spacing issues next to Poeltl/Eubanks or Murray playing with the second unit, but limiting Vassell to almost spot minutes) to derail his value.

If not, then the ideal rotation might end up being Johnson-Vassell-Poeltl-Walker IV-Murray, White-McDermott-Young-Forbes, with a backup center spotted in when necessary. That's the best they can do balance and minutes wise to get people in the range they should be.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

White is becoming slow mo 2.0

loved dat Tear drop ala Parker by josh late in the game

White's airball floater in this game was a thing of beauty.