-I think Tim Duncan looked really good. He appears to be in great shape again. His flexibility and fluidity were there and he moved well out on the perimeter. Considering there was a chance he could suddenly look old over the summer given his age, it was reassuring to see him look so spry.
-Tony Parker looked relatively sharp. He is someone who usually works his way into shape throughout the preseason but he looks to be in decent to good physical condition.
-This was a reminder of why I can't help but love Manu Ginobili. It's the first preseason game, he's up there in age, he has likely signed his last contract ... and yet he's competing at 100% capacity. It's been a joy to watch his NBA career to date and I'm glad the ride isn't over. Speaking of this game specifically, he looked ready for the regular season. His O was crisp and his D was pretty damn good, too.
-It appears Kawhi Leonard has been working on quickening the release on his jumper because it was noticeably faster tonight. He's still a work in progress in terms of handling the ball in traffic and making plays in a crowd -- but I liked what I saw. His confidence is sky high, which is important. Just as important is the fact that the Spurs offense was tweaked to get him more involved. Additionally, it was great to see him get a few touches in the post.
-No surprises with Tiago Splitter. Looks like he's in good shape and did what he usually does. It'll be great to have him as the full-time starter for a complete season (hopefully, of course).
-No surprises with Danny Green either. Outside stroke looked smooth. Defense was there. When he put it on the floor, it was an adventure. In other words, par for the course.
-Boris Diaw didn't become a land whale over the offseason, which in itself is a positive. He looked extremely comfortable and seems to have found his niche on both ends of the court. It's lining up to be a relatively quiet yet effective season for the Frenchman.
-Maco Belinelli exhibited some promise but there's a lot of work to do. His defense was poor -- to the point that Pop ripped him a few times. If Pop is mad at you in preseason for bad defense, there's something wrong. His above average court vision was apparent but he was also a bit too sloppy. I think he should be okay but he's far from where he needs to be.
-Cory Joseph got the backup point guard minutes in the first half -- and underwhelmed. I didn't see anything that helped his cause at all. Defensively, he didn't have the necessary vigor. On offense, he didn't make plays or do anything else positive. With so many potential backup PGs, he needs to do a lot better in subsequent preseason games to win the gig.
-I've always hated Sam Young's game. I was disappointed when the Spurs invited him to camp. It turns out I was wrong. He's actually much worse than even I thought he was. His defense is decent but he's a trainwreck on offense. Low basketball IQ. No talent. No outside shot. Fading athleticism. Sure, he has a great pump fake but the rest of his game is so broken that I pray he doesn't make the team.
-Aron Baynes was adequate but he could have been a lot better. It's frustrating that he doesn't use his powerful body more to his advantage. It's like he went to the Tiago Splitter school of finishing around the basket -- even though he has all the tools to be a much more devastating finisher. He's strong, athletic, can jump yet he hasn't learned how to put it all together yet -- and that goes for rebounding and defense as well. He's still an intriguing prospect but to earn a spot in the rotation, he needs to play to his strengths ... literally.
-Teddy Pendergrass Bill Ayers Ayres looked solid. Strong on the boards, ran the court well, illustrated capable perimeter skills, relatively quick rotations on D and seemed to know what he was doing. He doesn't have a whole lot of upside but he is solid bigman depth who might turn into a capable fourth big.
-It's preseason so I was surprised that Matt Bonner missed a couple open shots.
-Patty Mills looks great physically. Looking back on it, he must have been carrying around 15-20 pounds of fat last season. He's slim and stronger now, which makes him even faster. Unfortunately, getting in better shape didn't make him any more of a point guard. It's still painfully obvious that he's a shooting guard in a point guard's body. The fourth quarter collapse was mostly due to his inability to run the point. He just can't do it.
-Nando de Colo as the opposite problem of Mills: Being a point guard in a shooting guard's body. Playing off the ball, he just doesn't have enough ruthlessness in him to do anything of note. He blends into the background unless he has the ball in his hands. Take the ball away and he's completely neutered.
-Pop went with a strict 9-man rotation for much of the first half, which is surprising because he usually doesn't break out a real rotation until the final one or two games of the exhibition season. I liked the rotation and hope it's the one we see to start the season. (TP, Green, Leonard, Duncan, Splitter, Joseph, Belinelli, Ginobili, Diaw were the nine men, btw.)
-Getting Leonard more involved seems to be the focus of the few offensive tweaks I noticed. That is something that had to be done and it's good to see it from the very start of the season.
-Using Ginobili basically as the backup small forward is smart. These days, his strength is superior to his speed, so I'd rather him play at SF than SG if given a choice. Also, these Spurs have a ton of options for backup shooting guard and nothing of note at backup SF ... so it helps the roster fit together better.
-Pop's overall intensity was pretty damn high considering it was the first preseason game. I like the idea of pushing this team to have a strong regular season. Coasting until the playoffs would be the wrong way to react to last season's heartbreak, IMO.
-I'm going to enjoy the out of this team. Tim, Manu, Parker and Pop back at it. Kawhi looking to blossom. Very good role players in Splitter and Green. Exciting bench players. Damn, this'll be a fun season.
Good write-up. I completely agree about Sam Young, hope he's cut ASAP. Beli underwhelmed for me but he's definitely got promise. I disagree about Ayers though; I thought he was pretty good and think he has a very solid chance to crack the rotation (hopefully at least him or Baynes can get that 4th spot).
Yay! The season started, sort of. Thanks for the write up. Wish I had seen the game.
This was a welcome sight! Thanks for the "Thoughts!"
If we go by the first half rotation, Manu played SG (even when Belli/Joseph walked in) and Kawhi and Belli SF (which I didn't think he felt too comfortable). I don't really expect to see much of that Mills-De Colo-Gino 2nd half lineup when playing for the marbles.
I completely agree that Patty's a shooting guard in a point guard's body, but I think the 4th quarter collapse had more to do with the fact that Pop played 3rd and 4th stringers, and guys who don't even have guaranteed contracts for most of the fourth and all of overtime. Patty playing with Manu and Green, guys who would actually be in the rotation in the regular season, in the third was what got us that lead (watch the game again, if you disagree with me) in the first place.
Thanks Timvp
Green seemed rusty to me. He was kind of all over the place on defense. I liked that Pop out him in with the bench on the second half. I want to see if he's expanded his game at all. Ayers looked solid. I think he can be am immediate contributor with room to grow into a good PnR/PnP guy. I was meh on Belinelli. Looks like a better Neal.
Glad to see you back Timvp!
I had mentioned on here about his name change that you just lost a good joke.
good to see the random thoughts again.
gonna be another great season ahead of us with timvp and his solid, spot-on analysis. thanks for the write-up.
Did Maggette play at all? If so, how did he do?
First and Last name basis I see... hmmmm.
Thanks as always for your thoughts LJ.
16 points & 15 rebounds between ayres and baynes aint to shabby
man i wanted to see maggette and/or kabongo. young and nando was turrible
Hope Maggette can play in the next game, instead of Sam Young, he looks awful in offense...got blocked and missed wide open-3
Decolo-->No improvement at all
Tiago Weaker-->As weak as before, should use his money to sign another player......
Not defensively!!!
if CJ doesn't improve significantely over the pre-season, this rotation has a glaring week spot. (and I would like a 10-man rotation including Ayres. assuming Tim's minutes will be limited, it will be necessary to have a 4th big man in the regular rotation anyway)
Sam Young was comically bad ... it was total slapstick on offense ... cut him immediately
I don't make a big deal about 1 game against a non-NBA team when Pop was using a revolving door rotation to get as many players involved as possible. But, 1 missed shot and no assists in 11 minutes is pretty damning.
You just made a big deal of it.
I've been on the Ayres bandwagon since he started out in Portland. I told people on here that he would be a surprise player. This was a good start.
Does Sam Young remind you more of:
A) a poor man's Ime Udoka
B) a homeless man's Tony Allen
Young was HORRIBLE.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
