Grades: Spurs vs Lakers - Summer League Game 2

[timvp]

In the second game of summer league, the Spurs took on the Lakers and easily handled the much inferior squad in yellow. San Antonio outscored L.A. in each quarter on their way to the 92-81 victory.

Once again, the Spurs were led by Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph. A lot was asked of the pair heading into summer league and so far they both have been able to exceed expectations.

The next summer league contest is Wednesday night against the Clippers at 7PM CST.



Kawhi Leonard A-
Kawhi Leonard continued his LeBron-lite impersonation. Like the first game, Leonard was responsible for a lot of the ball-handling and playmaking. For an NBA small forward, those two skills are becoming quite strong -- to the point that the coaching staff will need to figure out how to get the ball into Leonard's hands more often next season. In this summer league setting, he's basically unguardable when he gets room to operate. Leonard has many deceptive dribble moves on the perimeter, a quick first step, takes powerful strides and then uses a combination of patience and strength to finish at the rim. Tonight, he got his outside shot to drop for a stretch of time and that made him even more of a monster. He's not a great passer yet but he's unselfish and has a good amount of court vision. Overall, Leonard has just been really impressive with the ball, especially considering he's never really been asked to create on a consistent basis -- even going back to his college days. Defensively, he again didn't put forth his usual amount of effort. If he wasn't directly involved in the play, he became a spectator. Then again, that's probably by design since he's using so much energy on the offensive end of the court. His rebounding against the Lakers was much better; he seemed to come down with every board in his vicinity.

Cory Joseph B+
Well, that first game wasn't a fluke. Cory Joseph came back with another very strong effort -- particularly on the offensive end. It's obvious that the Spurs player development staff has put a lot of work in teaching Joseph the intricacies of the pick-and-roll because he was running it to near perfection at times. He understands how to play the angles, use body contact to his advantage, when to string out the screen to create lanes and when to split the two defenders. Joseph still isn't a great athlete but he's much improved over last season. Compared to the first game, he got to the rim more tonight and had better elevation on his jumper. Speaking of his jumper, it continues to look very smooth -- whether it's a catch-and-shoot or a pull-up. Defensively, I wasn't nearly as impressed in this second game. I thought he defended well when pressuring the ball but his halfcourt D was lacking. If Joseph is going to have any chance of avoiding a second season with the Toros, it's going to be because he's a defensive stalwart. The Spurs have a lot of backup point guard candidates on their roster but Joseph is the only one who has the potential to become a strong defender. All in all, I'm very pleased with the progress Joseph has made. A couple more games like his first two and he will have earned his third-year option on his contract and will enter training camp with an outside shot at a spot in the everyday rotation. That's quite an accomplishment since just a couple days ago Joseph's future stood on shaky ground. Against the Clippers tomorrow, Joseph vs. Eric Bledsoe should be a fun matchup to watch and a great test for the young Spur.

James Anderson B+
I really liked how James Anderson played against the Lakers. After being a little bit selfish in the first game, Anderson concentrated on filling in the cracks and did great work. His defense was attentive; the opposition got few open looks when Anderson was the primary defender. He passed the ball in a timely manner and ran the court hard to force the defense to commit to him. Anderson even drained a couple outside shots with a confident stroke. All that said, he still doesn't quite look like an NBA player. Anderson doesn't have much explosion or quickness to him, which is needed for a shooting guard. Combine that with a skill level that isn't especially high and Anderson just isn't very intriguing anymore. I wish him well in the future but even after a quality effort like we saw from him tonight, it's clear that the Spurs made the right move by letting Anderson go.

Eric Dawson D
After an impressive start to summer league, Eric Dawson had an outing he'd like to forget. Defensively, he was somewhere between below average and bad. He wasn't strong enough against contact and his lack of quickness was exploited a few times. Since he's a B athlete at best, Dawson has to use his brawn to compensate. Tonight that didn't happen. Failing to pull down a defensive rebound is also a negative worth noting. Offensively, he had his moments but was mostly used as a screener. I'm hoping for Dawson to make a splash in this summer league but unfortunately this was a step in the wrong direction.

Luke Zeller C-
Pitiful on defense. Invisible on the boards. Clumsy on offense. To his credit, the 6-foot-11 Luke Zeller did knock down three perimeter jumpers. But let's hope that the Spurs don't get a crazy idea like he should be considered for a spot in training camp.

Marcus Denmon B-
Marcus Denmon got a longer look tonight and some things are starting to become obvious. First of all, he doesn't have the height, strength or athleticism to be a shooting guard in the NBA. He just doesn't. Secondly, although Denmon's stroke worked in college, it's going to have to undergo a makeover for him to become a pro. His elbow juts way out to the side instead of staying beneath his wrist. He also doesn't use his legs very much. In fact, his shot is almost all hands and wrists. The result is an extremely low release point, which combined with his size is a fatal flaw. The good news is I've seen hints of point guard potential out of him. His dribbling isn't bad and he keeps his head up to find open teammates. He didn't get a chance to do much playmaking at Missouri but he looks somewhat capable. While it's too early to write him off forever as an NBA prospect, I think it's clear that Denmon needs to start working with Chip Engelland to fix his shooting motion and then try to find a team in Europe that will allow him to play point guard.

Tyler Wilkerson A-
With Dawson underwhelming, Tyler Wilkerson stepped in and filled the void. Compared to Dawson, Wilkerson is smaller but he's also faster, more fluid, jumps higher and seems more comfortable out on the perimeter. The fact that he's able to play the high-post so easily actually makes him a potential fit on the Spurs. Tonight, his defense and effort on the boards were commendable. Offensively, he was aggressive yet smart. His performance against the Lakers along with what we saw back in 2010 could very well land him a training camp invite. I still like Dawson a little bit better but Wilkerson is closing the gap.

Alexis Ajinca D+
We got our first look at Alexis Ajinca. One word describes what we witnessed: Meh. He's shockingly long and he can move his feet -- but he didn't show anything resembling want-to or desperation. Ajinca looked satisfied going through the motions. Defensively, it's actually surprising how little he impacted the flow of the game. You'd think someone who is 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-8 wingspan would be an obstacle for the other team. That wasn't the case. Offensively, he spent much of his time floating around the perimeter. Ajinca could have made the Spurs if he came out with passionate play and a level of ferocity that pointed to him really wanting to make it back to the NBA. That was far from the case tonight. As a result, unless there's a 180-degree change between now and the end of summer league, he'll be headed back to France for the foreseeable future.

Dwight Buycks B
Dwight Buycks is a little ball of energy who really hustles around the court. There's not much skill involved but he's playing as hard as possible. The Toros would be lucky to have him.

Ryan Richards Inc.
Tonight we saw why Ryan Richards is such a puzzling prospect. He looks like he was born to play basketball one minute and the next minute he illustrates how very raw he still is -- even for a 21-year-old. It's painfully apparent that Richards needs a lot of reps. He passes the eyeball test as a legit prospect but he's undeniably soft and he really has no idea what he's doing when he gets the ball in his hands. Even defensively, it's more headless chicken than anything else. Tantalizing specimen, still, but needs a huge amount of refinement.

Derrick Byars Inc.
In his handful of minutes, Derrick Byars was nearly invisible.

JaMychal Green Inc.
JaMychal Green can run and jump -- but that's about the extent of it.

Alexis Wangmeme Inc.
Nepotism is great when it works in your favor.

Jacque Vaughn B+
The possible next head coach of the Orlando Magic continues to allow Leonard to be in control of the offense -- as he should. Jacque Vaughn made the right call by giving Wilkerson a longer look and it was good to see more of Denmon. We've seen some poor summer league coaches in the past for the Spurs but Vaughn is doing a good job of keeping things controlled enough that it's easy to scout the players on the team. The level of execution is actually closer to preseason than typical summer league free-for-alls.

[RodNIc91]

I just want to say how much I appreciate that you stayed this late to post the grades!! Great read as always timvp.

I am pulling for Ajinca but an outing like today's is pretty disappointing.

And as far as Leonard is concerned, he seems more and more like a legit building brick for the post Big 3 era. I think one way the staff can take advantage of this newfound abilities is to let him be the leader for the bench unit a la Manu. I remember you were tantalized a couple of months ago with the idea of Leonard being a SG. With what we've seen so far of him, I think he'd be able to be in spurts of playing time.

One more thing, if CJ continues this level of play, how do you see the Spurs accomodating a spot in the roster for him? Trade perhaps?

[FkLA]

I remember the start of last season when Kawhi could barely take a few dribbles, his handles looked terrible...the defense and rebounding was always there but I had the same opinion as you that it was hard to see him turning into more than an average offensive player. Its crazy seeing how smooth he looks out there being a playmaker and handling the ball now.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Nepotism is great when it works in your favor.

Great rundown, thanks!

And it's great to hear how Kawhi continues to grow. He'll be an All-Star by his 4th year I think. Credit to the FO for that one - they knew how good he was going to be, and they gave up a fan favourite to get him. Props to RC.

[Darkwaters]

I'm surprised at the turn-around of Cory Joseph. If hes no longer the punch line to Spurs jokes, then that adds another interesting wrinkle to our guard rotation. How do we play them all? Where do they all fit? This only makes the issue with Marcus Denmon even more of a long-shot.

Marcus Denmon needs to go to Europe and learn to play PG. I've been advocating it since day 1 and I still believe it. He doesn't need to go to camp, he needs to go to Europe. The Spurs need to be talking to him about this and encouraging him. We don't need another Jack McClinton scenario.

Ryan Richards is another interesting situation. At this point I wouldn't be opposed to using the tiny remainder of the MLE and dishing it to Richards on a super cheap four year deal (in the mold of Blair or Neal). Stash him in Austin for a couple of years and get him big minutes. That seems to be a solid scenario for all parties involved. Hes not getting the reps he needs now and the only way to assure that he will is to make him a Toro.

[TDMVPDPOY]

ajinca trying to be bonner by spreading the floor and chuckin up 3s to make the team...2 things part of other things his at...

this guy is fkn useless then a fkn cone


if we cant get a big for the 5th big man, then we should sign JA instead of another backup pg.....at leasts he gives us depth and size on the wing if we plan to run small ball and insurance

[Em-City]

Great rundown, thanks!

And it's great to hear how Kawhi continues to grow. He'll be an All-Star by his 4th year I think. Credit to the FO for that one - they knew how good he was going to be, and they gave up a fan favourite to get him. Props to RC.

I don't think anybody knew for sure that he could develop his offensive game so quickly. I think he's surpassed everyone's expectations.

[thekingrobert]

thanks for the post i was waited all night, greatly appreciated

[TDMVPDPOY]

kl SHOULD be given the green card to do whatever he likes on the court, fck playin behind the big 3 chokers, his time is now...not fkn 2-3 yrs from now to be given the keys....

[racm]

Pop's plan is to turn him into a slasher instead of a 3s and D wing. That's Green's role.

[therealtruth]

The Spurs are going to want to sign him to an extension as soon as possible before they can't afford him.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

kl SHOULD be given the green card to do whatever he likes on the court, fck playin behind the big 3 chokers, his time is now...not fkn 2-3 yrs from now to be given the keys....

Shut up.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

The Spurs are going to want to sign him to an extension as soon as possible before they can't afford him.

I'm guessing there's no question if HIS year 3 option will be picked up this fall.

Home team has a large advantage with their own RFAs. I expect a contract to be worked out. The big worry is the first time he's unrestricted in his late 20s.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Loved the highlight where he completely juked Eyenga at half court and went in for a layup. He's been watching Manu, and used that little Euro two step.

[siraulo23]

^ that move looked legit, it's ridiculous

it's crazy how comfortable he looks running pnrs and being very effective, even his pullup j is lookin good, it's summer league but still, it's very hard not to get excited on kawhi

[racm]

The guy can run PnRs, use the Eurostep, and has good footwork.

Are we sure he's not a cyborg made to Pop's orders with skills from the big 3?

[LongtimeSpursFan]

^ that move looked legit, it's ridiculous

it's crazy how comfortable he looks running pnrs and being very effective, even his pullup j is lookin good, it's summer league but still, it's very hard not to get excited on kawhi

Kawhi is the best small forward we've had since Sean Elliott. Sean was a much heralded player coming out of college but it would seem that Kawhi has the ability to surpass Sean with his abilities on the floor. That is exciting.

[dylankerouac]

Thanks for the read, entertaining as usual.

Glad to hear Kawhi is developing so quickly.

[wildbill2u]

I hope Joseph is not a Summer League star who can't work against legitimate NBA players with more height.

[dallasmaverickslose]

Kawhi is the best small forward we've had since Sean Elliott. Sean was a much heralded player coming out of college but it would seem that Kawhi has the ability to surpass Sean with his abilities on the floor. That is exciting.

Does Bruce Bowen not exist in this little world of yours?

[tomtom]

Good takes as always. Wish I could've watched the game but sounds like Leonard and Joseph doing work once again.

[mrjap2x]

Does Bruce Bowen not exist in this little world of yours?

Maybe he meant offensively. And I was wondering did bruce Bowen played only sf? Or did he get major minutes at sg too?

[Cory Joseph]

glad to see that I'm coming along

[wildbill2u]

I know the reference to nepotism and Wangebene refers to to his personal relationship to RC or one of the coaches, but it's worth a little more information.

1. Has this kid developed any 'game' anywhere or is this just a free vacation to Las Vegas with the family.

2. Do you think Jacque has orders to give him 'on court' time in every game (while other players get DNP)?

3. I don't guess any of it matters, but it just seems like a strange way to run a team.

[Dr. John R. Brinkley]

Any reason Richards shouldn't be getting 30 minutes a game? Yeah, he probably sucks but he is a Spurs draft pick. Isn't this the time to see what he can do, how he responds from game to game? 3 minutes...really?