Reply With Quote
http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/090712.html
Gameday recap and photos
Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair aims to eat up space
Art Garcia, NBA.com
Posted Jul 12 2009 8:35PM
LAS VEGAS -- He's been called the steal of the second round, but DeJuan Blair wants to be known for something else.
"I'm a space eater," Blair said with a grin.
The 37th pick in the 2009 Draft by the Spurs didn't waste any time gobbling up real estate and rebounds Sunday afternoon, throwing his 265 pounds (and considerable backside) around as soon as he checked into his first Summer League game.
A jumper from one of his new teammates went up and Blair made a beeline for the paint. Clearing room against a taller New Orleans defender, the 6-foot-7 Blair snatched the rebound and went back up. He missed but got it back before muscling the ball in.
"You cannot teach space," Spurs assistant and Summer League coach Don Newman said. "He's a space eater. He knows how to take it up, he knows how to hold his space and he's a physical guy by nature.
"He's going to get accustomed to how the game is called and those things will come, but one thing you don't want to do is back him off. You want to play like he plays. He'll continue to take that space."
Blair hadn't even broken a sweat and he began to fill up the box score. In five first-quarter minutes, the Pitt product had five points and five boards. The line after Blair's first pro game read 13 points and 10 rebounds, including three offensive, in 22 minutes.
"I'm not here to score, I'm here to play," he said. "I've been going a good job of preparing myself to come in and rebound, and I feel good. I think I played good. I went out there to rebound. The points just happened."
Blair just happened to fall in the Spurs' lap. Projected by many as a possible lottery-worthy talent after deciding to leave school as a sop re, knee concerns sent Blain spiraling out of the first round. Specifically, he's missing the ACL in both knees.
An MRI done during the scouting combine in Chicago revealed the unique condition. Blair had surgeries to repair both ACLs in high school and hasn't had any issues since. He doesn't play with a brace on either knee and, if not for the test, wouldn't give the situation a second thought.
"I'm not worried about that," he said. "The knee problems are over."
Twenty-nine other teams felt differently about his medical prospects. As much as San Antonio is credited for pulling off a Draft steal, picking Blair was a no-brainer. General manager R.C. Buford admitted as much, adding that the team never expected the Big East player of the year to still be on the board seven picks into the second round.
Blair has found himself in the enviable spot of joining a le contender that had a need for frontcourt bulk behind Tim Duncan. Along with the recent signing of Antonio McDyess, Blair will be playing behind and learning from two of the premier power forwards of the last decade-plus.
"It doesn't matter what happened in the Draft," Blair said. "I went when I went and I ended up being on a team with great players, great coaches and great fans. I'm not complaining about it."
If you have a question or comment for Art Garcia, send him an e-mail.
http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/...gue_blair.html
http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/090712.html
Gameday recap and photos
Blair looked good...wish McClinton would have had a better game.
I wonder why Gist jumped for the ball at the beginning of the game instead of Mahinmi? Is Ian that rusty?
Even being undersized, the only reason Blair fell as far as he did was because of the concern over his knees.An MRI done during the scouting combine in Chicago revealed the unique condition. Blair had surgeries to repair both ACLs in high school and hasn't had any issues since. He doesn't play with a brace on either knee and, if not for the test, wouldn't give the situation a second thought.
"I'm not worried about that," he said. "The knee problems are over."
If what he's saying (and what we're seeing) is true and there really is no cause for concern, then he is easily another steal for the Spurs.
This was his first game in a year.
So he can't jump? I'm just wondering if his ankles are still a concern.
In the picture of the opening tip, Gist's wingspan looks incredible. His arm looks a whole hand longer than a normal arm, unless that was just an optical illusion caused by the angle or something.
Whhhaaaattttttt a summer league game and 40 pages of posts ???it gonna be a great season
Don't judge Ian and McClinton's play based on this first game. Ian clearly is having timing issues coming off that injury...he has played the least real ball in the last year due to the injury.
McClinton didn't look good, but I think he has the type of game that will take longer to translate to the Spurs system (which is why I was kind of suprised about the pick) but, once it does, he will be one of those "instant scorers" off the bench. I just wonder how he and Pop will mesh with his shot selection. If Pop tries to much to throttle him back, his game will be compromised...only time will tell. He seems more like a Suns type of player than a Spurs system player in many ways.
Man I like his at ude. He's definitely a keeper!
ian with the huge 7 PF....lol.
Report from the Cox Pavillion
I tried to get there a little early so I can sit behind the Spurs bench. Epic fail on my part cause I sat on the wrong side. I sat with a bunch of Spurs and Pitt fans. I guess wasn't the only one who sat on the wrong side.
During warm-ups, a lot of the Spurs players showed off their athleticism with a fantastic display of dunks. James Gist could jump out of the gym but he was almost always rim-blocked. DeJuan (Blair) Barkley looked like he wanted to break the backboard, Shaq-style.
Quite a number of Spurs fans during the game. During the last minute some fans were even starting up a "Go Spurs Go" chant.
George Hill IMO did a pretty good job at running the team at PG. He spent a lot of time directing his teammates who were out of position in offensive and defensive sets. Seems like he did his homework and studied. And his offense wasn't bad eitherHis defense appeared like he was bored. His jumpshot has improved immensely. He looks more fluid and during warmups he didn't miss.
James Gist wasn't very impressive. He looked a bit lost. Hopefully it's just 1st game jitters. Only thing good he brought was the "lulz" with his Louis Vuitton backpack & a Marvin the Martian hat outfit.
Jack McClinton just stunk up the place. I was hoping that after he got blocked on a jumper that he'd get angry and just start tearing up the Hornets. Unfortunately he just continued to suck. Also, I thought he wasn't a PG? There were possessions in the 2nd half where G. Hill became the 2 and he was the 1? Anyway, I'm chalking this performance as 1st game jitters same with James Gist's.
Ian Mahinmi was very active and tried very hard this game. He just seems so clumsy sometimes. Most of his 7 fouls were from jersey grabbing so maybe he needs to move his feet on defense more instead of trying to play catch up with his hands. He had one nice offensive play at the end of the game that gave me hope. I think once he shakes the rust he'll impress us.
Malik Hairston 1st half was forgettable but woke up during the 2nd half. He was playing well with G. Hill. Seems like they have good chemistry.
De Juan Barkley yeah I guess he was ok
Rommel Beck he had a pretty good first half but I wasn't that impressed. He really seemed eager to make a team this season. He played a 2 man game during the first half with Taylor when he got most of his points. Also he can't dribble. The entire Hornets bench was yelling to force him to dribble left and successfully got turnovers. During the second half he was playing with Hill and the rest of the Spurs draft picks and tried to force his offense.
Some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/anjlbitz/SLSpursHornets
Great job, anjlbitz
In the game blog I was@ Rommel Beck's inability to dribble with his left hand. I've never seen a player make it as far as he has in his basketball life who can't dribble with his left hand. He had a fast break one time and instead of dribbling to his left with his left hand, he turned around and did a half circle to get there using his right hand
He looked smooth in catch-and-shoot situations and finishing near the rim but his dribbling required circus music.
Holy this has to be the most viewed and commented thread of all time.
see draft day thread. http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129627
It looks like it's about 100th in terms of views all time at SpursTalk. Pretty good for a summer league game.
It's 23rd most viewed in the Spurs section.
Report from the Cox Pavillion
I tried to get there a little early so I can sit behind the Spurs bench. Epic fail on my part cause I sat on the wrong side. I sat with a bunch of Spurs and Pitt fans. I guess wasn't the only one who sat on the wrong side.
During warm-ups, a lot of the Spurs players showed off their athleticism with a fantastic display of dunks. James Gist could jump out of the gym but he was almost always rim-blocked. DeJuan (Blair) Barkley looked like he wanted to break the backboard, Shaq-style.
Quite a number of Spurs fans during the game. During the last minute some fans were even starting up a "Go Spurs Go" chant.
George Hill IMO did a pretty good job at running the team at PG. He spent a lot of time directing his teammates who were out of position in offensive and defensive sets. Seems like he did his homework and studied. And his offense wasn't bad either
James Gist wasn't very impressive. He looked a bit lost. Hopefully it's just 1st game jitters. Only thing good he brought was the "lulz" with his Louis Vuitton backpack & a Marvin the Martian hat outfit.
Jack McClinton just stunk up the place. I was hoping that after he got blocked on a jumper that he'd get angry and just start tearing up the Hornets. Unfortunately he just continued to suck. Also, I thought he wasn't a PG? There were possessions in the 2nd half where G. Hill became the 2 and he was the 1? Anyway, I'm chalking this performance as 1st game jitters same with James Gist's.
Ian Mahinmi was very active and tried very hard this game. He just seems so clumsy sometimes. Most of his 7 fouls were from jersey grabbing so maybe he needs to move his feet on defense more instead of trying to play catch up with his hands. He had one nice offensive play at the end of the game that gave me hope. I think once he shakes the rust he'll impress us.
Malik Hairston 1st half was forgettable but woke up during the 2nd half. He was playing well with G. Hill. Seems like they have good chemistry.
De Juan Barkley yeah I guess he was ok
Rommel Beck he had a pretty good first half but I wasn't that impressed. He really seemed eager to make a team this season. He played a 2 man game during the first half with Taylor when he got most of his points. Also he can't dribble. The entire Hornets bench was yelling to force him to dribble left and successfully got turnovers. During the second half he was playing with Hill and the rest of the Spurs draft picks and tried to force his offense.
Some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/anjlbitz/SLSpursHornets
Nice job, anjlbitz.
It looks like Ian has about 4 more games and if he continues with his propensity towards getting large numbers in the foul department, his clumsiness, and just looking like he belongs somewhere other than the NBA. Since he can't go back to the D-League I'm afraid his days as a Spur are numbered.
he'll have Training Camp also, less pressure when playing with TD and TP.
I am happy with the game today, only one game but gotta like Hill and Blair. I can't wait to see how they fit in with the rest of the team. I am going to wait a while before making any real predictions on the season. If the spurs get anything out of McClinton it would be a steal that late in the draft.
Pic 6 is funny, why is #34 not even looking at where the play is happening? Blair is pulling down a board and he is looking off in the other direction.
I didn't get to see it, but from what I'm reading on here, I'm very excited. Sounds like Hill and Blair tore it up. Hairston had a good game, too, and Ian at least showed some potential, but looked very rusty, which is expected.
I wish I could see the games.
Is there any way i can watch this game now? Archived?
I also want to know this but I think it still going to cost $14.99.
There are currently 5 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 5 guests)
Posting Permissions
