Summer League Game 1 - Game Thoughts

[Bruno]

It'sridiculous to see some people drawing conclusions after 1 SL game. At least, wait until the end of the SL...

[DespЏrado]

It'sridiculous to see some people drawing conclusions after 1 SL game. At least, wait until the end of the SL...

How is it that Ian has only played 1 SL game in his entire career? I guess that was someone else that I saw wearing his name and number last year.

But let me say this Ian isn't in any way shape or form a bust. Nothing was risked by taking him and nothing is lost by giving him another 6-12 months to see if he ever develops something more than what he is. I just don't see him progressing enough to project him as anything more than a scrub.

Even the year off works against him in this case. In order for him to be capable of playing at the NBA level he needs to be on a much steeper learning curve. That just hasn't been displayed at all. And here's the kicker, he isn't good enough at any specific area of the game to stick around long enough to see if he ever develops an NBA game. He doesn't fill a niche role so that he can get significant enough number of minutes to develop the little talent he has. He's going to be a pretty good 5th-6th big man on the bench, but I really see no other future for him.

The first time I saw Duncan play it was during a visit to Stanford University and we just happened to walk by a dorm room with the Wake Forrest/ Stanford game. I saw him play for five minutes. It took all of those five minutes to know he was going to be one of the best centers ever (I had no idea he had this fetish for the letters P and F.) Coming away from that game, I said I don't know how but I know he is going to play for the Spurs next year and we are going to have a few banners because of it.

It took 5 minutes for Duncan to demonstrate to me what he was. Not what he had the potential to be, but what he already was. I have watched Ian play at least 4-5 hours of basketball, and not once has he shown me anything more than B-level talent. Nor does he appear to have the heart, drive, and will to overcome his deficiencies.

For Ian's sake I hope he proves me wrong. He has all the opportunity in the world to prove me wrong, and the chance to live the NBA dream. I hope he can do it, but my gut says no.

[HarlemHeat37]

So you're comparing Ian Mahinmi, a late first-round pick, to the best PF to ever play in the NBA/a top 10 player of all-time?..

There are plenty of guys that turned out to be serviceable players that didn't show much at Ian's age..

[Hillcrest]

Barron had a few blocks in the first half...and yes, one of them was against Mahinmi. The play he's referring to is when Mahinmi executed about 3 post moves (apparently one too many) and ended up getting snuffed out by Barron.

So, McDonald wasn't wrong about that. He may have been a little harsh on him overall though, considering the guy was playing his first game back in about a year.

right on. thanks. i must have missed the other "embarrassing" dunk stuffs.

i didn't think mahinmi looked particularly good at all, but, shoot, it's 1 summer game.

[Spurs Brazil]

Blair another Spur steal?
by Dave McMenamin / July 13, 2009

He fell and he fell and he fell on Draft night, all the way to No. 37 to the Spurs.

On Sunday at the third day of the Las Vegas Summer League, DeJuan Blair rose to the occasion. Playing in San Antonio’s first game of the summer session and his first since he plummeted from a first-round talent to a second-round gamble after a pre-Draft medical checkup revealed that he was missing both ACLs from high school surgeries, Blair barreled his way to a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“I’m here to show I can play and show everybody what they missed out on,” Blair said after the game, with a big smile on his face.

Weighing in at 265 pounds, the former Pitt Panther showed cat-like reflexes on the glass. It wasn’t just the rebounds that were impressive, but what he did with them afterwards. By either looking up immediately and finding a guard to outlet to on the defensive end, or taking it right to the rim for offensive putbacks, Blair made plays.

He showed polish with his power, hitting 5-for-6 from the free throw line. He even looked down right nimble finishing a reverse layup. He’s not very tall – his 6-foot-7 listing reeks of Charles Barkley-like inflation – but he knows how to make the most of his frame. He flat out erased the defender guarding George Hill on a couple of possessions to free him up on the pick and roll, when he rebounded (10 boards in 22 minutes) he pursued the ball hard, using his trunk of a lower body to bounce bodies out of the way and then corralling loose balls with his long arms and big mitts.

GAME 1: San Antonio Spurs (1-0) 92, New Orleans Hornets (0-1) 86

STUDS: Marcus Thornton, drafted by Miami with the No. 43 pick and traded to New Orleans, was always looking to score. Sometimes that’s considered chucking, sometimes ballhogging, but with Thornton it was simply getting buckets. He made the game easier on himself by running the floor and finishing uncontested gimmes on the break. Thornton finished with a team-high 22 points on 8-for-19 shooting.

New Orleans’ other rookie, No. 21 pick Darren Collison, was steady with the ball and really managed the team at the point, finishing with 19 points, six assists and five rebounds. He showed off different aspects of his offensive game, hitting a buzzer-beating jumper, mixing in a couple of floaters and hitting a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

The most complete players on the court were Hill for San Antonio (25 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Julian Wright for New Orleans (15 points, seven rebounds, three blocks). Hornets coach Byron Scott, who was in attendance, said he is toying with the idea of starting Wright and bringing Peja Stojakovic off the bench next year.

DUDS: A couple people got dunked on, and that’s always fun. Malik Hairston of San Antonio threw one down on Anthony Tolliver and Brian Cusworth out of Harvard put one on James Gist’s head.

Gist had a rough day, going 1-for-6 from the field and 2-for-4 from the line, while the rest of his team shot 31-for-32 on free throws. He got into it a bit with Marc Salyers (Samford grad who has been playing in Europe) of the Hornets at one point, causing the referee to warn both players to knock it off and prompting Salyers to quip, “I thought the UFC fight was yesterday.”

http://hoopshype.com/articles/vegas09_03_mcmenamin.htm

[DespЏrado]

There are plenty of guys that turned out to be serviceable players that didn't show much at Ian's age..

Duncan is one of many benchmarks along the bell curve. Players like Robinson, Blair, Rose, Elson, Rasho, Oberto, Bonner, Samaki Walker, Ely, Hairston, Gist, Thomas, Finley (thanks pop for making us watch him try to play as a 4) and countless others all have their place as bench marks as well.

Ian doesn't compare favorably to any of those players except maybe Walker.

Frankly I have to ask, how would Ian have fared at the college level? Could you imagine him ever leading a team to even the sweet 16? I can't. I think he would look alot like this:

Played two seasons at Kilgore (Texas) Junior College before completing his college career at California … appeared in 59 games for the Golden Bears over two seasons, starting 42 times … finished seventh all-time on the school's blocked shots list with 64 … helped lead Cal to the NIT Championship as a senior … averaged 5.4 ppg and 4.8 rpg in his two seasons in Berkeley.

That is Francisco Elson's college career.



JUST FYI:
MVPs of the NIT include the following
Jayson Williams, St. John's (1989)
Adam Keefe, Stanford (1991)
Bryant S h, Virginia (1992)
Voshon Lenard, Minnesota (1993)
Erick Strickland, Nebraska (1996)
Robert Traylor, Michigan (1997)

[Obstructed_View]

Game one for Ian is a microcosm of his career with some folks: Premature judgment that he's never going to amount to anything based on WAY too little information. There are maybe four or five bigs in the league that can make that move he made yesterday from the three point line. For what he's making, he can take the Mengke Bateer or Sean Marks role on this team until we have more information to go on.

[DespЏrado]

Game one for Ian is a microcosm of his career with some folks: Premature judgment that he's never going to amount to anything based on WAY too little information. There are maybe four or five bigs in the league that can make that move he made yesterday from the three point line. For what he's making, he can take the Mengke Bateer or Sean Marks role on this team until we have more information to go on.

This is not just one SL game. Anyone who has cared to has seen him play far more than that, and I'd venture to say he has played more professional games than anyone else on the court last night in his career, except perhaps Barron and Wright.

[Mark in Austin]

A couple observations from David Thorpe's Twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/coachthorpe

Mahinmi is someone I've always been intrigued with. His lack of leg strength has always been a major issue. Just can't stay balanced.

DeJuan Blair. 1 minute. 3 boards.

George Hill just had a monster dunk, but it was the least impressive play of the sequence. He set up the entire set by talking to his guys. He directed them to the right spots and then split the ballscreen.

George Hill was the 2nd worst player of all the first rounders last summer. He's fantastic now. Credit him, and his organization.

Blair with the double-double in 17 mins.

Manu and Tony are going to make Blair's Christmas very special. He's going to be crushing guys on ballscreens and pin downs.

Mahinmi is a talent. But he still does not get much done. 6 and 4 with 6 fls in 22 mins. Remember-mental is to physical as 4 is to 1.

[barbacoataco]

Is Haislip insurance for Mahinmi? Even with all his potential, if the Spurs think Mahinmi is a work in progress, and they're hoping to lessen Bonner's role, then Haislip might be the guy to save the day and get 10-12 mpg.

[Marcus Bryant]

Cool. Waive Mahinmi and play Bonner as he's shown more on a NBA court and wasn't injured last season. Better yet, give him to Houston as he's worth nothing.

[poeticism707]

Cool. Waive Mahinmi and play Bonner as he's shown more on a NBA court and wasn't injured last season. Better yet, give him to Houston as he's worth nothing.

Ian is going to surprise A LOT of people this year with his solid contributions.

He has the tools, he hasn't played in a year, but unless he is seriously injured again, just sit back and watch him come into his old skill with all the new knowledge he's gained through the Spurs.

Ian is going to be very solid this year.

[Spursmania]

Ian is going to surprise A LOT of people this year with his solid contributions.

He has the tools, he hasn't played in a year, but unless he is seriously injured again, just sit back and watch him come into his old skill with all the new knowledge he's gained through the Spurs.

Ian is going to be very solid this year.

I think MB was being facetious...

[poeticism707]

I think MB was being facetious...

Yeah, I know!

MB was obviously making light of Spurs fans impatience with Ian.

I understand Spurs being impatient, because the Duncan window is closing, but now that the Spurs are stacked, don't give up on Ian now that is taking his first steps towards being a solid contributor for the Spurs!

Show some patience, Spurs fans, for patience is rewarded with fulfillment: the fulfillment of Ian starting to fulfill his potential.

[Da Spurs]

I would be extremely grateful if he turned out as good as Francisco Elson. I personally don't think he'll ever contribute. Blair has shown more in 1 outing than Ian has showed in 3 years in anything he's done.

[TDMVPDPOY]

A couple observations from David Thorpe's Twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/coachthorpe


George Hill was the 2nd worst player of all the first rounders last summer. He's fantastic now. Credit him, and his organization.

This is a load of horse , GHILL was putting up 20ppg on some nights when parker was out injured earlier in the season, and when he return ghill minutes went down and pop stopped him from playing as point in favor for mason. Ghill also had some nice defensive assignments also...

2nd worst player, who let the attention horse out

[timvp]

Cool. Waive Mahinmi and play Bonner as he's shown more on a NBA court and wasn't injured last season. Better yet, give him to Houston as he's worth nothing.

It's amazing how quick Spurs fans forget how good Mahinmi was the last time he actually got to play. He was the best bigman in the d-league. Last time I checked, he freakin' has the highest PER in the history of the d-league. He is also in the career leaders in win shares, defensive win shares, offensive win shares, true shooting percentage, field goal percentage and a couple of other stats.

[Spursmania]

Yeah, I know!

MB was obviously making light of Spurs fans impatience with Ian.

I understand Spurs being impatient, because the Duncan window is closing, but now that the Spurs are stacked, don't give up on Ian now that is taking his first steps towards being a solid contributor for the Spurs!

Show some patience, Spurs fans, for patience is rewarded with fulfillment: the fulfillment of Ian starting to fulfill his potential.

Yeah, I would love nothing more than for Ian to fulfill his potential. I think it's easy to forget he's only 22.

[Ice009]

It's amazing how quick Spurs fans forget how good Mahinmi was the last time he actually got to play. He was the best bigman in the d-league. Last time I checked, he freakin' has the highest PER in the history of the d-league. He is also in the career leaders in win shares, defensive win shares, offensive win shares, true shooting percentage, field goal percentage and a couple of other stats.

Timvp did someone post here during that season that a few scouts where pretty high on Ian and said he has All-Star potential? I'm sure I read it here in a post back then when Mahinmi was in the D-League.

[timvp]

Timvp did someone post here during that season that a few scouts where pretty high on Ian and said he has All-Star potential? I'm sure I read it here in a post back then when Mahinmi was in the D-League.

Yeah, there was something like that posted a year ago. Forgot the source but supposedly some scouts were extremely high on Mahinmi after what they saw of him in the d-league.

[Marcus Bryant]

I think that was last summer, though I could be mistaken.

[Marcus Bryant]

And make no mistake, San Antonio will continue to do well, with help waiting in the wings. Power forward Ian Mahinmi, San Antonio's top pick in the 2005 draft, came over from France before the season and averaged 16.8 points and 8.0 rebounds with the Austin Toros, San Antonio's D-League affiliate. Still overseas is Tiago Splitter, a lottery talent who slid to the bottom of the first round in the '07 draft due to a hefty buyout in his Spanish League contract. The 6-foot-11, 232-pound Brazilian averaged 14 points and five rebounds this season with Spanish power Tau Ceramica. SI.com

"Mahinmi has the potential to be an All-Star," an Eastern Conference executive said. "He needs to get a little stronger, but he has the skill set to play inside and outside. I can see him being a very good player on a contending team." SI.com

With the season now over, the Spurs will look to address that need in the draft, where they will have a first- and two second-round picks. Expect at least one of those selections to be spent on an unheralded international player. And expect, at some point, for that player to be a contributor. SI.com

link

[Ice009]

Yeah, there was something like that posted a year ago. Forgot the source but supposedly some scouts were extremely high on Mahinmi after what they saw of him in the d-league.

Thanks. I was sure I read that here either when Ian was in the D-league or before last season. That is why I don't understand people that are ready to throw Ian to the curb straight away after 1 SL game.

I recalled reading that and it is probably the reason I have higher expectations for Ian.

[timvp]

Nice find, MB

Yeah, last summer Mahinmi is a possible All-Star according to someone whose job it is to scout the NBA. This summer, Mahinmi should be waived to give Bonner more playing time.

[poeticism707]

Game one for Ian is a microcosm of his career with some folks: Premature judgment that he's never going to amount to anything based on WAY too little information. There are maybe four or five bigs in the league that can make that move he made yesterday from the three point line. For what he's making, he can take the Mengke Bateer or Sean Marks role on this team until we have more information to go on.

Exactly. Ian really does have the potential to be a VERY UNIQUE BIG: the most notable and king of unique bigs, being of course, Lamar Odom.

There are very few bigs in the NBA that could've spun right and finished WITH THE LEFT IN TRAFFIC as the game wore down against NO.

Am I saying he'll duplicate Lamar Odom's success?

How would I know that?

But the point is, Ian really posses some unique basketball skills, skills that not just every NBA player posses.

If he hadn't been derailed by the ankle injury last summer, Spurs fans would already be acquainted with this, but if healthy Ian will develop into that a very unique game, an athletic big that other bigs WILL HAVE MATCH-UP problems with, even if they're better.

But not playing in OVER A YEAR, he obviously needs more time.