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Nice. Thanks a lot!
Tim Duncan
One preseason game in and Tim Duncan looks ready for the regular season to begin. He's in good shape, he's moving well and there's not much summer rust. Like we saw in the scrimmage, Duncan is playing further out on the court. That works well when paired with DeJuan Blair because it allows the second-year forward to get post up opportunities. For the rest of the preseason schedule, Duncan needs to just stay in shape and avoid injury.
Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili is playing a relaxed brand of basketball and is letting the game come to him. Considering it's preseason action and wins are meaningless, this is good news. Ginobili needs to ease his way into the regular season and avoid putting his body on the line. Like last season, his passing looks very good. For now Ginobili is starting, although I'm sure Pop will try a few more lineup combinations as preseason action continues.
Tony Parker
It's early but it's safe to say Tony Parker is primed for a bounce back season. His elite quickness looks to be back and he appears to be locked in mentally. His intensity when it came to defense and pushing the pace allowed the Spurs to gain an early advantage in this contest. If anything, my only critique with Parker right now is he might be playing too hard. Personally, I'd like for him to dial it back and let others create until the games begin to count.
Richard Jefferson
I wish I could say that Richard Jefferson looks much improved from last season ... but I can't. I was especially unimpressed by his transition defense and how slowly he navigated himself around picks. He's in better physical shape but we'll see if that translates to improvement on the basketball court. The best news regarding Jefferson is his offensive aggression from the perimeter. At the end of last season, he didn't like shooting from the outside. In the scrimmage and in the preseason opener, Jefferson has been letting it fly from range. Now if he can only starting making said attempts . . .
DeJuan Blair
In the summer, DeJuan Blair said he was going to start at power forward this year. So far, it looks like he was telling the truth. At the very least, he brings a heightened activity level to the starting unit. Defensively, he used his quickness to disrupt a few possessions but still has a lot to learn in terms of his help defense responsibilities. On offense, he had trouble finishing against length a few times and his quick teardrop in the lane looked awkward, however he also flashed a lot of potential on that end. Blair is a young developing player with loads of upside. Let's hope the coaching staff allows him to reach his full potential.
Bobby Simmons
First the good news: Bobby Simmons didn't looked overmatched when playing power forward. His decision-making offensively is good and he's willing to bang down low on both ends. Unfortunately, his perimeter defense is extremely iffy. Considering he's a small forward by trade, that's quite harmful to his chances of making the team. As it stands, it looks like injuries have robbed him of the necessary athleticism to play in the NBA. He has the rest of preseason to prove differently.
Kirk Penney
After not getting much of a look in the scrimmage, Kirk Penney got extended minutes on Thursday night. As a shooting specialist, he may fit the part. He shoots when he's open with no second thought. He moves well off the ball. He handles the ball well enough to create a few shots. Where Penney struggles most is defensively. He's short for a shooting guard and also has slow feet. He shows adequate toughness so perhaps he can learn to compensate. Penney remains a longshot but he helped his chances tonight.
Matt Bonner
Matt Bonner nailed a three-pointer a few seconds after he entered the game ... and then didn't do much the rest of the way. Actually, he took a nasty swipe across the face courtesy of Kyle Lowry. That was notable. His defense, as is usually the case, was decent. What continues to concern me with Bonner is his rebounding. His rebounding rate gets worse and worse and I haven't seen anything to tell me that trend is reversible.
James Gist
It was more of what we saw from James Gist in the scrimmage: Tons of activity, inconsistent production. On defense, I thought he made a few really good rotations out on the perimeter. His presence down low, however, wasn't acceptable. With his athleticism, he needs to be more of a force. Offensively, I was surprised that the Spurs gave him a number of post up opportunities. I thought it was a good move because his outside shot isn't good enough for him to strictly be a stretch power forward. That said, he didn't have much success on the post. His footwork is poor and he doesn't seem to have enough strength to hold his position. Gist's overall package is intriguing but he remains more of an athlete rather than a basketball player.
Marcus Cousin
While it's highly unlikely he makes the Spurs out of camp, Marcus Cousin is starting to make a name for himself. For a 6-foot-11 bigman with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Cousin's nimbleness is surprising. He quickly gets to his spots and is an aggressive rebounder. He has promise as a shotblocker and has even shown range on his jumper. Like I said after the scrimmage, getting this kid on the Toros would be a good idea. Even though he's 23 years old, he has a decent amount of potential and seems to be developing at a good pace.
Garrett Temple
A poor scrimmage was followed up by a poor preseason opener. Garrett Temple has to start playing better to make the team. Offensively, he's showing a scary amount of ineptness. His ballhandling has been suspect and he seems to either force the issue or be passive. For whatever reason, he looks uncomfortable at this early stage of the season. Hopefully he can calm down and get back to how he played last year. Theoretically, a big point guard who can defend multiple positions would be a perfect fit on this roster.
George Hill
George Hill really struggled in his first preseason game. The offensive rhythm vanished when he ran the team. When he looked to score, he did so mostly by isolating himself -- which made the offense even more ragged. Hill also didn't do much good on the defensive end. All in all, this was a game to forget.
Curtis Jerrells
I liked what I saw from Curtis Jerrells. He's still not a true NBA level prospect ... but he's getting there. Jerrells showed fight on the defensive end and he got the Spurs into their sets on the offense. A little bit more confidence and another step up in aggression and he may actually become a player the Spurs could potentially keep on board.
Gary Neal
Can he really play shooting guard in the NBA? That's the question I ask myself when I see Neal on the court. Honestly, it's difficult to imagine that the answer is yes. He's going to have to really shoot it straight to make it work. Otherwise, his lack of size and limited athleticism makes him a liability.
James Anderson
Oddly, James Anderson didn't get into the game until nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. It's plain to see that he has a natural feel for the game. He moves smoothly and looks to have adequate size for the NBA. Right now, I'm waiting to see if he has enough athleticism. Without it, Anderson may be the second coming of Chris Carrawell. Let's hope that isn't the case.
Gregg Popovich
I liked the starting lineup. The only thing that I might change is adding Hill and using Ginobili as the super sub. That way, Hill gets more guaranteed minutes and Ginobili can conserve his minutes. Not playing Anderson earlier was somewhat surprising. I'm not sure if Penney and Cousin got extra run because Pop is interested or because Pop is letting them play before they get cut. Speaking of extra run, I'm hoping we get longer looks at Gist, Temple, Neal and Alonzo Gee in upcoming preseason games. Those bubble players have a lot riding on these exhibition outings.
Nice. Thanks a lot!
I think Duncan looks in better game shape at this point than he did coming into last year's preseason. Hope he stays healthy.
Thanks for the breakdown.
Downright stupid not to play Anderson alot.
Why the heck hold back on a preseason game.
Who do we think we are. This isn't 2006.
I wish rj didn't still suck. 2-9
Newsflash-- Jefferson and Bonner sucked.
Good overview...Right now it looks like Pop is setting up the preseason as a series of concentric circles. Players least likely to make the team, are getting the first looks and earliest opportunities, and if they shine or show enough they could continue to get enough burn to play in to the second set.
Spurs have got to find an answer at small forward soon though. I want to believe in Jefferson, because so much is riding on him, and Simmons has looked like a great addition on paper, but they have shown nothing on the court so far.
Cousin is 6'11??? I thought he was like 6'9, I hope the Spurs keep him with the Toros, he's an extra big the Spurs could use if some sort of injury happens.
RJ looks to be the biggest concern right now. He had 30 minutes in a pre-season game and still struggled with both offence and defence.
why didnt they turf out RJ? sorry if its a dumb as question but I have been following my team in australia over off season
Blair was a beast! In the first half, DeJuan Blair played like he was the best player in the NBA>
I think anderson might need an at ude adjustment. In 2k11 he is one of the few players making a face for his profile photo. Then top it off he didnt play much atall this game
btw. does it mean anything that Gee didn't play? (is he hurt?)
I like Neal, but he is probably going to have to show he can play some 1 to make the team. He was better than Jerrells, Temple and Penney.
Simmons showed that he is not the answer for the backup 3, but if he isn't, who is?
Where the is Gee?
Cousin is a nice project player. I liked him in the scrimmage too. I can't see the Spurs keeping Gist over Cousin and I think Cousin is Toros bound.
Anderson will be alright, he is just really out of shape.
Garrett Temple . . . WTF?!
I'm not too worried about RJ. He looked really good when he was playing with a decent lineup. He played too many minutes on the "cut squad" and that's not how he is going to be used.
You are overreacting.
Cousin needs to be signed, shipped to Austin for half the season and then brought back and given a chance after the ASB - he has potential to be our Birdman. I liked the way he played, but holy the dude looks like he's shooting in slow motion.
Didn't see the game, but just from the comments and boxscore it seems like the spurs have a lot of mismatched pieces right now... guys who don't fit into traditional roles and have limited skillsets. I really think Pop is going to have a tough time figuring out what to do and who to play where. Personally I'm not that impressed with many of the new faces and I think the spurs would have been better served by retaining Hairston and Mahinmi , both of whom I think were more quality reserves IMO.
If it was up to me, Bonner wouldn't have been resigned (thus keeping the spurs near the tax threshold) and Jefferson and his expiring contract would have been set on the trading block immediately for just about anything the spurs need or could get their hands on... especially small forwards.
Out of the new faces, I like what I've read about Penney's shooting & Jerrels gives the spurs a really good ballhandler/traditional pg, so I would have kept these two and cut all of Neal, Temple (never liked him much), Simmons, Gist & Gee.
This would have been my hypothetical lineup.
C Duncan, Mahinmi
PF Blair, Splitter, McDyess
SF Jefferson Hairston, Penney
SG Ginobili, Hill, Anderson
PG Parker, Jerrels
This would have been my 13 man roster which I feel very confident would have been an effective one.
I really shudder to think what/who Pop is finally going to cut/keep and how minutes are going to be distributed.
I love TJ's "what if" posts . . .
There is no way that Penney is a SF by any stretch of the imagination.
He's 6'5" 220 that's as big as Bogans was and centerpiece played some SF and even some PF so why the not? I'd be more concerned with Penney at the 2 where his slow feet will be more of a liability.
Thanks for the writeup.
Where was Gee?
WTF Pop
Next time, give more PT to Anderson
I know it's only preseason, but:
Since I'm only looking at the boxscore, I wonder if Cousin is anything to look at. Almost a double double.
And, RJ, wtf? With 30 min, I assume he's going up against a squad the rockets are testing out too, and only 2 of 9?
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