-Ginobili looks really good. He's usually a player who starts off slowly. His shot looks to be on and he's moving well. He even threw down a better dunk than I saw all of last year. Very encouraging signs from him.
-Duncan, Bowen, Oberto and Finley all look to be in good shape. All were moving quite well. No noticeably slowing down from any of them.
-Barry is playing how Spurs fans have always wanted him to play. He's just letting it fly. He's shooting without a hint of hesitation. He's passing using his natural instincts. He's playing a lot looser than I've ever seen him. Hopefully this continues into the season but these first two games he's looking like he's just letting Brent Barry play like Brent Barry.
-Elson looked more comfortable. He actually knew where to be on the court. There's no reason not to expect a big improvement out of him this season. His awareness was impressive.
-Bonner looks to be in much better shape. He's jumping a lot higher than he did last year. He can actually get rebounds above the rim and finish at the basket. It's looking like he'll be a lot less reliant on his three-point shot this season.
-Udoka is going to be a nice piece. His defense is already very good. He knows where to be defensively and moves his feet very well. He's an old school Elliott/Elie type of defender, which will be nice to pair with Bowen when needed. Offensively, he still has a lot of work to do. He didn't know his spots that well and he was taking too many shots. He needs to figure out his role offensively ... which will come.
-Washington was the best of the training camp invitees. He's in much better shape than the last time I saw him. He's really fast and can really get up to the rim. Defensively, he has tools to be a very nice defender. He's a bit of a ball hog and doesn't have very much playmaking ability ... but he's still better than Beno.
-Marcus Williams likes shooting. Too bad he's not good at it. He hit a lucky jumper at a shot clock buzzer that was ugly. He's really uncoordinated on his layups and missed quite a few. He rebounds pretty well but his ballhandling is a extremely suspect. Overall, he pretty much played how he's played over the last couple months.
-Lang, Lever and Langford aren't really NBA players. They try hard and they seem like good guys to have at camp, but it's only a matter of time before they are waived. Wouldn't mind all three ending up on the Toros.
-Ian Mahinmi is looking about as good as can be expected. He had a couple of ferocious blocks (I can't believe the box score only credited him with one block ... he had at least three). I'm very excited from what I saw. He's not going to be a great player but he's athletic, strong and fearless ... three traits you want in a young bigman prospect. He even knocked down a 15-footer that didn't look too horrible. Mahinmi still has a long ways to go but I'm more excited about him than I was coming into training camp. His problem with regard to fouling too much seems to have been cured by NBA refs letting more contact go then in Europe or summer league.
-The Spurs crowd, even considering it's a preseason crowd, was pretty pathetic. I've seen more fans at a preseason WNBA game. The arena was about 40% of capacity at most.
-Good to be back in the saddle.
Ginobili - Yelled at people more than I have ever seen him yell. He went off on Washington like crazy for letting people go middle, and yelled at Elson twice for missing rotations
Bonner - Looks in good shape.
Washington - I liked him until I realized that he's 5'10 or so
Mahinmi - I wish I would have seen him play for 20 minutes.
Udoka - Someone needs to tell him to get some arc in that shot. It was flat as a pancake.
Possible could be a 8 and 8 10 and 10 guy?Ian Mahinmi is looking about as good as can be expected. He had a couple of ferocious blocks (I can't believe the box score only credited him with one block ... he had at least three). I'm very excited from what I saw. He's not going to be a great player but he's athletic, strong and fearless ... three traits you want in a young bigman prospect. He even knocked down a 15-footer that didn't look too horrible. Mahinmi still has a long ways to go but I'm more excited about him than I was coming into training camp. His problem with regard to fouling too much seems to have been cured by NBA refs letting more contact go then in Europe or summer league.
-Barry is playing how Spurs fans have always wanted him to play. He's just letting it fly. He's shooting without a hint of hesitation. He's passing using his natural instincts. He's playing a lot looser than I've ever seen him. Hopefully this continues into the season but these first two games he's looking like he's just letting Brent Barry play like Brent Barry.
-Elson looked more comfortable. He actually knew where to be on the court. There's no reason not to expect a big improvement out of him this season. His awareness was impressive.
If these two things carry on in the regular season, the Spurs could have a shot at winning the division.
They played an European team, so of course most of the players are going to look good against European talent. Manu was a balla in Europe playing against that sort of compe ion. Tim Duncan would man handle and destroy anybody in Europe. So, I can't really look at this to serve as any indication on anything.
You didn't need an an.
Down the line perhaps but that's a couple years away.
You need 'an' after a word with a vowel as it's starting letter. However, it's still gramatically correct for such words as european not to have 'an' and it's okay to have 'an' for words such as hour. Whatever......lmao
Last season I remember he yelled to Elson a lotGinobili - Yelled at people more than I have ever seen him yell. He went off on Washington like crazy for letting people go middle, and yelled at Elson twice for missing rotations
Yeah, everyone did.
Without seeing much of the improved Mahinmi yet...
I'm going to continue to say that's he's going to be a very good player. He's got work ethic(he does what the Spurs ask him to do), he hustles, and he's got tremendous athleticism...
He's also got one of the most skilled bigmen to ever play the game to help him develop his skills...and he's got a young countryman, who's developed in a similar manner to push him and encourage him to do it...
No...Ian's going to be a successful player IMO, it'll be next to impossible for him to fail, as long as he stays healthy. He wants to be good, he's willing to work to become better...and he's got the talent. That's what it takes...
He's a PF version of Tony.
I agree that this Euro team was overmatched but they played harder than other teams play in preseason ... and anyways, most of my observations didn't have anything to do with the opponent.
I know alot of people around here rag on Bonner(especially after the contract) but I thought he played pretty good until his injury. I expect him to have a pretty good season.-Bonner looks to be in much better shape. He's jumping a lot higher than he did last year. He can actually get rebounds above the rim and finish at the basket. It's looking like he'll be a lot less reliant on his three-point shot this season.
Thanks for the analysis Timvp. Solid.
Nevermind.
Bonner before his knee injury, was the best big on the Spurs.
Better than Oberto.
Miles better than the layup dutchman.
Bonner could once again take that le over again.
Bonner could this season live up to the "Malik with a jumper" comparison alot of us made last year.
Might turn out that the bigman the Spurs wanted to spend this year breaking into the NBA was Ian...not Scola...another reason they made that trade.
No question.Down the line perhaps but that's a couple years away.
His game sounds like a smarter Samuel Dalembert.
The thing I've been most impressed with in his first two games is the fact that he isn't scared. He plays like he belongs. That's usually half the battle with a young big.
Add to that very good athleticism, good timing for shot blocks and good strength and the kid has a shot. I'm not sure he'll put up that big of stats on the DLeague level just because he's raw and needs good players around him ... but I've seen enough to tell me he's worthy of being a long-term project.
Hey...how tall is Ian now? Did you guys notice?
Sounds like Presti's last draft pick is a winner.
My guess is that he is 6'11 with shoes on. I'll pay more attention next time and compare him to someone else to get an idea.
A couple years back the Spurs played the Rockets in a preseason game here in Laredo(its in tx for those that dont live around here) and it was just awesome. It was supposed to be a Rockets home game but around here its around 98% spurs fan base. It was a sell out and the crowd reacted like it was freakin playoff game. I think if they tried this a bit more, as in preseason games in south tx cities, it would get a big response. just my two cents.-The Spurs crowd, even considering it's a preseason crowd, was pretty pathetic. I've seen more fans at a preseason WNBA game. The arena was about 40% of capacity at most.
All I know is that in every video of extrended PT I've seen of Ian there are two things that are apparent...
#1. He can jump out of the gym.
#2. Without fail, he's always playing harder than anyone else.
He throws his body around like he's a 8 year vet on his last chance to make it into the NBA...
I mean these videos I have seen....some of those players he was playing with were complete scrubs that had no business being on a basketball court...they have nothing to offer but hustle, yet Ian's the guy running around like he's afraid he doesn't belong on a basketball court.
Ian's a credit to the French...
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