Summer League Notes: SAS vs. NOLA
San Antonio Spurs 92, New Orleans Hornets 86
It makes absolutely no difference who wins or loses these games but I guess it feels better to win.
It’s difficult to believe the George Hill I just watched play is the same player who turned in such a mediocre performance during the 2008 summer league. Hill had 25 points on 7-13 shooting and turned in a pristine 11-11 mark from the line. He also led the team with 3 assists.
Hill’s ball-handling has improved noticeably. He looks particularly confident when headed into the lane. In the first half he threw down a nice dunk, and continued to reach the rim and finish smoothly throughout the game. In the words of David Thorpe, “[Rodrique] Beaubois is the best pure pg I’ve seen this summer. Until George Hill.”
If you like reading shameless praise of DeJuan Blair, than you have come to the right place. Blair turned in an impressive double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) during a productive 22 minutes of floor time.
I’ll be frank: I love watching Blair work under the boards. He has a mature sense of spacing and soft, accurate hands. His rebounding was particularly notable on the offensive end, where he consistently turned misses by his teammates into open layups and trips to the line (where he went 5-6). As will be the case during the regular season, Blair was by no means the tallest player on the floor. But he was the only player on either team whose rebounding count reached double digits.
Blair’s offensive contributions weren’t limited to put-backs; he showed promising signs that a well-rounded offensive game may be in his future. On the first play we ran specifically to him, Blair turned and hit a smooth 12 footer. On the next play, he received the ball at almost the exact same spot and used his defenders over-adjustment to take him off the dribble and draw the foul. Blair’s mechanics are a little loose, but the origins of a reliable offensive arsenal are there.
Jack McClinton did not play well this afternoon. His 2 turnovers, 4 fouls and 2 points during 15 minutes did not exactly resemble the offensive spark I had hoped to see in him. He struggled to create space with or without the ball in his hand. His first FGA was well-contested; his second was blocked.
After his performance today, I can see why the Spurs went ahead and signed Malik Hairston this past week. He was easily the best Spur on the floor behind Hill and Blair. His 16 points on 11 attempts came a variety of ways: At the rim, beyond the arc, catching and shooting, dribbling into shots. He even showed a bit of poise as he nailed a 3-pointer to put the Spurs ahead by 4 with 10 seconds left. If he can continue to play at this level, the Spurs might be deeper at the small forward position than we thought.
Ian Mahinmi, although very talented, has a reputation for being soft. This afternoon, he didn’t do much to dispel that reputation. He was consistently out-muscled on both ends of the floor. This is partly because of his sheepish attitude but it’s also caused by his weak lower body. Mahinmi’s arms and chest are strong but, if he is going to consistently establish position beneath the basket, he is going to have to develop below the waist.
Although there is almost zero chance that either Alonzo Gee or Romel Beck will be on the Spurs next year, both played well today. If either of them ended up on the Toros this upcoming season, that’d be just fine.
Our next game is against the Nuggets on Tuesday night at 10 Eastern/9 Central.
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