Posted July 17th, 2009 by mvn
Tags: Basketball, Denver Nuggets

Spurs stay perfect in Summer League with win over Nuggets

The Spurs are now 2-0 in Summer League play after narrowly beating the Nuggets78-76 at the Cox Pavillion in Las Vegas.

The matchup I was especially excited about going in was seeing George Hill against Ty Lawson. I thought if anyone could test Hill after he torched Darren Collison, it would be arguably the best point guard in the country last year.

Once again Hill got the better of his opponent, scoring 16 points and running the offense while Lawson put up a meager 8 points, all from the free throw line and turning the ball over four times.

Hill has impressed me with his confidence and poise running the point for the second straight game. He no longer looks like a combo guard out there. He clearly now has the mindset of a point guard, orchestrating plays and communicating with his teammates on the floor.

While I always expected Hill to catch on and become a nice backup point guard, he’s done a complete 180 after shooting 8% from the field last year and is starting to look like a savvy vet.

Even ESPN’s David Thrope has been gushing about Hill in his live tweets:

Beaubois has been the best pure pg I’ve seen this summer. Until George Hill.

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

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.

Beaubois has been the best pure pg I’ve seen this summer. Until George Hill.
Have I mentioned how good I think George Hill is?

Aside from Hill. the Spurs got some contributions from Malik Hairston and Romel Beck once again. But what was most surprising was Ian Mahinmi showing some signs of life.

Ian was very active on the floor, showing some aggression going after rebounds and even blocking a few shots. He finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocks in 28 minutes. But he also showed that he’s still having some difficulty defending without fouling, as he racked up the maximum 10 fouls. Ian will definitely be one to watch, as the Spurs can no longer send him to Austin, so he’ll take up a roster spot and will have to prove that he is worthy the rest of the week.

Hairston once again displayed the same sharp shooting and athleticism that we have now come to know him by. In the first game, Hairston seemed to pass up shots, but he took those shots in game two to lead the Spurs in scoring with 17 points.

I was hoping Beck would have a strong game two to match his efforts in game one and he didn’t disappoint. The 6-7 slasher from UNLV had 14 points on mostly strong drives to the rim and a few outside jumpers. Since Hill, Mahinmi and Hairston already have contracts, Beck is becoming the frontrunner to land a contract. He opened my eyes a few years ago when he was playing for Mexico and proved to be a handful for his US counterparts.

In our postgame call, Chris Denker said Beck should land with another team next season if he doesn’t find a spot with the Spurs. He also noted that Beck needs to work on not over-penetrating and forcing shots.

One other surprise was the absence of DeJuan Blair. After his first game had NBA scouts, fans and bloggers buzzing and even inspired a “Rebounding with DeJuan Blair” post here at Project Spurs, Blair did not play a minute of game two.

Prior to the game, there were rumors that Blair would not play until his contract negotiations were completed. That was likely news to him, as he posted a twitter update a few hours prior indicating that he was looking forward to the game: “Game day!!! Nothing better then playing basketball against people that are just as competitive as me.”

Regardless, he was a DNP, which makes me think his agent is behind Blair not playing. Denker also reported that he sat nearby R.C. Buford and noticed that he and other Spurs brass that were in attendance met for a while during the game. Hopefully, Blair’s contract will be done soon so we can see him in a few more summer league games.

One unexpected bright spot was little-known Stephane Lasme, who put up some decent numbers quietly. In 21 minutes, he had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. Not bad for an undersized forward, who most recently played for Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Although I’m not sure I should be surprised considering Lasme has always made the most of any opportunities. He played 16 games for the Heat last year, averaging 5.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 18 minutes per game.

The only letdown as of yet has been Spurs draft pick Jack McClinton. He continued to struggle in game two against the Nuggets. He’s had trouble finding the shot he’s made his name with. He went 0-2 in just over 10 minutes against the Nuggets, but managed four assists when he played in a dual-point guard role with Hill. Through the first two games, he is 0-4 from the field and will have to show up for the remaining games in order to secure a contract and roster spot.

The Spurs next summer league game will be tomorrow night at 5:30 CST against an Oklahoma City Thunder team led by James Harden. We’ll be here to live blog/chat, so be sure to participate and watch the play-by-play analysis and score updates if you can’t watch the game.

Box Score • Post-Game Interview

Written by mvn

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Spurs stay perfect in Summer League with win over Nuggets

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