After Monday’s pretty win over the Hornets, the Spurs pulled off an ugly win tonight, not because they played particularly well, but because they played harder than a strong Lakers team and clinched a 109-99 win in Sacramento .
The California Classic Summer League is a warm-up to the Summer League proper, which begins Friday in Las Vegas when Victor Wembanyama plays his first game in the Silver and Black as the Summer Spurs take on the Summer Hornets for what may be the most watched summer League game in the history of meaningless, overly hyped practice games played by a whole bunch of guys who have never played together before.
As tonight’s competition is all about player ratings, I’ll focus on individual player performances in the recap and skip the usual gameplay coverage, which is irrelevant in this type of friendly.
Player Summaries
- Victor Wembanyama– total non-appearance. It’s as if he wasn’t there at all.
- Julian Champagne—Don’t let the mild taste fool you. He’s so fluid you almost don’t realize how good he is at basketball. In the two games in Sacramento, he was the best player on the court. Spurs made a good decision and gave this guy a long-term contract.
- Dominick Barlow– Didn’t have the same dominant performance as against the Hornets but held his own against the powerful LA Bigs and made a crucial block when time was running out in the first half to retain San Antonio’s lead. He had a very solid game overall tonight without the flashy stats from Monday’s game.
- Malaki Branham—Solid start to the game, with plenty of momentum on offense. He’s not a great defender and that’s the part of his game that he needs to work on. He’s already a really good scorer.
- Charles Bediako– Seemed a bit overwhelmed at the beginning of the game. He began to find his balance in the second half as Spurs put him in a lineup alongside Barlow and used his size to make solid plays at both ends. He will need a lot of work in the G-League but looks like a solid signing.
- Sidy Cissoko—His offense still has some way to go, but the guy is an elite defender and plays with an advantage.
- Blake Wesley—Blake has a much better performance on offense tonight. Instead of forcing the ball into the basket, he played more on offense, shooting shots from middle distance when possible. His defense was solid as always. The game might slow down for him.
- Chaundee Brown—He’s a guy who plays really hard but probably won’t make it to the NBA. He did everything the manager asked of him, a really solid player.
- Eric Stevenson– Didn’t make much of an impact other than shooting a nice open threesome.
- Javante McCoy– Scored a crucial shot late in the first quarter to regain the lead for Spurs.
- Seth Milner– A sniper who doesn’t seem to have much else in his game.
- Josh Carlton– A big thug who looked better than Bediako at times.
- Matt Neillsen (Coach) – Good job getting a group of guys who have never played together to look reasonably organized on offense and defense, at least until things got a little crazy in the second half.
observations
- Once again, the Spurs got off to a quick start and appeared far more organized than the pickup game the Lakers were playing. Los Angeles saved a bang with hot shots and fought back into the game, taking the lead late in the first half.
- The top of Spurs’ summer league roster, while talented, isn’t as deep. When the starters went to the bench, there was no one left on the court to play against in an NBA regular-season game.
- The Lakers have a very impressive front roster for a Summer League roster. Castleton is a real rim protector and could get plenty of minutes in Los Angeles this year.
- Champagnie had 10 points on his first three shots. It’s hard to be more efficient.
- Max Christie started wildly early in the second half to keep things interesting, but a massive lead from Champagnie and the Spurs left the Silver and Black 13 ahead after three games.
- The Spurs lost their composure a little early in the final quarter as they looked like a Summer League team for the first time in California this year, but they righted the ship and clinched a win, grabbing the rebounds and stops, when she needed her.
The Summer League Spurs will play the Hornets in Las Vegas on Friday night for Victor Wembanyama’s debut in a Spurs jersey. It’s nationally televised on ESPN and you won’t want to miss it.
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