After a tough finish on Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs’ summer league team bounced back with a close 90-88 win over the Golden State Warriors. They did it without either of the Spurs’ lottery selections. Dylan Harper sat out his second straight game recovering from a groin injury. Carter Bryant was designated as out just minutes before the game with a “rest” designation. Spurs fans will need to wait until Las Vegas to get a real look at both rookies.
That left the rest of the summer roster to take on a tough Warriors squad. The remaining players consisted of second-round picks, undrafted free agents, and G League players. It may have been a glimpse at what the Austin Spurs could look like next season. The G League team should be in good shape with some go-to scorers, multiple ball-handlers, shooters, and some tough big men.
Teams are always on the lookout for untapped young talent in the summer league. The Spurs may have a few players who fit that description on their team. David Jones-Garcia and Jameer Nelson Jr. had solid games once again. Jones-Garcia put up 25 points on 9-14 shooting from the field, including 4-7 from three. Nelson Jr. had 12 points, 10 of which came at the free throw line as he got to the cup at will. Both players are putting themselves in a position to earn a training camp invite at the end of the summer, whether it’s in San Antonio or somewhere else.
The Spurs’ summer staff should be happy with the amount of talent on the roster. Even outside of the two standouts, the rest of the team showed a lot in the win over the Warriors, especially shooting the ball from deep, as the team knocked down 39.3% of their threes. They’ll have one more chance in San Francisco to keep up their solid play against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Takeaways:
Jones-Garcia is going to be the topic of conversation for most Spurs fans coming out of the weekend. He reminds me of a higher-usage Harrison Barnes, with his solid three-point shot, crafty scoring, and solid defense. His handle is a bit loose. He got stripped a few times and had 6 total turnovers. He created three turnovers with steals, and his passing created good looks for San Antonio. He’s an undersized forward at 6-foot-5, but he has the skill to make it work. The Spurs are leaning on the edge of having too many wings, but he could be a good bet on a two-way contract.
Keep an eye on Omari Moore for the rest of the summer. He’s the type of guard the Spurs value. He’s a solid defender at the point of attack, has great size at 6-foot-6, and knocks down threes off the catch. He had 13 points and 4 assists while knocking down three of his six deep balls. San Antonio is starting him over the likes of Nelson Jr. and Cam Carter. Clearly, they see something in him.
Harrison Ingram once again only played 14 minutes and was noticeably absent from the court in clutch time. He had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. You’d like to see a draft pick do a bit more in his second year of summer league. Ingram was never going to be the player who dominates 1-on-1; he’s just not making the impact an NBA role player should in these games yet.
Osayi Osifo is an uncontainable ball of energy who is fun as hell to watch. He’s taking bigs off the dribble, attacking the glass, and making things hard defensively. He caught an elbow to the windpipe late in the game that sidelined him. Before that, he had 8 points, 5 rebounds and... 5 fouls.