Utah NBA Summer League Recap: Bryn Forbes detonates as Spurs beat Celtics

Going up against Jayson Tatum, Bryn Forbes went off.

The Spurs played in their second game of the Utah Summer League on Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics and all of their youth and athleticism on the wing. The Spurs cruised to victory by a score of 81-70 in a game that was’t as close as the score.

Bryn Forbes was the high point man for the Spurs in the victory, finishing with 31 points in 29 minutes. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had his second nice outing in a row, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Here’s a recap of the performance of notable players for the Spurs:

Bryn Forbes

Forbes was fantastic on both ends of the floor, and gave everyone a good look at how good he can be when his shot is falling. Forbes finished with 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field, including a white hot 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.

I’m still not sure how Forbes fits on the 2017-18 roster as a significant contributor, or even as a realistic rotational option in the backcourt. The offensive tools are there, but consistency is the next step for Forbes if he wants to become more than a fifth or sixth option at guard when the regular season begins.

Dejounte Murray

Murray could not have shot the ball any worse in this one, going 0-for-10 from the floor, but finishing with 5 points. Murray had a couldn’t-throw-it-in-the-ocean night, but it was everything else that he did on the floor that caught my eye. Despite not making a shot from the field, Murray finished +10 in plus/minus, cintributing 10 rebounds, four assists, and solid effort on the defensive end. Like any NBA player, Murray will need to salvage poor shooting nights and turn them into positive performances. While it’s just Summer League play, Murray showed more positive signs of how he can make an impact outside of scoring alone.

Derrick White

At least the effort was there.

It was not a great performance out of Derrick White, the Spurs’ 29th pick of last month’s NBA Draft. White was 3-of-13 shooting on Wednesday night, finishing with 10 points. White hustled up and down the floor and didn’t seem to let the poor shooting night get the best of him, which is encouraging for a young player who’s still getting his feet wet in his first NBA-level games.

Davis Bertans

Bertans finished Wednesday night’s contest as the Spurs’ second leading scorer, scoring 14 points on a 4-for-8 effort from three. He had a tendency to lay low on the perimeter offensively at times, and will need to improve his movement offensively off the ball. On the defensive end of the floor, Bertans was active in bodying up the likes of Ante Zizic and Landen Lucas, but was too aggressive at times and committed four fouls. While the fouls are troubling, Bertans showed a tendency once again to attack the defensive glass, pulling down four boards on that end of the floor. All-in-all, it was a positive performance for the Latvian big.

Jaron Blossomgame

Blossomgame was a solid contributor for the Spurs on Wednesday, finishing with eight points on 2-of-4 shooting from three. He also grabbed four rebounds and was aggressive on the defensive end. There was nothing extraordinary about his outing, but he played well in his second game.

Shane Whittington

Shayne…Shayne…Shayne….

Yeah, it was ugly for Whittington. He finished with two points and three rebounds in 23 minutes.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers v. San Antonio Spurs

Thursday, July 6th at 6:00 PM CT.

Source: Pounding The Rock

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