Summer League Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks – Game #5
Sure, the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Cup. Then, a few months later, the Knicks beat the Spurs to win the championship. But the good guys were able to get the last laugh by defeating the Knicks in summer league by a final score of 70-49. All the previous losses to the Knicks this season now don’t count.
Stats: Spurs vs. Knicks
Spurs vs. Knicks – Final Grades
Carter Bryant
Heck yeah. After an uneven showing in his summer league debut, Bryant was pretty darn good against the Knicks. Offensively, his three-point shot was smooth, he smartly utilized physicality on his drives and his shooting off the dribble was effective. Bryant’s strength really shined when he attacked. He missed a couple passes but his passing overall was fine. Defensively, Bryant was mostly good. He defended well on the perimeter, blocked a couple shots and communicated really well. His rebounding could have been better, though. All in all, Bryant was clearly the best player on the court and it’s safe to say he has now graduated from summer league action. With the tools he exhibited, it’s now easy to imagine him taking a jump as a sophomore in the association.
Grade: A-
Tarris Reed Jr.
On paper, it looks like Reed had a disastrous outing. In reality, he was better than the numbers suggest. He had five turnovers but those were mostly questionable offensive fouls. He shot 2-for-9 from the field but missed a few wide open layups that he’ll usually make. What I liked about Reed’s play was his powerful rebounding and his wise passes. It’s important for bigs to be able to pass in today’s NBA and it really looks like Reed has enough juice in that category.
Grade: C+
Ja’Kobi Gillespie
I’m liking Gillespie more and more as summer league progresses. His passing is getting better and better; he’s routinely making the right reads when stationary or on the move. Scoring-wise, he has a really feathery touch and deep range. Gillespie also takes care of the ball and runs sets well. Defensively, he’s small but he’s more than just a bystander. He probably won’t be ready for NBA minutes as a rookie but the Spurs may have something here.
Grade: B+
Maliq Brown
Brown really is a fascinating prospect. Defensively, he gets a ton of deflections and is a step ahead when it comes to reading passing lanes. He did a lot better on the boards against NY and he protected the hoop well. Brown doesn’t have elite size or athleticism but his natural instincts on D are notable. It’ll be interesting to see how far that can take him. Offensively, I thought this was a step in the right direction. He was 2-for-2 from the field and from the free throw line. While he probably should have been more aggressive looking to score the ball, I did like how he was aggressive with his passes. Turnovers were a bit of an issue with him but I like how he wasn’t afraid to attempt difficult, high level passes.
Grade: B+
Emanuel Miller
Miller is a good athlete who can defend and rebound. His movement for a 6-foot-7 wing is impressive. But … he can’t do much on offense other than shoot threes. He can’t handle the ball and doesn’t have much court vision. I’m not sure we’ve seen enough from Miller yet to even justify a training camp invite at this point.
Grade: C-
RJ Davis
Not a great showing for Davis. He was 2-for-9 from the field and had more turnovers (three) than assists (two). Davis can score in his sleep so it was strange to see him struggle on that end against the Knicks. He had some pretty good moments defensively but, all told, this was a game he will want to soon forget.
Grade: C-
Jayden Nunn
You have to feel sorry for Nunn because he had a strong start to summer league but has now fallen off quite a bit. He went scoreless in 16 minutes and missed all six of his field goal attempts and his only free throw try. The effort is there but the results have disappeared.
Grade: D+
Igor Milicic Jr.
Milicic authored a three-pointer and an eye-catching dunk. He’s legitimately a quality athlete with quick twitch movement. He also rebounded and passed well against the Knicks. That said, I don’t really trust his outside shot and I think he’s more of a collection of skills than a true basketball player at this point.
Grade: B+
Hyunjung Lee
I mean, it was nice to see Lee finally hit a shot. He had been ice cold in recent games. Unfortunately for him, his defense looked worse than usual and he was unable to impact the game in other ways other than by hitting a lone three-pointer.
Grade: C
Zakai Zeigler
Zeigler got some time and was in the middle of the action, like usual.
Grade: B
RJ Melendez
Melendez didn’t waste his playing time. In only eight minutes, he racked up five points and four rebounds and missed only one shot.
Grade: B+
David Muoka
Muoka had a powerful dunk and a block in his five minutes. He continues to look like a big, strong athlete.
Grade: Inc.
Tyon Grant-Foster
Grant-Foster wasn’t timid at all in his two minutes.
Grade: Inc.
Miles Barnstable
Barnstable had a really nice drive and dish to Muoka for a dunk.
Grade: Inc.
Corliss Williamson
The Knicks could very well be the worst team in summer league. That said, it was still good to see these summer league Spurs get a win. Now let’s see if they can hang with a non-Knick team.
Grade: B-
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