.png&w=244&h=193&zc=1 "By the numbers: A quick look at the Grizzlies")
Anderson, Leonard shine at Impact League
Day one of the Impact League is over and for San Antonio Spurs fans it meant a look at what 
James Anderson and Kawhi Leonard can bring to the team next season. If there will be a next season.
So how did the two Spurs representatives fare? Here are the final stat lines for both players who teamed up in Group A.
Anderson finished with 19 points, 7/10 from the field, 1/5 from the three-point line, 2/3 from the free-throw line, three rebounds and four assists.
Leonard finished with 16 points, 6/8 from the field, 1/4 from the three-point line, 1/2 from the free-throw line, five rebounds and four assists.
Overall this was a couple of solid performances for Anderson and Leonard. Aside from their stat lines, getting a chance to play together is another benefit for these two players. Not only can it be used to build some chemistry heading into next season, it's also a chance for Anderson to show Leonard the ropes of the Spurs' offense, defense and what to expect.
Spurs fans and coaching staff should nod with approval from their performances. For Anderson, it shows he is fully recovered from his injury that derailed his rookie season and for Leonard, it gave him a chance to play with other NBA players and gain valuable experience.
Thoughts Spurs fans? What do you think about the performances from the two young guns?
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I think JA and KL are nice additions. In My Book JA is our potential future star when Manu retires. Kawhi is a hard working defensive kid, I hope he can develop draining some corner 3s as well then we have our young Bowen Jr. Though I don't 100% agree the candidates rtesoro refers, we truly need another bigman in the middle. Tiago is good, but his primary strength is defense and blue-collar dirty work, like richman's Anderson Varejao. With TD aging fast, we need a solid, NBA-ready guy to pair with Tiago & TD if we still want to contend for championship. Blair & Bonner are not, and will never be the answer, so as un-tested rookies/draftees Ryan Richards and Davis Bertans. We need a NBA EXPERIENCED, SEASON-ED big who is also relatively young with potential. Un-tested prospects will never help us at current degree. Don't think it's time YET to start rebuilding! Manu's still playing like he's in 20s and TD can still give you solid 12~13 pts along with 8~9 rbs. Insert a valuable big or two via trade we can still contend ! GoSpursGo !!!
WHAT CAN i SAY? Sure they can shot. Sure can can stand aginst players of similar size? Will both players rebound for the spurs against the likes of M.Gasol, Z. Randolph, D. Arthur, P. Gasol, A. Bynum to name a few? The team has a lot of their kind! There was never a time that I could recall when the spurs won the nba championship without a"TWIN TOWER". This is so because the game is basketball where height is might. I am sure Mr. Holt and Buford know this, Coach Pop and his staff know this. The problem seem like MOOLAH. The Mavericks can afford to spend beyond the mandated amount. The spurs can't swallow it? Let's nor talk about championship and relevance then but talk business, OKAY? Strengthen the front like with at least 2 more guys standing at 6'11 or taller, banger, enforcer,young and not afraid to rebound and defend, then and ONLY then can we talk about contending.
jefferson and blair for kaman? that would solve a problem with height, while developing youth on the wings will help down the road...
@andres783 That deal sounds brilliant! sadly it will never happen. The ONLY way we can get the rid of RJ's bad contract is trading him for ANOTHER BAD CONTRACT. NBA Owners and Managements are not fools. (OK maybe exclude David Kahn.) RJ isn't a bad player but obviously he doesn't fit the Spurs. His lousy performance over past years with the Spurs would make other teams hesitate. However, for those teams who also have bad contracts, the Spurs might discuss with them. AND AGAIN PALS, don't always think you can just trade players like Bonner and Blair for an elite big like Kaman or Nene !!! No one would take that deal ! If on other teams, Bonner and Blair might not even be rotation players! Stop dreaming already!
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@andres783 as stated i dont think they take that deal, and even adding bonner in i dont know that they would take that deal. giving away any more would be to much. now on the other hand d jordan on the clips is cheap, a blair for jordan straight up works. jordan being a 7 ppg, 7 rpg, and 1.8 blocks last season, he can defend and is 6'11", 265 lbs, throw in a pick and i bet its a deal.
@andres783 Kaman is exactly the type of player the spurs need! Imagine if the Spurs had him instead of Bonner or Blair to match up against Randolph. Kaman is solid in the paint so Randolph would have had to play tough defense, thus making him less effective.
@andres783 I think the Spurs would do that in a heart beat, but the Clippers would want more back. I'd even add Bonner to that deal to get it done. Kaman's deal also only has a year left so that'd be an extra $12 million off the books next summer.
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@rtesoro440 You're looking at the small forward and shooting guard of the future for the Spurs... Part of their problem this year wasn't just a lack of bigs, it was a lack of big guards and forwards. Leonard and Anderson will both help the perimeter D of this team immensely and allow them to use any free agent money or trades to get some more big men. Their development is critical to the Spurs' future.
@yowhatupT I beg to disagree. There was never a time when the spurs are enamored to small forwards and dhooting guards. Its very seldom that they have players like D. Robinson and TD. If they have, those big guys played complementary roles. The spurs shun upon big guys. The alibi that they can't draft quality big guys doesn't hold water. Its just that, an alibi!
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@yowhatupT thank you for this comment, Trevor! you know, i've seen rtereso keep repeating that we need big guys that are at least 6'11" (which is not true, 6'10" is good enough in my book, heck, maybe even get away with a 6'9" guy that can play defense). yea, it's true, we need at least one more big man, but as far as i'm concerned, i still think our team is still in contention because of the young, athletic guys we have surrounding the experience of the vets. Coach Pop and the staff know what they are doing, so if i were rtereso, i would stop questioning the management because they know a lot more than what we know, and they are one of the best in the league.
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sorry, rtereso, the Grizzlies did not eat the Spurs. if the Grizzlies ate the Spurs, it would have been a sweep. they were playing better against the Spurs, no denying that, but the Spurs didn't go out without a fight. they had a lead in the 4th qtr in game 6, but just made costly mistakes with turnovers and taking horrible shots. the Spurs still could have won that series. i know what i saw because i watch every game here in S.A.
and you are out of your mind to say they continue to sign 6'7" guys. what signings have they done? the only guy they have gotten would be Leonard because he was in the draft, and as far as i'm concerned, we're looking for a guy who can play defense like Bowen did for this team, and Leonard could be that guy. he's got big hands and has a wingspan of 7'3". we'll see what happens. other than that, as i said before in which you seem to not realize, there is a lockout going on and no team can sign or trade players until this lockout ends. you don't think the management knows they need to find another big guy? Coach Pop said that in his exit interview as i recall. and clearly, you did not read in my post where i said, yes, they need to have another big man who's at least 6'10" (or even get away with a guy at 6'9", and to point out that Randolph is 6'9", along with Arthur, so you don't have to be 6'11" or taller to be a successful big man). right now, the Spurs (and all the other 29 teams) cannot do any signings or tradings until the NBA gets the lockout settled. again i say, i trust Pop and R.C. because they know how to find the right players and they have won titles because of that. if you think you know better than those two, go apply for the management then, since you think you can solve all the problems. every team will have a weakness, but that's just how it is. you just have to have the heart and a little bit of luck. anyways, i'm done talking about this.
@RG8907 @yowhatupT I supposed you did not see how the Grizzlies ate the spurs. As far as basketball as a game is concern, height is might. Rightly so the spurs knows more than we do so they contuinue to sign 6'7' guys.
