By Gareth Gibbins, Spursinthe6.com
The Summer Spurs tip-off today at 12:30pm PST for their first LVSL game and I’m very excited to partner with Project Spurs again to cover all the action.
The Spurs are essentially carrying over the same roster that had a successful run at the Utah Jazz Summer League. Here is who I will be watching tomorrow:
- Derrick White: White is an obvious for the must watch list and has the potential to turn a lot of heads in Vegas. His strong play from the G-League playoffs carried over to the Utah Jazz Summer League where he went off 26-6, 21-9 and 22-6 in the Spurs three games. White was so dominant in Utah it was questionable whether he would even be on the Spurs roster for Vegas. Well, White is on the Vegas roster and we will see how much run he gets. If nothing else, getting to see him team up with Jaron Blossomgame should be fun given the chemistry the two developed in Austin.
- Lonnie Walker IV: Walker’s attitude and hair have already made him a fan favorite. Walker struggled in his first game in Utah, sat out the second game and settled down for a sold third game with 14 points in 25 minutes on 5-12 shooting. I am excited to watch him play in Vegas and will be capturing as much video and post game audio as possible.
- Jaron Blossomgame: The Spurs 2017 second round pick was one of the mainstays of the G-League Champion Austin Spurs. I love Blossomgame’s athleticism and attitude. If you follow him on Instagram you will see how much time he spends in the gym to improve his game. In particular, it will be interesting to see if Blossomgame’s jumper has improved as this could be the key to him making the Spurs roster after training camp in the fall.
- Jeff Ledbetter: The Mayor of Cedar Park returns to the Summer Spurs for the second year in a row. Ledbetter was key in the final G-League Championship game where he put 13 points in the first half on 5-5 shooting from three. In Utah, Ledbetter put three solid performances together: (1) 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, team leading +4; (2) 16 points, 3-5 from three, 2 steals; and (3) 9 points, 3-5 for three, leading to a selection as a Utah Jazz Summer League Standout and a nice feature article in the San Antonio Express News. It will be interesting to see how much playing time he receives in Vegas and where he ends up this fall (while the safe bet is Austin, I would love to see him receive a training camp invite).
- (not) Nick Johnson: The G-League Finals MVP is fresh off FIBA qualifying and was not on the Utah Summer League Roster… and, much to my chagrin, does not appear to be on the LVSL roster. With the Spurs glut of combo guards, and White well on his way to earning significant minutes, it is tough to see Johnson cracking the Spurs roster this season. That said, as an inaugural member of the Nick Johnson fan club, it would have been nice to see Johnson have a good run in Vegas and parlay that into an NBA contract.
As the Summer Spurs tip-off, you can follow all the action on ProjectSpurs.com and on Spursinthe6.com. Also, check out the Spurs in the 6 Twitter and Instagram accounts for more behind the scenes the action.
