Summer League Spotlight: Kyle Anderson

Kyle Anderson had a so-so first night, but he did show a lot of promise. We look in-depth at the point-forwards first game with the Silver and Black. 

In his first game with the San Antonio Spurs, Kyle Anderson had 6 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal as the Spurs ran away with a 85-69 victory over the Sacramento Kings. He played just under 26 minutes tonight, second on the team behind Austin Daye, at about 29 minutes.

At first-glance his production may come off as ho-hum, but Kyle had half the Spurs assists and played a major role in setting the tone on offense.

Ins and Outs

Kyle started the night as shooting guard in a lineup that featured Jeff Ayers, Austin Daye, DeShaun Thomas and Marcus Denmon. He was used primarily as a facilitator and really got the offense going scoring on a drive to the basket and on a catch-and-shoot attempt at the top of the key. He also dished out a few assists finding the open man routinely. He subbed out mid first.

Kyle came back to start the second and this time he was used off-the-ball. The offense seemed to stagnate as there wasn't anyone that could really generate points or create opportunities. The Spurs found themselves down 28-18, and then they began to run the ball through him again which got the ball flowing. He was subbed out earlier than in the first.

At the end of the second, Kyle was back and he was playing with the ball in his hands, even running the ball up as de facto point. He scored on a put-back and dished out a couple of assists.

The 3rd quarter started with Kyle mostly running the point and was the same at the start of the 4th quarter. He wasn't really a factor much as a scoring option, but the Spurs didn't need it as the game began to get out of hand.

Scouting Report

Offensively, he makes the right play. For being 20, he is polished as a distributor and consistently creates off the pick-and-roll, whether it be drop-off passes or finding the open man cross-court. They were hedging him and he handled it as well as you would want from a 6-8 point. When they didn't, he got into the lane or dished to the open man. He also posted up a few times which didn't really lead into much production, but he showed his capability. This part of his game didn't seem too polished as he seemed to force up shots and didn't get quality looks. Maybe a baby hook or fade-away would do him wonders. After watching him play off-the-ball in the first half, one thing became clear: he is best suited as a point. Perhaps, he could work well in the second unit with more distributors and play-makers, but tonight he just wasn't being found as often as he could have been. On offense, this guy generates. When the ball was being ran through him, it became contagious; the ball started to move.

Defensively, he seemed to play passable D with mixed results. Sometimes his length was a factor, other times it wasn't; he had a couple deflections and a steal, so there was a presence. They ran him off many screens and though he rallied to stay in the play, he seemed a step slow. On isolations against Nik, he consistently got beat, but the team defense helped to cover this up.

Overall 

He was a negative 5 in his plus-minus, but a lot of this came during his early second quarter stint while he was playing off-ball, so this stat is somewhat misleading. He seemed to be a major catalyst in initiating the Spurs offense and generating point production. His defense seemed passable at times, but then again he was asked to defend quicker shooting guards and if this is what is going to be expected out of him, every possession on D is going to be a coin-flip.

What I'd Like to See

Put the ball in his hand next game and unleash him. It's hard to see what he can do off-the-ball with so many players looking to make a mark. He was left open many times and he wasn't found. Instead, how about we see how fast this car can go and put the keys in his hand. Also, in his next game, let him guard Andrew Wiggins. I like the idea of him playing against shooting guards/small forwards, if for no other reason than for reps. But, more time at his likely small forward  position so we can get get an idea of how well he can defend there