Every year, Summer League teaches us the same lessons. Without high-level NBA talent on the floor, defense typically has the advantage. The more physical and aggressive team can completely stifle an opposing offense that hasn’t played much together and doesn’t have the offensive weapons to counter the defensive force. The San Antonio Spurs Summer League squad learned that the hard way on Sunday in a 69-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors Gold squad.
From tip-off, it was clear that the summer Spurs were outmatched by Golden State. The Warriors were pressuring the ball on the perimeter, not allowing San Antonio to get into an easy offensive flow. When the Spurs did manage to get to the paint, the Warriors had the rim protectors to stop them from scoring. Overall, Golden State looked like the more physical and mature team. That played out on the stat sheet as well, as the Spurs had 19 turnovers, shot just 38% from the field, and were outrebounded 47-30.
Without Tarris Reed Jr. and Carter Bryant, the summer Spurs were missing two key contributors who could have brought some offensive firepower. Through two games, it’s clear that San Antonio’s summer team was designed for Bryant to be a key offensive force, as there aren’t many offensive creators on the roster. When he comes back in San Antonio’s first Las Vegas Summer League game, we should see more of what this team was designed to do.