Prospect Watch: Stars Fall At Home To Spurs, 103-92

Salt Lake City Stars

The SLC Stars entered Tuesday night’s game without Joel Bolomboy, who had been recalled by the Utah Jazz, as well as Quincy Ford. This left the Stars very thin at the two big man positions versus the Austin Spurs, and the game had the recipe for disaster.  Nonetheless the Stars fought hard and were almost able to pull out a win behind the heroics of Marcus Paige. In the end, Bryn Forbes’ 28 points were too much and the Spurs could not be stopped on their way to a 103-92 win.

Let’s look at the players who stood out in this one as the most NBA-ready of the game’s participants.

Tyrone Wallace, Stars, G

15 Points,  6 Rebound,  6 Assists,  0 Steals,  0 Blocks, 6-13 FG, 0-1 3p, 11 +/-

Wallace is not ranked on the D-League Prospect Watch List.  I was excited to watch him take on Murray, as the are similar players, even though Murray was drafted much higher.  Both are listed at 6-5, are athletic, and struggle with their shot.  Wallace put up a very comparable stat line to Murray, however, Murray was head and shoulders better. Murray set the pace of the game and it felt as if the Stars were chasing him the entire second half.  The good thing is that Wallace held his own against an NBA-caliber point guard.  Wallace would be smart to watch the tape of how Murray used his athleticism to cause havoc and try to replicate it.

I actually think Wallace’s has more potential as a shooter than Murray’s does.  It did not show in this game but having watched Wallace shoot countless shots in warm ups I have seen improvement from game to game.  Murray’s shot looks the same as it did in college, which concerns me some.

The turnovers were an issue again as Wallace coughed the ball up four times.  This seems to be a reoccurring theme for Wallace, and it comes down to the situations he puts himself into.  He seems to make moves without thinking about what his next move is going to be which causes him to get caught in the air or in tough situations that lead to turnovers.

Marcus Paige, Stars, G

20 Points, 3 Rebound,  2 Assists,  2 Steals,  0 Blocks, 7-12 FG, 4-6 3p, 7 +/-

Paige is not ranked on the D-League Prospect Watch List, but played his best game by far. He was decisive with the ball, which has been one of his biggest issues as he has 40 turnovers on the season.  Paige converted open shots as well as some some tough contested shots that I haven’t seen him hit.  He looked confident and ready to attack at any moment.  Paige played fairly good defense in this game as well.

As I have mentioned my concern with Paige is that he plays off the ball too much for someone who is 6-0.  I don’t know if someone with his frame can play that way and make it in the NBA.  However, in this game he played in a similar manner to the way the Houston Rockets use Eric Gordon.  If he continues to improve his defense there may be a situation where he could make it in the league as a pure scorer.

Jermaine Taylor, Stars. F

12 Points,  4 Rebound,  4 Assists,  2 Steals,  0 Blocks, 4-8 FG, 0-3 3p, 1 +/-

Taylor is also unranked on the D-League Prospect Watch List. Coming off the bench, Taylor has been the most consistent scoring threat for the Stars.  He has the ability to score in a variety of ways and is incredibly fun to watch.  Lately, Taylor is doing more than just scoring as he is rebounding and facilitating better while also playing great defense.  Taylor credits his success recently to being decisive and knowing what he is going to do with the ball before it gets to him.

While the three ball wasn’t falling in this game, Taylor provided four assists and 4 rebounds off the bench.  His energy is noticeable every time he checks in.  While he may not be a prospect you may have heard of, if the Jazz suffer and injury at the wing, I could see them bringing the versatile forward up as you can trust he won’t hurt you.

Dejounte Murray. Spurs, G

18 Points,  4 Rebound,  4 Assists,  5 Steals, 0 Blocks, 7-10 FG, 2-3 3p, 11 +/-

Assignment players aren’t listed on the D-League Prospect Watch List, so Murray isn’t ranked there either. Murray was the 29th pick in the 2016 NBA draft for the Spurs and was a favorite of many Jazz fans.  The 6-5 point guard brings lengths and athleticism that is hard to find at the position. At 20 years old, Murray is still raw and the Spurs are using the D-League to let him develop.  He is currently averaging 15.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists.  Murray looks like he could be the point guard of the future for the Spurs as Tony Parker ages, and frankly, the thought of adding his athleticism next to Kawhi Leonard’s is a scary one.

Murray struggled with some moments defensively, but he was very good at reading passing lanes as he picked off five passes.  The Stars were daring him to shoot the three, as he was only 2-27 from three in his nine previous D-Leagues games, and he hit them tonight.  His shot still looks rough and needs some work. Murray is absolutely electric in the open court.  In the second half when the Stars started to get close they put the ball in Murray’s hand and let him push the pace and create.  The Stars weren’t able to handle Murray and he was the difference maker in my mind.

Murray is a really good example of how the D-League is beginning to be used by teams.  He is a capable NBA player, but the minutes are thin behind Parker and Patty Mills so they are letting him get reps in the D-League.  Some people tend to think of the D-League as a demotion, but we need to remember that the D stands for Development.  In fact, I think that when George Hill gets healthy, Dante Exum would really benefit from spending some time with the Stars.  Playing a couple games as the #1 option and being able to build his confidence could be huge for the Utah Jazz point guard.

Jarell Eddie, Spurs, F

10 Points,  5 Rebound,  0 Assists, 0 Steals,  0 Blocks, 3-7 FG, 2-4 3p, -7 +/-

Eddie is currently ranked 16th on the D-League Prospect Watch List.  After playing 25 games with the Wizards last year, Eddie is looking to make it back into the NBA.  Eddie came off the bench for the Spurs and while he may be the highest rated free agent prospect in the game, I was not very impressed by Eddie.  At 6-7 I wanted to see Eddie use his size throughout the game when switched onto smaller wings, but he wasn’t able to take advantage of those situations.  He seemed to purely look to shoot the ball and not be interested in much else.  He was vocal on defense for the Spurs but didn’t seem to use his size and length on defense.  That being said, Eddie does appear to have a lethal shooting stroke and if he can ever get motivated to do the other things could become a good player.

Cory Jefferson, Spurs, F

13 Points,  13 Rebound,  3 Assists,  1 Steals,  0 Blocks, 5-13 FG, 0-2 3p, 3 +/-

Jefferson is currently ranked 21st on the D-League Prospect Watch List. There were portions of the game that Jefferson was the best player for the Spurs.  The Stars, granted their big man rotation is currently depleted, were not able to handle him on the post in the first half.  He was the only player in the game to have a double-double as he controlled the glass.  In the second half, the Spurs got out in transition much more, which limited Jefferson’s touches.  While the Spurs began playing a run-and-gun offense led by Murray, Jefferson actually stepped out and took two threes.  Jefferson is already an athletic rebounder who is incredibly versatile, but if he can start hitting a three, he could be back in the NBA soon.