Originally posted December 30, 2017
The NBA G League game of the season is upon us... at least for the Spurs in the 6 family... it's the Austin Spurs vs. Raptors 905! Led by Two-Way player Darrun Hilliard (22.5 PTS, 4.9 REB, 3.3 AST), the 13-8 Austin Spurs will look to put an end to the Raptors 905 winning streak. Spurs in the 6 will be in the house and I am excited to be watching some Spurs basketball live! Here are three things I will be watching for:
Oh Canada: After playing with the Spurs Summer League team in Las Vegas, Olivier Hanlan joined the Austin Spurs this year rather than heading overseas. Hanlan, from Aylmer, Quebec, has been playing really solid ball for the Austin Spurs this year and is their second leading scorer at 15.8 points per game (sorry Davis Bertans, we are not counting the 27 points you put up in your one game in the G League this year). At the FIBA Americas Qualifiers back in November, Raptors 905 guard Kaza Keane joined Hanlan on the international team for the first time. It will be interesting to see the two Canuks on the court together again, this time wearing different uniforms.
Two-Way solid play: The Austin Spurs having been getting excellent production from their Two-Way Players. The aforementioned Hilliard has been a force on offence this year and has seen some time with the San Antonio Spurs to fill in during various injuries. On that note, Rudy Gay is out again (right heel bursitis) so Hilliard may not be with the big club and not be in Mississauga on Sunday (although it looks like Derrick White has been recalled already). The Spurs other Two-Way Player is Michigan State Alum, Matt Costello. Costello is averaging 9.8 points and is leading the team with 8.2 rebounds. Costelo and Hillard are also tied for team lead with an 8.1 +/- rating.
#WinterofJeff: During the Las Vegas Summer League, I started the #SummerofBryn hashtag. Earlier in the season I had some witty banter with the fine folks over at Spurs on Sixth who, following some tweets over Ledbetter's proficiency this season from three point range, introduced me to the #WinterofJeff hashtag and then had the audacity to suggest that the "#WinterofJeff > #SummerofBryn". I'm looking forward to using the #WinterofJeff hashtag as many times as possible on Sunday.
Tip-off is at 2pm – you can catch the game live at the Hersey Centre or on Facebook Live.
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