On the Antonio Anderson call-up

As Ridiculous Upside‘s Scott Schroeder noted on Sunday, Rio Grande Valley Vipers guard Antonio Anderson signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder this week. Count me as excited about this.

As I have noted previously in this space, I really like Anderson’s game. While, like Scott, I’m a bit surprised at the timing of the call-up (more on that later), I’m an avowed believer that Anderson is one of the league’s most intriguing prospects and someone with the capability to stick around the NBA long-term. The short-short description (for longer narration from yours truly, please feel free to check the prior link): solid defender and natural two with the capability to play both guard positions, terrific passer, impressive size (6-6) for a potential combo guard, smart decision-maker.

Thunder GM Sam Presti spoke to those attributes in comments on the decision to bring Anderson to Oklahoma City.

“Antonio is someone that we wanted to take a closer look at within the walls of our organization,” Presti said. “He brings a defensive disposition to the floor and also shows a willingness and capability to make plays for others.”

In Rio Grande Valley, Anderson spent considerable time early in the season playing in a three-guard lineup alongside Garrett Temple and Jonathan Wallace, which gave him ample opportunities to both handle and play off the ball.

When I spoke with RGV’s Chris Finch in January, the head coach praised Anderson’s offensive versatility even while stressing the need to hone his shooting touch.

“He can make the catch-and-shoot, but he’s so creative with the ball that he likes to be able to come off the bounce with it,” Finch said. “He’s made some mid-range jumpers off the catch, off pin-downs, made some threes. His offensive versatility is really surprising. We’ve posted him a little bit; he’s a fantastic passer from the post.”

At the time, Anderson had just completed an excellent December that would earn him player-of-the-month honors, averaging 18.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game while doing his scoring on an efficient 58.3 true shooting for the month. Finch projected that he would be in the NBA before too long, though he identified off-the-ball defense and shooting as two improvement areas for the former Memphis guard.

“His defense at this level needs to be just a little bit more consistent off the ball,” he said. “He’s a great on-the-ball defender. In Memphis, he was able to be a destructive defender, wreak havoc, be a lock-down guy. With the rules and the spacing and the different rotations, he needs to focus in and be a little bit better off-the-ball defender. He’s doing a really good job shooting the ball for us, but a lot of structures in the NBA may not play in the same type of system that he’s in now, so he’s got to be really comfortable spotting up, knocking down shots when the ball comes to him.”

Vipers Head of Basketball Operations Alex Del Barrio echoed Finch’s sentiments and emphasized the difference between defending at the collegiate level (where Anderson was a three-time Conference USA All-Defense selection) and the NBA.

“Playing defense in college and playing defense in the NBA are two completely different things just because of the style of the game, and in the NBA, teams don’t try until the fourth quarter,” Del Barrio said. “So making sure you have the stamina to last through the game and then get into the fourth quarter, and making sure he has the discipline [are important].”

Amusement of the fourth-quarter comment aside, Del Barrio made it clear that while Anderson continued to adjust to NBA-style basketball, he contributed defensively, and getting to the next level for him would be more about fine-tuning his game than revamping it, as well as becoming a more consistent scorer.

However, Anderson didn’t exactly spend January becoming that more accurate shooter or consistent scorer, which is why the timing of his call-up caught me a bit off-guard. His production fell in several statistical categories, most notably on the scoring front. Anderson averaged 13.4 points per game on 53.1 percent true shooting in January.

That said, January proved a month of change in Rio Grande Valley as several transactions (headlined by the trade for guard Will Conroy and the return of forward Mike Harris) led to plenty of adjustments. In fact, during our conversation after the D-League All-Star Game, Finch argued that Anderson’s play didn’t slip after his terrific December.

“Will Conroy’s come in, and Antonio’s role changed a little bit, and he embraced that,” Finch said. “Before that, we put the ball in Antonio’s hands a lot as a late-game decision-maker, and Antonio made a lot of big plays. With Will coming in, the nature of what we were doing shifted slightly, and with Mike coming back, the nature of what we were doing shifted slightly.  I would counter [claims of a slump] by saying Antonio’s game should be credited because he’s continually adjusted to what’s going on and yet still found ways to make significant impact and be one of our most influential players.”

Given Conroy’s ability to dominate the ball, it stood to reason that Anderson’s usage would drop and with it his raw scoring and assist totals especially. There’s also something to be said for teams needing time to jell when roster turnover occurs. Still, the five percent drop in true shooting remains unaccounted for, and given that shooting remains an important focus area for Anderson, that offered a bit concern.

But even with the January statistical drop-off in mind (and he jumped back to 14.5 points per game and 55.2 percent true shooting in February), this is a guy who we can expect to see in the NBA in the long term, regardless of how his tenure in Oklahoma City plays out. As Del Barrio said, he brings defense and distribution skills right away, and the shooting may come yet. I have heard that he may be able to moonlight as a back-up point guard at the NBA level, in which case his size would make his passing vision even more of an asset as the four to five inches he has on most point guards would allow for seeing passing lanes over the head of his man.

I look forward to seeing Anderson get an opportunity with the Thunder, and if not there, elsewhere around the Association in the not-so-distant future.