Vander Blue and Josh Magette boost D-Fenders over surging Austin Spurs

It was quality over quantity for the Los Angeles D-Fenders in their 110-96 victory over the Austin Spurs on Saturday night. Only eight D-Fenders played and just six of the eight scored a basket, but that was enough. While Spurs' forward Orlando Johnson led all scorers with 29 points, Josh Magette was the real star of the night. The LA point guard recorded a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists. The win brought the D-Fenders' record back to .500 at 12-12.

So far this season, LA's problem hasn't been putting the ball in the basket (they're fourth in the league in scoring) but grabbing it if it doesn't go in. The team is second to last in the league in rebounds per game at 41.2. Saturday night's game was no different, the D-Fenders only grabbed 41 rebounds as a team, but their ability to score mitigated their inefficiencies on the glass.

Complementing Magette's triple-double, was Vander Blue's 27 points. The Marquette product has picked up where he left off with the D-Fenders last season, he's 4th in the D-League with 22.8 points per game. Blue has never had an extended shot at the NBA. Since he went undrafted in 2013 he's appeared in just five total games with the Celtics and Lakers.

Blue doesn't seem to have an elite skill that makes him an attractive NBA guard. While he's a top D-League scorer, he doesn't distribute the ball particularly well and doesn't shoot consistently from the three-point line. At Marquette, Blue's highest three-point shot percentage was 30% his senior year. Since then, he's only crossed the 40% mark once, during the 2014-2015 season. With that type of long range shooting percentage and an average of less than five assists per game in his professional career, Blue's currently on the outside looking in at the NBA.