Author: katadmin

With only one roster spot left, who will be the next Spur?

There are four players vying for the final roster spot for the 2012-13 Spurs Roster and each are making the case with their play.  Here is a quick rundown of who is on the cusp.

Eddie Curry – An 11 year veteran that spent four seasons with the Bulls, four with the Knicks and most recently played last season with the Miami Heat.  Curry has had weight issues and spent the summer slimming down and working on his game.  The Spurs do have a need of another big man.

“I feel I’m in a good situation,” Curry told the San Antonio Express-News. “I worked hard this summer. Every game it’s just about showing everybody what I can do. I’m trying to focus on defense and rebounding, trying to play in the system and soak up as much as I can. I think I’m going to make it. Until they tell me I’m not, I feel like I’m part of this team.”

Derrick Brown – After receiving several invitations to camp with NBA teams, Brown chose the Spurs even though there was really only one roster spot to be had.  The three-year veteran, selected as the 40th overall draft pick in 2009 by the Charlotte Bobcats  played with them until 2011. He then signed on with the Knicks in March of 2011 but returned to the Bobcats in December of 2011 up until the end of the 2012 season.  The Bobcats made him an unrestricted free agent and  he signed on with the Spurs. Steven Jackson, a former teammate with the Bobcats had high praise for the journeyman who is averaging seven points in 15.7 minutes a game.

“He actually gave (one-time All-Star) Gerald Wallace a run for his money every day in practice,” Jackson said. “I think that’s what opened a lot of people’s eyes that he belongs in this league.”

Josh Powell – Veteran forward who’s NBA career began with the Dallas Mavericks in 2005.  Powell,  originally slotted to be the forward groomed to take over for  Dirk Nowitzki, was traded to the Pacers along with Darrell Armstrong and Rawlee Marshall in exchange for Anthony Johnson.  Powell, along with current Spur Stephen Jackson and two other players were dealt to the Golden State Warriors.  He next played for the Clipppers then the Lakers where he got considerable playing time for an injured Andrew Bynum.  After winning two Rings with the Lakers, Powell next signed on with the Hawks for the 2010/11 season.  The push for Powell and Curry was something Manu Ginobili recently spoke about.

“There are 13 returning guys, so there aren’t many that can surprise you. But, of course, having Josh Powell and Eddy Curry on the roster is a big thing,” Ginobili said. “They’re both great players, talented bigs that (aren’t) easy to find in the league anymore. So, it’s good to have them around and give them a chance.”

Wesley Witherspoon -Rookie guard/forward combo out of Memphis has made the most of his rookie camp recently scoring 17-points in a start against the Houston Rockets. He has had to shed the  title of being ‘soft’ as in not doing everything he can to improve himself and with the Rockets game, he may have just done that.

 

 

 

Spurs’ Mills happily back to work

By Mike Monroe

Back on the Spurs’ practice court Monday after missing a week with a sprained right ankle, backup point guard Patrick Mills worked on catching up with his teammates.

“You never want to be out too long with injuries,” said Mills, the Australian who will vie this season with Gary Neal, Cory Joseph and Nando De Colo for playing time behind Tony Parker.

“Mine was a little ankle sprain that recovered really well. I’ve been rehabbing the last week. I got a little itchy watching the last three games.

“You never want to be off the court, but I felt the stuff I did off the court — watching film, talking to the coaches, talking to the players — I still felt I was in the mix. All the new stuff that got put in, I made sure I understood all that.”

Watching three preseason games from a vantage point behind the Spurs’ bench gave Mills a good perspective on newcomer De Colo and much-improved second-year player Joseph.

“What Nando’s brought to our team is exactly what he’s good at and what he’s been great at playing internationally,” Mills said. “He’s got great vision. He sets up the team really well. His passing is unbelievable, which he’s shown the past few games. And he can shoot, as well.

“Cory’s come a long way from last year. He had a big summer. I think of all the stuff he did individually in the weight room and individually with the coaches. He got after it a lot, and you can see the stuff he put in (out on) the court. He’s becoming a real point guard.”

With Neal, the team’s top scorer (13.5 points per game) in the preseason, also off to a great start, Mills joked that he might have to shut up about how good De Colo and Joseph look.

“I don’t want to backtrack on all those compliments,” he said. “But the great thing about this environment is we’ve got a number of point guards that are really good, really solid. If nothing else, it’s going to make every one of us even better, the more we push ourselves.”

Early practice, early departure: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich changed his training camp practice schedule Monday to accommodate Matt Bonner’s annual golf tournament that benefits the Kids Sports Network.

He pushed up the start of practice by one hour, and when it ended, he and Bonner headed to TPC at San Antonio for the event.

No Duncan: Spurs captain Tim Duncan did not practice because of an undisclosed illness.

mikemonroe@express-news.net
Twitter: @Monroe_SA

Spurs notebook: Blair still attempting to fit in

Though he expressed doubt in July that the Spurs valued his services and no doubt he was being shopped to other teams, forward-center DeJuan Blair insisted he was not surprised to be back in training camp.

Blair’s doubt was fueled by his disappearance from the Spurs’ playing rotation in the playoffs, when he logged just 76 minutes in 10 of the club’s 14 postseason games.

During his participation in the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp in Las Vegas — Blair and teammate Kawhi Leonard were on the select team of young NBA players that helped prepare Team USA for the London Olympics — Blair told the Express-News he felt “torn down” by a postseason demotion that followed a starting role in 62 regular-season games. He was nearly certain the team would trade him, though he stressed that he did not ask for a trade.

There was no trade, and Monday, Blair reported to camp in decent condition and vowed to do what he can to regain a prominent role.

“I’ve got to go and try to figure out what this team wants from me and what they need from me,” he said. “I’ve got to use that as fuel to start my engine and just keep going. Right now, I’m just worrying about my body and getting ready for training camp.”

Asked directly if he preferred ending up elsewhere, Blair was evasive.

“I’m here,” he said.

They’re free: Reserve big man Tiago Splitter did his best Tuesday to ignore the nightmare of his horrid foul shooting in last season’s playoffs as he discussed one of the holes in his game. After a season of steady improvement from the foul line — he finished the regular season at 69.1 percent, a big improvement from the 58.2 percent he shot in seven seasons in the Spanish League — Splitter made only 16 of 43 postseason foul shots (37.2 percent).

“I’m always going to work on that,” he said. “Last season, I improved way more than the first season and struggled a little bit in the end. It was more confidence stuff than other things.”

Sloan visits: Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan, winner of 1,221 games as coach of the Bulls and Jazz, was a visitor at Tuesday’s first session of training camp. Long a role model for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Sloan retired 54 games into the 2010-11 season.

Open scrimmage: The Spurs will hold an open intrasquad scrimmage at the ATT Center tonight. The public is invited free of charge.

Tipoff is scheduled at 7:30 p.m., with fan activities starting at 6:30 p.m.

There’s a preseason game on tap Saturday at the ATT Center against Italian League power Montepaschi Siena, winner of six straight Italian League titles.

mikemonroe@express-news.net

Twitter: @Monroe_SA

Key dates

Today: Intrasquad scrimmage (free admission, open seating) — 7:30 p.m., ATT Center

Saturday: First preseason game — vs. Montepaschi Siena, 7:30 p.m., ATT Center

Oct. 31: Regular-season opener — @Hornets, 7 p.m., KENS NBA TV

Nov. 1: Home opener — vs. Thunder, 8:30 p.m., TNT