Tag: James Anderson

Rookie Anderson keeps head up despite lost season

Rookie guard James Anderson earned his second career start Monday, replacing the injured Manu Ginobili in the Spurs’ 100-92 loss to Portland, but he knows not to make too much of it.

Someday soon, perhaps as early as Thursday’s game against Boston, Ginobili will be back in the lineup and Anderson will be back on his customary seat near the end of the Spurs’ bench.

“I’ll just wait for my name to be called,” Anderson said. “I’ll do whatever I can to support the team. If that’s standing on the sideline, cheering my guys on, that’s what I’ll do.”

For the player nicknamed “Big Game James” at Oklahoma State, this new role of glorified cheerleader takes some getting used to. Certainly, his first NBA season hasn’t gone as planned since the Spurs made him the 20th pick in last June’s draft.

Anderson has appeared in 23 games, averaging 3.7 points in 10:41 per outing. He scored five points Monday against Portland, going 2 of 4 from the field.

A stress fracture in his right foot, suffered in early November, cost Anderson 39 games. While he spent 10 weeks in rehabilitation, then another two on Development League assignment in Austin, the Spurs’ season went on without him.

Coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation took hold. Another sharpshooting rookie guard, Gary Neal, has enjoyed a breakout season off the bench.

Suddenly, Big Game James became No Game James.

“It’s a big adjustment, going from playing a lot of minutes to just playing every now and then,” said Anderson, a three-year starter and 2010′s Big 12 Player of the Year at OSU. “It’s just part of it. I’m just learning from sitting on the sidelines, picking up things here and there.”

In a way, third-year guard George Hill can relate to Anderson’s struggles. In another way, he can’t.

Hill remembers how difficult it was to learn the Spurs’ system as a 22-year-old rookie two seasons ago, and that was without a 21/2-month injury to overcome.

“That’s tough, especially with this system,” Hill said. “It takes you a year to really get it under your belt. I think James is coming along. He’s showing he wants to be here, working hard every day. That’s all you can ask from him.”

HOME OF THE FLOPPER: Finally, some of Ginobili’s best work has been officially recognized by a jury of his peers.

In this week’s edition of Sports Illustrated, the magazine anonymously polls NBA players on the question of, “Who is the best flopper in the game?”

Ginobili finishes second in the poll, drawing 18 percent of the vote, behind Cleveland forward Anderson Varejao. Houston forward Luis Scola, Ginobili’s teammate on Argentina’s national team, Lakers guard Derek Fisher and another Rocket, guard Kevin Martin, round out the top 5.

According to the magazine, 12 of the 32 floppers named in the poll played basketball outside of the United States before joining the NBA.

Rookie Anderson pleased with first NBA start

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

When Spurs coach Gregg Popovich discovered that Richard Jefferson would not be available for Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, he gave James Anderson the first starting assignment of his NBA career.

Though it was a bit of a surprise to the rookie from Oklahoma State, Anderson felt he put in a solid effort against the Kings at the ATT Center. In 18 minutes, 12 seconds, he had three points, two rebounds and two assists in the Spurs’ 108-103 victory.

Jefferson had started the first 64 games this season, but was scratched from the lineup Friday to attend to personal business. He is expected to rejoin the team for tonight’s game in Houston against the Rockets.

“(Popovich) told us RJ had a family emergency and I was starting in his spot,” Anderson said. “I just had to do what I can do.

“I could have been more aggressive on offense, but it was just the flow of the game. I had some good passes that got us some buckets and I thought I was solid on both ends.”

Cleanliness counts: The Spurs fan who subdued the Mexican freetail bat that swooped down on the court during the second quarter of Friday’s game said the only reward he seeks for restoring order to the game is a chance to meet Manu Ginobili.

Ginobili swatted a bat out of the air during a game on Halloween night last season. He subsequently had to get a series of painful rabies shots because that bat was not properly secured after the incident so it could be tested for rabies.

Tim Ralston, seated in the second row near midcourt, said the bat collided with his hip and fell to the floor, where he was able to secure it in a towel that was thrown into the stands by a ball boy.

Happy that someone else played the hero this time around, Ginobili said he will be happy to meet Ralston, on one condition.

“First, make sure he washes his hands and is out of trouble,” he said. “Then I’ll go shake his hand willingly.”

Familiar role: Veteran Antonio McDyess started for the Spurs for a second consecutive game, with second-year power forward DeJuan Blair again coming off the bench.

For Blair, it is a familiar role, since he came off the bench in 59 of the 82 games he played in his rookie season.

“I just bring energy off the bench now,” he said after scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds in 22:23. “That’s the only thing. Just come in here and be the same person. I’m just not starting no more.”

Blair didn’t need any words of encouragement from his veteran teammates to accept the change.

“I did it enough last year to know what it is,” he said. “Hopefully, I can be that spark that they need off the bench.”