Aldridge hits the ground running as small-ball big
LaMarcus Aldridge pointed to his solid opening night as proof he won’t have any problem adapting to the Spurs’ new uptempo offense.
“There has been a lot of talk about can I fit in and how I’m going to fit in, and I never really bought into that,” he said after the Spurs’ 131-119 win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday in Memphis.
“I feel like if you are a basketball player, you play unselfish, and I feel like I have the skill to kind of figure it out,” the seventime All-Star added.
With Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gearing things toward the team’s young, guard-heavy core, and Aldridge coming off April shoulder surgery that led to a nearly nine-month layoff, expectations were low for the 35-yearold big man. But Aldridge overcame a slow start to finish with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting in 29 minutes, a performance that left him filled with gratitude.
“I am blessed 15 years in to still be able to do what I do and still try to help this team win,” he said.
Aldridge missed his two shots, both 3-point attempts, in the first quarter and had just a single point entering the second period, which began with the Spurs trailing 33-30.
Determined to contribute offensively, he set aside his longrange game for something more familiar in the second quarter. The result was an eight-point period on 4-of-6 shooting that helped the Spurs win the stanza 36-20.
“I just went back to what I know — midrange — to try to get a rhythm,” he said. “I don’t think Memphis was ready for it, so I had some wide-open ones. They felt great. And from there, I just kept going back to it, trying to get to the post.”
Aldridge’s first three baskets in the first half came via a 16-foot jumper and a pair of 20-footers. Point guard Dejounte Murray assisted on all three.
“He has had a lot of growth over the last year or so,” Al
dridge said of Murray, who finished with 21 points and tied with DeMar DeRozan for the team lead with nine assists. “He has learned the players he is
playing with and has learned how to communicate with those guys. Like tonight, he helped me get going ... helped me find my rhythm.”
Aldridge will enter tonight’s home opener against Toronto with 19,619 career points, leaving him 37 shy of passing Bernard King for 48th on the NBA’s ca
reer scoring chart.
‘Chess game’ approach working for DeRozan
Aldridge isn’t the only veteran off to a good start. DeRozan finished with a near triple-double against Memphis, with 28 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a team-high 35 minutes.
Like Aldridge, DeRozan stayed within his wheelhouse, going 7 of 14 from the field with a 5-of-8 effort at the rim and a 2-of-4 showing from 3 to 10 feet out. He was 14 of 15 at the foul line.
“Every game is going to be different for me,” DeRozan said of his inside-out approach. “I just go out there and feel whatever the defense is giving me and try to be aggressive when it comes to that. Don’t force much, just try to pick and choose my spots, when I can attack and when I can get to the rim. If not, find my teammates.
“It’s kind of like a chess game with me, and I understand that every time I play.”
Murray evolving into a floor general
Murray’s nine assists Wednesday were one shy of the careerhigh 10 he posted against Oklahoma City on Nov. 7, 2019.
Asked how confident the Spurs are in Murray’s ability to direct the offense, swingman Keldon Johnson said, “If it was on a scale of one to 10, it would be a 15. We’ve all bought into DJ running the team. We trust him.”
Murray said he worked a lot during the offseason with Spurs assistant coaches Becky Hammon, Will Hardy and Mitch Johnson on becoming a better decision-maker.
“I know this league is about a lot of point guards scoring 30, 40,” Murray said. “It kind of takes away from the ones who are true point guards and actually want to be true point guards. I take pride in being a true point guard.”