Nine or 10 might have to give it a go
Between virus and injury, skeleton crew may face OKC
On Monday afternoon, the Spurs who were able to play basketball and allowed by the NBA to be around the rest of the team congregated at the club’s practice facility.
For most in that rag-tag group of 10, it was the first time on a basketball court since Valentine’s Day.
Five players were prohibited from being in the building under the league’s coronavirus health and safety protocols: Rudy Gay, Keldon Johnson, Derrick White, Devin Vassell and Quinndary Weatherspoon.
Leading scorer Demar Derozan was in Los Angeles, on personal leave to mourn the death of his father with his family.
After putting what remained of his team through what passed as a practice, coach Gregg Popovich was being genuine when he offered an upbeat status report.
“We can’t complain,” he said. Tuesday, the Spurs will load whatever healthy bodies they can muster onto a charter flight bound for Oklahoma City and the resumption of their rodeo road trip.
Wednesday’s game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena will be their first since Feb. 14, when they defeated Charlotte 122-110.
Afterward, four Spurs players registered positive tests for COVID-19, prompting an immediate halt to their season.
Weatherspoon, a second-year guard, had already entered the NBA’S health and safety protocols before the team’s arrival in Charlotte, N.C. Gay, White, Johnson and Vassell joined the list after that Sunday contest.
The Spurs’ entire remaining traveling party remained quarantined in Charlotte until Friday, when most of the team was cleared to return to San Antonio.
They arrived home to find a city and state digging out from the aftermath of a snowstorm that
left millions without water and electricity for a period of several days.
“We’ve always had the philosophy that there are always people or groups of people who have it worse than you do,” Popovich said in his first public comments since his team’s COVID-19 outbreak. “Considering our positions, we’re very, very, very well off. So complaining or feeling sorry for oneself, that’s not in the picture.”
From a strict basketball standpoint, what comes next for the Spurs is unlikely to be all that much fun.
The team was rolling after a 2-0 start to their rodeo trip, with wins in five of their past six games before the coronavirus suspended their season.
Picking up where they left off will be tricky, if not impossible.
The Spurs will resume in OKC with a skeleton crew of 10 players if center Lamarcus Aldridge is able to return from the hip ailment that has rendered him out since Feb. 1.
They will have nine players available if he is not.
Popovich acknowledged the challenge the Spurs face this week, while still attempting to keep their tribulation in perspective.
“Tough break for us,” Popovich said, “but not near as difficult as many, many, many here in the state of Texas have had to endure.”
The 35-year-old Aldridge practiced Monday and received positive
reports from Popovich all things considered.
Aldridge is expected to be reevaluated before the Spurs depart for Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
“He said he didn’t feel anything (pain-wise),” Popovich said. “I’m sure he was probably a little bit winded. He’s been out for a while. But he did well.”
On Sunday, the Spurs recalled rookie guard Tre Jones and second-year forward Luka Samanic from the G League bubble in Orlando, Fla., due to the “all-handson-deck” nature of their situation.
Those two G Leaguers are likely to be the most well-conditioned players on the Spurs’ bench in OKC.
Popovich admitted Monday’s practice was not the sharpest he has ever led. He did not expect it to be.
It has yet to be determined what the Spurs’ starting five will look
like against the Thunder, and how the rotations will unfold beyond that.
What is certain is that Popovich will be forced to cobble together combinations that have never before played together.
Monday’s practice was heavy on five-on-five scrimmages to get juices flowing again, Popovich said.
“We’re just trying to get them in some modicum of shape and get back to executing and trying to do things well,” Popovich said.
It remains unclear how long the Spurs must remain short-handed.
NBA protocols call for players who have logged a positive test to
remain quarantined for a period of 10 days. That window ends Wednesday.
After that, players are limited to monitored individual workouts for a minimum of two more days before they can be cleared to play.
It remains within the realm of mathematical possibility the Spurs might be able to get some players back from protocol for Saturday’s home game against New Orleans.
Popovich said it is impossible to make that determination with any degree of certainty at this point.
“Each one (in protocols) is a little different,” Popovich said. “I don’t really have a final date.”
The only firm date the Spurs
have on their immediate calendar comes Wednesday in Oklahoma City, when they will be forced to play a game that counts with a limited roster better suited for the preseason.
The Spurs can accept the difficulty of what they are up against. They can hope for teammates to get well and for the COVID cavalry to come back soon.
But complain? Popovich won’t let them.
“It’s inappropriate, not deserved,” Popovich said. “Only thank-you’s for what we all have.”