Johnson returns to practice, could play as soon as tonight
Some familiar sounds filled the Spurs practice facility Monday morning, all coming from forward Keldon Johnson.
“Keldon just being Keldon — high energy, positivity, screaming, yelling, singing … just happy to have him on the court and just spreading that contagious energy he has,” guard Lonnie Walker IV said.
Johnson’s participation in shootaround — a key milestone in his return from the NBA’S health and safety protocols for COVID-19 — signaled he could be returning to action soon.
A few hours after the workout, the Spurs downgraded Johnson from questionable to out for Monday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. It was a “coach’s decision” to keep Johnson out of the game while he goes through “post health and safety protocols reconditioning,” according to the Spurs injury report.
But signs point to Johnson and his per-game averages of 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds returning this week, possibly as soon as Tuesday night against the New York Knicks.
“He’ll be back sooner, I believe, than the other people who have been afflicted in this way,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Johnson’s last game was against the Hornets in Charlotte on Feb. 14, when he scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He entered the COVID-19 protocols two days later along with Derrick White, Rudy Gay and Devin Vassell.
White, Gay and Vassell remain out. Like Johnson, Quinndary Weatherspoon was listed as out Monday due to a “coach’s decision” as he goes through “post health and safety protocols reconditioning.”
Weatherspoon, who is on a “two-way” contract that allows him to be active this season for 50 regular season games, entered protocols on Feb. 13.
The COVID outbreak forced the NBA to postpone four of the Spurs’ games during their rodeo road trip. They returned to the court last Wednesday with a depleted roster in Oklahoma City. Entering Monday’s game, they were 1-1 since then after losing 102-99 to the Thunder and beating the New Orleans Pelicans 114-111 on Saturday night at the AT&T Center.
“From practice to going into the games, we’ve been handling it very professionally,” Walker said. “We’re just dialing down. We understand we’re missing some key pieces.”
Still, the adversity sometimes hits the players hard, Walker said.
“It has its moments where you look at it and it’s like, ‘Man, this is a completely new challenge, a completely new world,’ ” he said. “End all be all, we’re a family. We’re going to play together and win together.”
Pierce’s firing surprises Popovich
Popovich said he was on the treadmill late Monday afternoon when he was told the Atlanta Hawks had fired coach Lloyd Pierce.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. Pierce, 44, is a member of Popovich’s Team USA coaching staff. He compiled a 63-120 record in two-plus seasons in Atlanta.
“He is one of our fine young coaches, just a really knowledgeable guy, a people person, very mature, and it was a sad day for somebody to lose a job like that,” Popovich said.
The injury-plagued Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference. They lost 109-99 to the Miami Heat on Sunday night, marking their 11th loss this season after holding a fourth-quarter lead.
Still, Popovich believes Atlanta could come to regret the move.
“We all know it is a volatile environment and that sort of thing, but you don’t want to miss on people like him,” Popovich said. “It’s like missing on a really good player in the draft or evaluating somebody wrongly. He is the kind of guy you can build a culture around. There has got to be leadership enough that understands it takes time, that continuity is important.
“That is not always available in our league as far as management and ownership is concerned. A little bit more understanding about how a program gets built for success over the long run would have served this situation well.
“Unfortunately, it was a negative for Lloyd, but he will be hired and he will lead a program very soon, I’m sure.”
Pop recalls Nash as ‘very special player’
Monday marked Steve Nash’s first trip as a coach to the AT&T Center, where he had some classic clashes with the Spurs as a player for the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers during his 18-season Hall of Fame career.
“He was a very, very special player,” Popovich said of the first-year Brooklyn coach. “And, at the same time, win or lose, a class act.”
Popovich called Nash one of the “all-time great competitors.”
“And while he is competing at such a high level, also one of the great thinkers, understanding exactly what was going on in a game in any situation, (knowing) what was needed while he is physically competing at the highest level,” Popovich said.