Borrego aims to survive without Ball
It is a safe bet James Borrego’s latest return to San Antonio was not his favorite trip back to his old stomping grounds.
The Charlotte coach, and former Spurs assistant, was already in town Sunday when he learned the Hornets would be without star rookie Lamelo Ball for perhaps the rest of the season.
An MRI on Ball’s sore right wrist — injured in the second half of Charlotte’s defeat at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday — revealed a fractured bone.
“It’s tough to swallow,” Borrego said before Monday’s game at the AT&T Center. “It hit everybody hard. Everybody loves this kid. He’s at the core of our organization.”
Ball, 19, was selected third overall in last fall’s NBA draft, and had emerged as a runaway Rookie of the Year candidate.
Since entering Charlotte’s starting lineup Feb. 1, Ball averaged 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.7 steals.
His strong play had helped the Hornets fight their way to eighth place in the Eastern Conference, with a shot at earning their first playoff berth since 2016.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who had Borrego on staff in separate stints from 2003 to 2010 and again from 2015 to 2018, said he expected his former assistant will keep Charlotte in the postseason hunt even with Ball on the shelf.
“J.B. is very creative,” Popovich said. “He’s a wonderful coach who understands the game. He’ll be flexible and figure out what he needs to do to be in that playoff picture.”
Hammon provides inspirational help
Spurs assistant Becky Hammon has inspired countless women both inside and outside basketball.
One of the them is Grace Borrego.
The Charlotte coach says he uses Hammon as a role model to inspire his 14-year-old daughter.
“She is someone I point my daughter to as, ‘You can make this happen. Knock the doors off,’ ” Borrego said. “I think that is something Becky has done. She is shattering doors and windows and ceilings and making a mark on this league.”
Hammon joined Popovich’s staff in 2014, becoming the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history.
A year later, Borrego returned to the Spurs after a stint as the interim head coach in Orlando. Hammon has become an outspoken advocate for gender equality in all walks of life. Last week, she was one of many observers to publicly lambast the NCAA for disparate treatment of athletes at its men’s and women’s national tournaments.
Borrego praised Hammon as a shining light “not just for women all over the basketball world, but young women in general.”
“She has a lot more to do and she’s got high aspirations, as she should,” Borrego said. “I was honored and blessed to be around her and spend some time with her. More than anything she has meant a tremendous amount to me and my family, and especially my daughter.”
Pop fondly recalls Elgin Baylor’s skills
Popovich said he had fond memories of watching NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor growing up.
Baylor died Monday at 86. “He was a wonderful, wonderful man who played a game that at the time nobody could handle,” Popovich said. “He was really fun to watch.”
Baylor began his professional career in 1958, playing with the Lakers franchise when it was based in Minneapolis.
He spent 14 years with the club, which relocated to Los Angeles in 1960, and made 12 All-star teams.
Baylor played the game with a flair that stood apart from many of the staid stars of his era.
It was a style that captivated Popovich, who was 10 years old when Baylor captured his first All-star berth.
“Just watching him play with all his feints and fakes and double-pumps, he was different from everybody else,” Popovich said.
After his playing career was over, Baylor went on to become an executive with the Los Angeles Clippers from 1986 to 2006.