Walker hoping for repeat performance
Ever the voracious reader, Spurs guard Lonnie Walker has spent the past few weeks digging into “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind,” by Dr. Joseph Murphy.
In his 1963 self-help books, Murphy writes on the role the subconscious plays in forming everyday habits and posits that by changing one’s thought patterns, one can change the outcome of one’s life.
Walker swears he is reading this book for personal, not professional, purposes.
“I just love to read,” Walker said. “I love to refresh my brain and I love to relax and think about more than just basketball sometimes.”
If Walker is able to apply the lessons of Dr. Murphy to the basketball court, the Spurs will take it.
The 22-year-old guard romped to 21 points in Thursday’s 123-111 victory over Denver, matching a season best for the second time in less than a week.
The task now for the mercurial Walker is to follow that good game with another Saturday when the Spurs face the Nuggets again.
“I just have to have that mindset of being aggressive,” Walker said. “I have a tendency of starting some games where I’m not aggressive going downhill. I just want to be a jump shooter, and that’s not all my game.”
After notching another 21point game in a win at Golden State last Saturday, Walker encored with six points against Phoenix and three against New York.
In his past 12 contests, Walker has scored in double figures four times and single figures on eight occasions.
“It’s a maturity factor, a time factor,” coach Gregg Popovich said when asked about Walker’s bouts of inconsistency. “Guys become consistent or they don’t. There’s no drill for it.”
Walker would love to play like he did against Denver every night.
For pointers on how to reach a steadier level, Walker sought out Manu Ginobili, who has joined the Spurs’ staff as a special adviser.
“It’s something me and Manu have been really talking about,” Walker said. “Being aggressive, being confident and just playing the game.”
Walker said he appreciates the time the Spurs great has spent mentoring him through a tough time.
“Obviously I haven’t been playing to the best of my ability,” Walker said. “To have someone like that in your circle who is continuing to instill confidence and push you and let you know you have what it takes to be somebody in this league, it means a lot to me.”
Between Ginobili, Dr. Murphy and his own work ethic, Walker is confident he has the tools to be a more consistent player.
“It’s a part of life,” Walker said. “If you want to get to that next level, you are going to have a bit of adversity. It’s just how you bounce back when you have your back against the wall.”
Vassell earns kudos in return from injury
Devin Vassell returned to the active list Thursday for the first time in four games and came away no worse for the wear.
Vassell logged 17 minutes off the bench, scoring nine points, including a driving two-handed dunk. It was part of an active night in which Vassell added five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
The second-year guard was coming off a quadriceps contusion that limited him to 10 minutes in the previous six games.
“I thought he was great,” Popovich said. “He showed a lot of confidence in his leg. He came out aggressively. When we needed him to score, he did that.”
The Spurs played Thursday with starting forward Keldon Johnson, who is nursing a sprained right ankle. On Friday, Johnson was upgraded to probable for Saturday’s rematch with the Nuggets.