Johnson’s ankle takes a turn for the better
When Keldon Johnson went down in a screaming heap in the first half of the Spurs’ victory over Denver on Thursday, he did not exactly fear the worst. Only something close to it. “I initially thought it was really, really bad,” Johnson said.
Johnson landed awkwardly on teammate Jakob Poeltl while wrestling for a rebound, suffering a sprained right ankle that looked like it was going to keep him out a while.
Instead, Johnson was back in the starting lineup two nights later as the Spurs lost to Denver.
Johnson logged less than his typical workload in Saturday’s rematch with the Nuggets, contributing 14 points in 21 minutes.
He was 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 3 from the 3-point stripe.
More importantly, Johnson survived the night no worse for wear, and was back in the lineup again Sunday as the Spurs finished a back-to-back against New Orleans at the AT&T Center.
“He was a little tentative, a little cautious,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “But overall he came through OK.”
Johnson is not expected to be on any sort of medically-imposed minutes limit going forward, Popovich said. The 22year-old Johnson said thetime off might have helped his legs, but only to an extent.
“I still did conditioning every day and I stayed up trying to get therapy on my ankle so I could get back as soon as possible,” Johnson said. “Even though I wasn’t playing, I put the time in to try to get back to 100 percent as fast as possible.”
As frightening as Johnson’s fall looked Thursday night, even he was surprised at how quickly he was back in uniform.
Johnson remained on the floor, howling in pain for several minutes after twisting his ankle.
At first, he required assistance from teammates Drew Eubanks and Thad Young to make his way toward the locker room.
Eventually, Johnson made the trek under his own power. He attempted to play to start the third quarter, with Popovich subbing him out for good after a little more than a minute.
After a couple of days of rehab, Johnson was cleared to play.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Johnson said. “Luckily I had my ankles taped and a few other things went our way. I am just blessed.”
New Orleans coach lauds Gervin’s honor
Eastern Michigan University announced a plan Saturday to rename its basketball arena after legendary alum and Spurs Hall of Famer George Gervin.
That honor came none too soon if you ask New Orleans coach Willie Green, who like Gervin grew up in Detroit.
“He holds tremendous weight (in Detroit),” Green said. “He is a guy that all kids know about, dream about playing like, watched him finger roll.
Gervin was a standout at Eastern Michigan from 1970 to 1972 before finding professional stardom in the ABA and NBA. He made an All-star team in each of his 12 seasons with the Spurs. Green’s uncle, Gary
“I am happy to hear that they are renaming the floor after him,” Green said. “He was a great player but an even better person just talking to him.”
Pelicans follow Spurs in hiring women
Sunday’s game featured a pair of female assistant coaches in the Spurs’ Becky Hammon and the Pelicans’ Teresa Weatherspoon.
To the head coaches involved, the best part about that was that nobody seemed to bat an eye.
“I think the NBA in general is just trending in the right direction in terms of the diversity we have in coaching staffs,” Green said. “We need to continue that.”
There are seven full-time female assistant coaches working in the NBA.
Hammon is the longest-tenured, having joined the Spurs’ bench in 2014.
“It’s not an exclusive situation that only men can understand basketball,” Popovich said. “That’s a pretty foolish notion, so the more the merrier.”