Ex-St. Mary’s guard steps in, takes charge
Nearly 10 years ago, when the unassuming kid from Australia arrived in Moraga to play college basketball at St. Mary’s, he caused barely a ripple on the Bay Area sports scene.
Sunday afternoon, when Patty Mills walks onto the court at Oracle Arena for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, he will have the attention of the Warriors and their fans.
Tony Parker will not play in this series, felled by a ruptured tendon in his left quadriceps, but San Antonio seems well equipped to weather Parker’s absence. That’s because, in Mills, the Spurs have another skilled, capable point guard.
He has started, remarkably, only 18 regular-season games in his eight years in the league. He made his first career playoff start Tuesday night against Houston, in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals — and scored 20 points, hitting five threes in the process.
Mills followed up with a 14-point, seven-assist effort Thursday night in San Antonio’s series-clinching Game 6 rout. Now he returns to the East Bay, as a key cog for the team standing between the Warriors and a third consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
“He can shoot from (long) range,” Warriors acting head coach Mike Brown said of Mills. “The biggest thing he does is he moves so well without the ball. So you can never relax on him.
“If he has the ball in his hands, you have to make sure you stay connected — because if you don’t, he’s knocking down a three. If he gives up the ball and you take a breath, he’s like the Energizer Bunny. …
“That guy’s juice, or his motor, is second to none in this league. And that poses a huge threat because of his ability to shoot the ball very well from range.”
Mills, at age 28, averaged a career-high 21.9 minutes per game this season, nearly as much as Parker (25.2 minutes per game at age 34). Mills averaged 9.5 points and made a career-high 147 threes, shooting 41.3 percent beyond the arc.
He will be the shortest starter on the court Sunday, at 6 feet, but he owns the quickness to chase Stephen Curry. Mills figures to draw the defensive assignment on Curry most of the time; or he will face a 7-inch height disadvantage against Klay Thompson.
Mills can play defense — nobody lasts six years with head coach Gregg Popovich unless he plays defense. Mills brings the added bonus of stretching the floor with his three-point shooting.
“Quick trigger and lightsout shooter,” Warriors guard Shaun Livingston said. “When he first came into the league, he was really trying to make it, so he was a guy who would pick you up (defensively) for 94 feet, pesky.
“He’s still pesky, but he’s taken on more of a scoring role in that system. Give him credit, he’s worked his way up. He’s somebody we have to pay attention to out there.”
Mills made an instant splash at St. Mary’s, averaging 14.8 points as a freshman in 200708 and 18.4 as a sophomore. Then he jumped to the NBA, where he spent two years in Portland before finding his niche as Parker’s backup in San Antonio.
Now, with Parker out, Mills finds himself starting for the Spurs in the conference finals.
“It’s a great fit for him,” Brown said, “and just as importantly, he’s a great fit for them.”