Butler’s death stuns Spurs
SAN ANTONIO — Wednesday’s death of Rasual Butler shocked the NBA and especially hit the teams, including the Spurs, that had the widely respected former player as a teammate over his 14year career.
“You don’t have many words in those situations,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “You are just deeply saddened. He was a great guy. We didn’t have him for a long period. I think it was seven months, almost a season, and he was a super guy, a guy who was fun to have around — positive, appreciative. And to read the news yesterday was troubling. We are all very touched and saddened.
“I was talking to (Luis) Scola yesterday. He played with him in Indiana, I think, and everybody (agrees) he was a great guy. It is sad to lose a teammate and somebody your age that your shared things with, so it was a tough day yesterday.”
Butler, 38, and his wife Leah died in a one-car accident. He played for eight teams, finishing his career in San Antonio in 2016.
“He was a wonderful teammate for everybody,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He was a good person in every way. He was always upbeat, always ready to do whatever we asked.
“Just another lesson in how short life can be and how important it is to enjoy each other and hope that you can be fortunate enough not to get into a situation where danger can pop up. … These guys that, something befalls them like this, it’s always a shock, always a loss, but much more so to their own families. And, obviously, his wife was with him, which makes it even more tragic. We feel for all the family, and that’s where your thoughts have to go, and once again be amazed, it can happen to any of us at any time.”
Ginobili said it was difficult to talk about, or even to discuss preparations for Thursday’s game against the Rockets.
“What importance can this game have in a context like this?” Ginobili said. “Yeah, we might talk about how to attack the pickand-roll or how savvy CP (Chris Paul) is playing the pick-and-rolls defensively, but things like this happen and you realize how shallow all this is and it’s crazy. We want to do our best job possible, we want to keep building. But things like this put a little bit of perspective on how lucky we are to have health, great job, good families.”
Gordon sits out with back spasms
Rockets guard Eric Gordon said the tightness he had in his back to begin Tuesday’s game developed into spasms that make him unsure when he would return despite the improvement since.
Gordon sat out Thursday’s game against the Spurs. Coach Mike D’Antoni said he was day-to-day.
“I think it’s a minor thing,” Gordon said. “It occurred during the game and got worse and worse. I felt it before the game, but I didn’t think it was that bad. I didn’t think it was bad enough not to play. I’m not sure (about playing Saturday in Cleveland). I’m taking it day-by-day. I’m getting better.
“It’s not killing me, but it is back spasms. It’s tough to run or do an anything of that sort.”
Gordon is the Rockets’ third-leading scorer, averaging 19.1 points.
Spurs’ defense among the elite
Though Kawhi Leonard, considered one of the NBA’s best defensive players, has played in just nine games this season, the Spurs went into Thursday’s game with the second-ranked defense, allowing the fewest points in the NBA and the thirdfewest 3-pointers per game (9.1).
That, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said, is because of the qualities — a great system run by smart defenders — that have not changed.
“It’s a combination. (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) always does a great job. They get after it and defend hard. (Pau) Gasol and (LaMarcus) Aldridge, they got length and guys that work at it.
“They’re disciplined and smart. All of them are real smart players and always have been.”