Gay set for return to Spurs lineup
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Help appears to be on the way for the Spurs’ injury-depleted frontcourt.
As expected, the team on Sunday upgraded injured forward Rudy Gay to probable for Monday night’s game against the Kings. Gay, who missed the last three games with a sore right heel, is averaging 13.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.0 minutes.
The Spurs also upgraded center Jakob Poeltl to probable after he missed Saturday’s 96-89 win over Houston with a sprained right ankle.
Gay said before Saturday’s game he would probably return against the Kings, who he spent four seasons with before signing with the Spurs before last season.
The Spurs listed three players as out: center Pau Gasol, who missed the last two games with a sore left foot; rookie guard Lonnie Walker IV (right medial meniscus tear) and rookie center Drew Eubanks (G League assignment).
Gasol, 38, showed up at the AT&T Center on Saturday wearing a walking boot.
“He’ll be out as long as he’s out,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I don’t want to talk about who’s going to be out and how long, but he is in a boot.”
Asked about the severity of Gasol’s injury, Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan said, “He’s all right, just old. Precautionary reasons. It’s kind of like a boot when you get a ticket on the side of the road, and you got to pay the ticket. He didn’t pay his ticket.”
Sour on Sacramento: Marco Belinelli’s one season in Sacramento didn’t provide him with any good memories.
Belinelli signed a three-year, $19 million deal with the Kings in summer 2015 after two seasons with the Spurs, including helping them win the 2014 NBA championship.
“Oh, that was a tough season,” Belinelli said of his year with the Kings, which saw him shoot a career-low 30.6 percent from 3point range for a team that finished 10th in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record.
“It was tough,” he added. “I don’t know what to say.”
The Spurs let Belinelli go as part of a cap-clearing campaign that eventually allowed them to sign LaMarcus Aldridge in summer 2015.
Asked if he ever thinks about what it might have been like if he had been able to stay with the Spurs, Belinelli said, “I don’t know. It’s tough to say. Maybe another championship? ... TP (Tony Parker) was there, Manu (Ginobili). That was a pretty good team.”
Back in his comfort zone: With Derrick White healthy and playing point guard after missing the first nine games of the season, Spurs guard Bryn Forbes can concentrate more on what he does best.
When Dejounte Murray (knee) and White (foot) went down in the preseason, the Spurs were forced to move Forbes from shooting guard to the point position. Now with White back, Forbes can fill his customary role.
“Derrick has that point guard mentality (in that) he’s always trying to get guys involved,” Aldridge said. “He is a bit taller than Bryn, so it’s just about having a balance of Bryn being able to be himself and take his shots and then Derrick can be the playmaker.”
The backcourt pairing clicked in Saturday’s 96-89 win over Houston with White scoring 14 points and dishing out a careerbest eight assists and Forbes scoring 13 points.
Heavy lifting: Aldridge scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Saturday, giving him 107 career games with 25-plus points and 10-plus rebounds.
The only players with more such games since Portland drafted him in 2006 are Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and LeBron James.
Aldridge leads the Spurs this season with five double-doubles.
Unsung contributor: Spurs backup forward Quincy Pondexter scored a season-high eight points against the Rockets on 1-of-2 shooting from the field and a 5of-8 showing from the free throw line in 15 minutes.
“He came in there, brought his energy, got fouled and scored eight points — that’s big,” DeRozan said. “He came in and played solid defense.”