Friends, family present for Barlow’s big day
TORONTO — For Dominick Barlow, the timing for him to receive increased minutes from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich couldn’t have been better.
With a large group of family members and friends looking on, the native of Hackensack, N.J., had seven points and nine rebounds, including a career-best seven on the offensive end, in the Spurs’ 123-103 loss to the Nets on Saturday in Brooklyn.
“I had about 16 people here,” Barlow said. “That’s the first time in the NBA that I have had that many people at a game, so it was super cool. My mom was here, my grandparents, my best friends from back home, some friends I have in the city. It was great.”
In the Spurs’ four previous games, Barlow was inactive for three of them and did not play in one game due to a coach’s decision. But he logged 12 minutes against the Nets at backup center at the expense of Zach Collins, who never got off the bench in the second half after going into halftime with just two points on 0-for-2 shooting from the floor, three rebounds, three fouls and one assist in seven minutes after entering the game averaging 12.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists over 24.8 minutes.
Popovich said he was impressed by Barlow’s effort on the boards in the first half when he grabbed three in four minutes.
“He was very active, and we like to reward things like that, so he earned the minutes, deserved them, so we gave it to him,” Popovich said.
Barlow said “it’s a good feeling” to know the “coaching staff believes in him.”
“It’s really cool,” he said. “I put in a lot of work, but I still have a ways to go.”
Walker praised by Pop, Nets’ Vaughn
Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn can spot the Spurs’ fingerprints all over Lonnie Walker IV.
The Nets guard, who spent his first four seasons with the Spurs after they drafted him 18th overall in 2018, was scoreless in six minutes Saturday night after returning to action following a twogame absence due to an injured hamstring.
“He understands what pounding the rock is for sure and that you do your work on a daily basis and you are OK with that,” said Vaughn, a former Spurs player and assistant coach. “He understands that it’s more than about him. Those are the things you learn in the Spur system and you carry with you.”
Walker is averaging 11.7 points per game this season while shooting 43.3% from 3-point range on 4.9 attempts per outing.
“Physically, he’s freakish,” Popovich said. “Obviously, he’s fast, he’s got speed, but he’s explosive. The start of his motion is really quick and he jumps very well. His athleticism is beyond the normal, so that really sticks out with you quickly.”
Beyond his athletic skills, Popovich misses Walker’s upbeat personality.
“He’s a fun guy,” the coach said. “He’s intelligent, and he loves to have fun. He’s always interesting. Every day you’re going to find something that you can to enjoy about him. So that’s Lonnie.”