Tobias Harris was Spurs“the main free agent addition of the summer, but the veteran forward will be ruled out for Tuesday’s regular-season opener in Oklahoma City as he continues to recover from left calf strainwrites Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.
“It builds, it improves, it progresses“, head coach Mitch Johnson said after Monday’s practice. “But I would say he still needs to improve on the court. You go out on the court (post-injury) and you have quite a few levels to work through, regardless of how many people are on the floor (with you), the amount of contact, the amount of activity, the distance, the speed, etc.
“So it is developing well. It is very good for us. He’s ready to go and really wants to be there, and I think he’s exactly where he needs to be.”
Harris was injured early in training camp and missed all five of San Antonio’s preseason games this fall. The 34-year-old signed a two-year, $30.8 million contract with the Spurs in July after a solid two seasons with Detroit.
Here’s more on Spurs:
- Having spent the past 32 years as a head coach (21 in college and 11 in the NBA), Billy Donovan joined San Antonio this summer as the Spurs’ top assistant. Thunder head coach Mark Dynowho was an assistant under Donovan at the University of Florida and in Oklahoma City, praised one of his mentors ahead of the regular season opener, Orsborn added in the same piece. “There is a reason why he does this” said Dyno. “He likes to train. He likes basketball. He loves competition. He likes to be around. … I don’t know how many people, if I’m honest, are humble enough to go into the (Naismith) Hall of Fame in September (2025) and then get an assistant coaching job in (July 2026). But he is one of them. He is a unique, original guy. This is just the latest example.”
- Star center Victor Wembanyama enters his fourth NBA season as the betting favorite to win his first MVP award, according to Scott Phillips of The Athleticwhich refers to several sports books. NBA General Managers also see Vembanyama as the overwhelming favorite to win their first MVP after the French big man finished third in the voting last season.
- Rising young guard Dylan Harper will be part of starting lineup two years after his success as a substitute last season. Last year’s No. 2 overall pick made 34.3% of his 2.6 three-point attempts per game last season, but says he’s “very confident” in his outside shooting after going 8-of-14 (57.1%) from long range in the preseason as Orsborn writes for The Express-News. “I’ve been working on it all summer, so I have no reason to hesitate” Harper said of his perimeter shooting.”There is no reason to back down. The most important thing is to take the right shots at the right time.”
- Coach Johnson praised the two-way defender Ja’Koby Gillespie on Friday, Orsborn tweets. “He has a very good attitude for a rookie who is two-way” Johnson said of this year’s 42nd pick. “It’s usually a place to survive…(but) he does a really good job of that calm confidence and competitiveness while still being comfortable in his own skin.”
