Rounding out a long season in Austin at least a breath of fresh air for struggling Spurs
The first NBA game in the history of Austin may not have a whole lot on the line when San Antonio and Portland tip off Thursday night at Moody Center, but the atmosphere could be at a playoff-type level.
Instead of slowly winding down what has unquestionably been a rebuilding season, the Spurs will play their final two home games — they’ll also play the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday afternoon — in Austin in an attempt to grow their brand across Central and South Texas.
While Thursday’s game represents a matchup between two of the three worst teams in the Western Conference, the game will be played in front of a near-sellout crowd — something that likely wouldn’t have happened had San Antonio played in its usual home facility 75 miles to the south.
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Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, guard Tre Jones and forward Zach Collins all said during Wednesday’s meeting with the local media that it’s an exciting way to end a season that has been dominated by losses.
“It’s a bit strange to come back off the road and play a home game in Texas that’s not in San Antonio,” Popovich said. “But it’s good to be here. This is a brand-new experience that none of our guys have had. I’ve never flown into Austin before, so I’m looking around and it’s like you’re in a different country or place — and that’s fun to have in your life.”
Spurs aren't just struggling, they're limping
San Antonio (20-59), which is coming off a 115-94 loss at Phoenix on Tuesday, has a young roster that has struggled with injuries. Star player Keldon Johnson, who averages more than 21 points per game, missed the loss to the Suns and is questionable for Thursday’s game, and Popovich joked that he’s just hoping to field a team in Austin.
But Jones, a former Duke star who had his first career triple-double Tuesday, noted that coming to Austin is a good way to energize the team for the last five days of the season.
“I experienced the city a couple of times last year on my own,” Jones said. “It’s a different feel from San Antonio as there’s a lot of young people here and it’s really active. It’s a cool place. We’re excited to be here and it’s kind of like a second home with how close it is.”
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Jones and Collins have both spent time in town with the Austin Spurs, the G-League team which is essentially San Antonio’s minor-league affiliate.
“I was grateful for it and it definitely helped me a lot,” Collins said. “Coming back from injury, I realized I wasn’t ready to jump back into NBA games and needed some time here. It also gave me perspective on a lot of guys’ careers, kind of humbled me and was good for me to experience.”
Taking a big-picture view of the season
Portland (33-46) has lost 12 of its last 14 and enters the contest following Tuesday’s 119-109 loss at Memphis.
Star player Damian Lillard will not play after the Trail Blazers shut him down last week following being eliminated from the playoff race, and in what could be a battle of lineups lacking star power, Popovich is just looking for his players to bring a competitiveness to the two contests.
Austin “is a great sports town that enjoys competitive sports and teams, and even though we’re in the development stage, it’s important for us to be in different venues for these guys to perform,” he said. “The most satisfying part of the year has been to watch the individual development of our guys. … Our guys don’t play like they know what their record is. They play for the standards we set for them and try to meet them. Win or lose, you have to learn what it takes to become a winning team and a champion. We’re in that process of starting over again.”
Jones noted that for players who are used to winning at every level, when losses mount up like they have this year, including several close ones, it starts to take a toll. But the Spurs players try to take a big-picture view.
“When you play close games or have a lead slip away it definitely hurts,” he said. “And when it happens over and over again, it hurts a lot. It’s kind of been one of those seasons, but we’re trying to learn from it.”
Win or lose over the next two games, the most important part for the Spurs may be making an impression. Popovich said the team will definitely be coming back to Austin in future seasons and the goal for the Spurs is to increase its market.
“We’d like to spread that experience we’ve had into other areas, and to do that we have to make the effort to be seen and play some games,” he said. “Increasing the interest in what we do and seeing new fans and playing in a different arena is interesting and fun.”
Thursday's game
San Antonio Spurs (20-59) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (33-46), 7 p.m., Moody Center
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: NBA's San Antonio Spurs will play their final two home games in Austin
