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Anderson will start for Spurs
ESPN.com news services
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LOS ANGELES – The San Antonio Spurs look forward to the
return of two stars -- one who's been injured and another who's been
missing in action.
Derek Anderson, San Antonio's second-leading scorer during the
season, will play for the first time in nearly three weeks Friday
night when the Spurs face the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the
Western Conference finals.
"He had a great practice yesterday and a great practice today.
He will play," Spurs spokesman Tom James said Thursday at Staples
Center, site of the series' third and fourth games.
Anderson will start at small forward for the Spurs, with Antonio Daniels starting at shooting guard, ESPN's David Aldridge reported Friday afternoon. Danny Ferry, who had been starting in Anderson's absence, will move to the bench.
David Robinson did play against the Lakers in the first two
games, but not well. And he knows it.
"I've got to stay out on the floor and add some stuff on the
scoreboard," said Robinson, who shot only 9-of-25 and was plagued
by foul trouble as the Spurs lost twice at the Alamodome. "I've
just got to be a lot smarter."
Robinson, who along with Tim Duncan provides the Spurs with a
pair of 7-foot stars, got off to a fast start in Game 1, but didn't
contribute a great deal after the first quarter.
He played only 27 minutes in Game 2 after picking up his third
and fourth fouls in quick succession early in the third quarter. He
got No. 4 while arguing with an official about No. 3.
"I hope we get the same David Robinson, I cannot tell a lie,"
Lakers forward Rick Fox said. "I don't expect that to be the case.
I hope he doesn't relieve the pressure on Tim Duncan."
About Robinson being blamed for his team's losses, Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich said: "It's always been, `When the Spurs win, the
Spurs win. When they lose, it's on David.' That's unfair."
Anderson, meanwhile, hasn't played since separating his right
shoulder May 5 on a flagrant foul by Juwan Howard of the Dallas
Mavericks.
"I feel great, I feel 100 percent right now," he said, noting
he has no pain or swelling. "I would like to start -- continue
where I left off -- we'll see. It's not up to me."
Anderson gives the Spurs their best defender against Kobe
Bryant, who scored 73 points in the first two games.
Bryant said he also believes Anderson brings a significant
presence at the other end of the floor.
"They're going to try and push the ball hard," Bryant said.
"Derek adds speed to their offense, speed to their team. That's
one of the ways they figure they can beat us -- get into an up-tempo
game."
Even with Anderson back, and even if Robinson plays up to his
capabilities, the Spurs face a daunting task.
The defending champion Lakers have won 17 straight games -- eight
to finish the season and nine to start the playoffs.
The next two games are at Staples Center, where the Lakers are
35-10 this season, including four wins in the playoffs.
Only two NBA teams have ever lost the first two games of a
best-of-seven series at home and rallied to win. Nevertheless, the
Lakers say they're taking nothing for granted.
"They're a proud team, they're a veteran team, they're a savvy
team," Shaquille O'Neal said. "We've just got to take it one game
at a time. A lot of things can happen."
The Spurs know they must shoot better if they're going to have a
chance. They've made only 61-of-148 shots (41 percent), and just
9-of-31 from 3-point range (29 percent) in the series.
That's not good, especially for a team that led the NBA in
3-point shooting during the season.
"We just can't stop shooting," said Terry Porter, who has made
only 1-of-10 shots from 3-point range. "If you look at our shots
in the first two series and this series, they're pretty much the
same shots.
"I can't complain about the looks I've had in this series. I
can complain about the fact that they didn't go in."
Brian Shaw acknowledged the Spurs have missed shots they
normally make, but said the Lakers have something to do with that.
"We're getting a hand in their face," he said. "We're not a
team that likes to double-team very much."
However, they did double-team Duncan on a regular basis in the
second half of Game 2, and it paid off -- Duncan scored 15 points,
including a meaningless 3-pointer at the final buzzer, after
scoring 25 in the first half.
"We're mixing it up, making it difficult for them to get into
their comfort zone," Shaw said.
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