Spurs’ Anderson embraces leadership role
A year ago, as a rookie, Kyle Anderson was trying to feel his way around the NBA.
On Saturday, he was the point man in leading his team into the NBA Summer League semifinals.
The 6-foot-9-inch forward for the San Antonio Spurs has been a much different player in Las Vegas. Teammates look to him for leadership on the court and advice off it.
It‘s a role he has embraced, and now, after learning from coach Gregg Popovich and veteran stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, Anderson has become an integral part of the Spurs‘ future.
"It‘s been great for me," said Anderson, who scored a team-high 21 points in a 95-93 win over the Boston Celtics in the quarterfinals at the Thomas & Mack Center. "My teammates have made it easy for me to be in a leadership role. I think my experience from last year helps me, and they look to me to show them the way.
"I have a lot better understanding of the game and what I need to do to work on in order to become a more complete player."
Anderson is averaging 22.3 points in the league, second to New Orleans’ Seth Curry‘s 25.3. And Anderson also has rebounded, defended and been a go-to player.
"He‘s put this team on his back," said Spurs summer league coach Becky Hammon, who worked with Anderson during his rookie season as an assistant on Popovich‘s staff. "He‘s worked hard on the other parts of his game, and it‘s shown this week."
Anderson said it wasn‘t his intent to be the team‘s leading scorer because, when the regular season begins, that won‘t be his role. In 32 games as a rookie, he averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. His career-high is 15 points.
"It‘s nice, but that‘s not what they‘re going to ask me to do once the season starts," Anderson said. "I‘m trying to get my shots in the context of our offense and not force anything. I don’t want to pick up any bad habits here."
Anderson played in foul trouble Saturday but still found ways to be effective. He played most of the fourth quarter with four fouls.
"Coach Pop hates silly fouls, and one thing I learned last year is you don‘t want to get any cheap ones," Anderson said. "But I just tried to be smart when I was out there playing with the four (fouls) and not make it worse."
Hammon said: "We‘ve seen a maturity in his game, and he understands when you need to back off and when to be aggressive."
Anderson had a chance to put the game away after being fouled with 6.5 seconds left and the Spurs leading 93-90. All he had to do was make one of two free throws.
But he missed both attempts, Boston‘s Terry Rozier knocked down a corner 3-pointer from the left side with 2.5 seconds and the game was tied at 93. The Spurs‘ Shannon Scott then won the game by hitting a 17-foot floater as time expired.
"We‘ve been in a lot of close games, but we‘re finding ways to win," Anderson said.
And with the Spurs in the semifinals at 3 p.m. today against the Atlanta Hawks, Anderson said the team is focused on trying to win the title Monday.
"It‘s such a long week," he said. "But everyone‘s tired, and you just try to find a way to fight through the fatigue.
"This group of guys has a really good chemistry, and we all want to win. We never give up, and it’s been fun playing with them."
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.