NBA


Spurs give Bonner extra time to heal
Team plays it safe as he returns from injury


By RAY DUCKLER
Monitor staff


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February 15. 2007 8:00AM


T
he San Antonio Spurs are taking no chances with Matt Bonner, the Concord High graduate with the sweet three-point jump shot.

Bonner, sidelined since Jan. 13 after tearing the medial collateral ligament in his left knee against the Washington Wizards, was cleared to play before the Spurs' win over the Nets in New Jersey on Tuesday night.

But Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich opted to "err on the side of caution," according to a report in Wednesday's San Antonio Express-News, and Popovich's delicate handling of Bonner, a 6-foot-10 forward, continued last night, when he sat again in street clothes during the Spurs' 90-81 win over the Pistons in Detroit. Overall, Bonner has missed 15 games.

The Spurs, enjoying the All-Star break weekend, are now off until they host the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, which is when Bonner is expected to be activated. The plan in San Antonio for weeks has been to target that date for his return.

Reached by phone before yesterday's game, Bonner was unsure if Popovich was going to use him against the Pistons. That was a game-time decision. But Bonner acknowledged that the Spurs are being careful with him.

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"My knee's all better," Bonner said. "It's just a matter of when they want to put me back in the games. It's kind of up to the coach. I'm ready to go. I'm just waiting for the thumbs up...Coach is probably thinking one, two games before the all-star break, we should just wait until after."
Added Chris Davis of the Spurs' media relations department, "Just to play it on the safe side. That's been the talk the entire time. It was kind of like he won't be back until the 20th when we play Denver. But the doctors have cleared him to play."

Bonner has been practicing at full speed for about a week. This marks the first time the former University of Florida star has missed an extended period of time."

"Antsy is a good word," Bonner said. "I haven't really been frustrated, but I'm kind of anxious to get back on the court. It's tough to sit on the sidelines and watch your team play when you know you can be out there helping them."

Bonner's injury happened when his playing time was on the rise. He had played a key role with the Toronto Raptors his first two seasons in the league, averaging 18.9 minutes per game as rookie, then logging 21.9 minutes his second season, when he averaged a career-high 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Bonner, forward Eric Williams and a 2009 second-round draft choice were traded to the Spurs for Rasho Nesterovic last June, moving Bonner from a non-playoff team to one that had won three NBA les during a seven-year span.

(Williams, in turn, was shipped to the Charlotte Bobcats for forward Melvin Ely Tuesday).

And with great talent and a new, complex system to learn, Bonner's role was greatly reduced. Oftentimes he didn't play at all, and when he did he averaged less than seven minutes per game through the first two months.

Bonner, playing his third season in the NBA, handled his lack of playing time with his typical class, saying late last fall, "I'm totally fine, honest. I'm learning a lot. The number one thing is we're winning. I'm on a winning team, I'm on a great team. It's not like I'm not playing and we're losing every game by 20."

Bonner chalked up his lack of playing time to being on a team with forwards Tim Duncan, who's led the Spurs to three NBA les, and Robert Horry, who owns six championship rings.

"I have two future Hall of Famers in front of me at that position, so I'm not going to complain too much," Bonner said last fall. "The organization here takes the broad view, the long view. They're not looking for me to be an impact player right off the bat...I'm getting experience here or there, so that in the future when they do need me, I'll be ready to go."

Popovich began turning to Bonner more often last month. In the six games during January before his injury, Bonner was a regular part of the rotation, averaging 18.5 minutes and 6.2 points per game. He was first off the bench once and second off the bench twice.

But that all ended Jan. 13 at home against the Wizards. Bonner was carried to the locker room by Williams and the team trainer and hasn't played since.

"It was bad timing with this injury, for sure" Bonner said yesterday. "I was in the regular rotation, I was comfortable with the system, kind of figuring out my role with the team. Unfortunately, this injury is kind of a minor setback where I have to work my way back into the rotation and get back to where I was."

Fortunately, surgery wasn't needed, and Bonner is now due back in the lineup Tuesday. He doesn't know how long it will take Popovich to again include him as an integral part of the team.

"I have know idea," Bonner said. "The main thing is, and the thing I've done my whole career, is just try to work hard every day and do the right things on and off the court and the rest can take care of itself. It sounds repe ive and like a cliché, but that's the formula that works."

(Ray Duckler can be reached at [email protected].)

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By RAY DUCKLER

Monitor staff

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