AUS - Early impressions good for Boomers star
SAN ANTONIO (NBA/Olympics) – Australia’s Pat Mills has played in five games for the San Antonio Spurs since joining the team in late March and seems to be a perfect fit. There was no other conclusion to draw after his game-high 20 points in the Spurs’ 125-90 triumph over Cleveland last week. Mills was eight of 11 from the floor and ...
SAN ANTONIO (NBA/Olympics) – Australia’s Pat Mills has played in five games for the San Antonio Spurs since joining the team in late March and seems to be a perfect fit.
There was no other conclusion to draw after his game-high 20 points in the Spurs’ 125-90 triumph over Cleveland last week.
Mills was eight of 11 from the floor and drilled four of his five shots from the arc.
He followed that up with 14 points in a win over New Orleans and five in Sunday’s victory over Utah.
Brett Brown, an assistant to Spurs boss Gregg Popovich and also the coach of Australia’s national team, says that ex-Portland guard Mills is in a very good situation.
“Any time you come into a game and you shoot the ball as well as he shot it, it’s a fantastic introduction to a team,” Brown said.
“You gain an immediate credibility, you gain a lot of respect and the way that he has been carrying himself since he’s been here, he’s been highly professional and shown a very serious commitment on his part in that he wants to develop and become a long-term Spur.”
With Andrew Bogut injured and unable so far to play for his new team Golden State, Mills is the Australian making all the headlines in the NBA.
Boomers fans will hope that Mills continues to play well because this is an Olympic year and they want their playmaker showing up in London with a lot of confidence.
Brown is glad that he’s able to keep tabs on Australia’s star guard.
“You just feel like you have more control over his destiny,” Brown said.
“I think with this position here, where he’s under your roof, you can continue to help him develop his game, you can help make sure that he comes back in just fantastic shape, which is the sole mission of all of our Boomers players.
“Patty is fortunate to have an infrastructure here with the Spurs where several coaches and resources are available to him to return back to Australia in shape and improved.”
Mills played at the Beijing Games four years ago while still a college player at St Mary’s in California.
FIBA