« I am being realistic »

Considering his physical hitches and some rumours about his transfer, Tony is giving us his opinion upon his latest events.

Tony, after the last 2 defeats (Charlotte and Memphis), you won in New Orleans on Monday for MLK Day. You’re still looking for a certain consistency just like you were at the beginning of the season.
It has nothing to do with it. We can’t compare our recent games and the first ones. We played 5 games in 7 days. Back to backs were physically hard. We played a big game vs the Lakers and the day after we went to Oklahoma and played OT. And we physically felt the consequences vs Charlotte.  It was tough to play Memphis. Yet, we were into the game the whole time but something was missing.

Fortunately, you won in New Orleans…
It was a great satisfaction for me. I was really happy to end this road-trip with a success. Just like the team, I had some problems playing so many games one after the other. I was worn out vs Memphis. And my back hurt which didn’t help.

So you don’t feel better physically?
No, not really. I’m having a lot of treatment to minimize these problems. It’s the first time in my career that I have so many physical problems. I know I’m not 100%. But I’m not injured either. In the morning, I don’t look at myself in the mirror and I say: “I can’t play, I’m injured”. There’s no other option but to accept the situation. I’m not at my best. There’s nothing I can do about it. I wish I could score 25 points per game like I did vs New Orleans. But I am being realistic and today I know it’s difficult to achieve. I know there will be bad days.

To protect Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich decided to put him to rest for a few games. Do you think you could be in the same position?
Yes, it might happen in February and in March when we play back to backs. I might even not play some games at all to get some rest. Nothing’s been decided yet but it’s an option.

Besides that, there were some rumours about trading Chris Paul with you…
Rumours have always existed in NBA. I really don’t know where they come from and who started them. Anyway, I don’t care. I am cool with this situation in San Antonio.