The Red Rocket

Pending final clearance from head athletic trainer Will Sevening,
Spurs veteran center Fabricio Oberto believes he will be ready to suit
up for Friday night’s game against the Grizzlies in Memphis.
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Out since straining a muscle in his left midfoot on Dec. 17, Oberto on
Wednesday engaged in a vigorous, two-on-two game with teammates Ime
Udoka, Anthony Tolliver and George Hill.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich watched the two-on-two game, which included
some full-court play, then huddled for several minutes with Sevening.

Oberto awaits the thumbs-up from the athletic trainer, but said he is
anxious to return to action.

“I feel good,” Oberto said. “The last couple days I was working a
little more on the aerobics, trying to get the wind back, but my foot
feels pretty good. That’s the only thing that matters.

“I feel confident (I can play), but it’s still two days. I guess Will
and the doctors will give me the green light.”

Oberto believes he may have worsened the muscle strain by trying to
play through pain before alerting Sevening about his discomfort.

“I was trying to see if the pain was going to go away,” he said, “but
it got worse. Sometimes you have to be careful.”

Even if he doesn’t play a minute in Friday’s game in Memphis, Oberto
said he will feel much better in a uniform, rather than a coat and
tie, behind the bench.

“For sure,” he said. “For me, that is the worst moment, when you sit
out. Being with the team is the most important part.”

The 33-year-old from Argentina has not shaved since he went on the
injured list before the Spurs’ Dec. 18 game in Orlando. He has no
plans to shave it when he does get to suit up again.

Film doesn’t lie: The Spurs spent a large chunk of their Wednesday
practice session reviewing film of the mistakes they made defending
Milwaukee’s pick-and-roll offense in Tuesday’s 100-98 loss to the Bucks.

What they saw, said starting center Matt Bonner, was an abundance of
mental errors.

“Obviously, we didn’t do a great job guarding the pick and roll,” he
said. “It comes down to mental toughness in executing the game plan on
defense. That, we did not do. We need to do better at that.”

Defensive ace Bruce Bowen said too much had been made of the potential
game-tying shot that Tim Duncan missed in the final seconds.

“It was one of those games we didn’t compete for the full 48 minutes,”
Bowen said. “In those situations, you always end up falling behind and
then you fight to get back. Yeah, you might have a last-second shot,
but if (we) would have done the little things prior to that, it might
not come down to something like that.”

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