Aussies in NBA: Mills vs Wolves, the dunking Santa and thoughts on Simmons
Patty Mills struggled with his 3-point shot and tied an unwanted season high when the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a 108 – 83 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He put up 6 points on 3-of-9 from the field (0-of-3 from 3-point), with 1 assist and 3 rebounds in his 20 minutes of play.
Mills entered the game ranked 10th in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.73, but was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball against the Timberwolves, committing an equal season high 3 turnovers. In his defense, playing while your team has comfortable double-digit lead can take the edge off your game.
Inside the arc Mills was still shooting well.
He scored 4 of his points by punishing inexperienced Minnesota defenders who dropped back into the lane after the pick (clearly failing to read the scouting report) and giving him open jumpers.
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His final points came from being in the right place at the right time, when Karl-Anthony Towns and Ricky Rubio spoiled each other for the rebound, allowing Mills to swoop in for the layup.
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Shot falling or not, the Spurs know they get smart passing and positioning from Mills every night. His bench unit showed their growing chemistry and passing panache on this hypnotic offensive possession.
The Spurs’ next game will be a part of the NBA's Christmas Day lineup which is of course on Boxing Day for us Aussies. They will take on the Houston Rockets in a Texas showdown, donning some special Christmas uniforms for the game.
Patty Clause comes to town
Although Mills was missing shots on the court today he was swishing baskets off the court. He livened up the lives of some local children dressed as Santa Claus, thrilling the young crowd with two-handed slam.
.@Patty_Mills & @RasualButler45 had blast delivering gifts with @ElfLouiseSA on Saturday! #NBAcares #SpursHolidays https://t.co/qmovxrACrD
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 21, 2015
Mills’ energy and bubbly personality make him a natural children’s entertainer. Who knows, if this basketball thing doesn’t work out he might be turning up in a shopping mall near you.
Mills on Simmons
The Ben Simmons hype train continues pound strongly along the tracks strongly. Andrew Bogut recently stated he believes Simmons will likely be the greatest Australian basketballer ever when all is said and done.
The comment was put to Patty who could only agree with what Bogut had said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otyHMUDeRyc
The way Simmons is performing in college it’s pretty hard to believe anything to the contrary.