Patty Mills is one of two remaining links to San Antonio's NBA championship glory and the point guard says a new-look roster has to "get on with business" after a pre-season dogged by injury nightmares.
Canberra junior Mills is preparing to shoulder a massive workload for the Spurs this season, which starts with a clash against the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Thursday.
Patty Mills will lead an injury-hit Spurs into the NBA season.Credit:Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports.
The Spurs lost three players in five days to injuries, including starting point guard Dejounte Murray, which has thrust Mills into a crucial role for the Spurs hopes of continuing the franchise's rich history.
But Mills is unfazed by the challenge and has urged his teammates to bury injury frustrations and off-season player movement to focus on chasing another title.
Mills is the longest serving player on the Spurs roster and the 30-year-old and Marco Belinelli are the only survivors from the 2014 championship run.
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"It's foolish not to think that when Derrick [White] went down that there wasn't a sense of feeling deflated," Mills told reporters in San Antonio.
"It's quite rare you lose three guys in five days. But very quickly we came together as a group and said we've got a great opportunity here and business still at hand to take care of.
"We had to make some adjustments with the starting group to see how that would go. It's been a very quick pre-season knowing we've got a new team and there's a lot of stuff to get everyone on the same page with.
"We've blinked our eyes and we're getting ready for the first game of the season. A few changes and adjustments, but we hang our hat on our system and the way we like to play. Anyone can fill in roles if we do it together and we see the big picture."
The Spurs will be a somewhat unknown quantity this year after seasons of stability. Spurs legends Manu Ginobili (retired) and Tony Parker (moved to Charlotte), while all star Kawhi Leonard was traded to Toronto.
Patty Mills is now in his 10th NBA season.Credit:AP
DeMar DeRozan moved to the Spurs as part of the Leonard trade, giving San Antonio some firepower to their roster.
But replacing 17-season veteran Parker, who agreed to a $A14 million deal with Charlotte, will prove more of a headache after the man slated to fill his shoes, Murray, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the pre-season.
Rookie Lonnie Walker IV, White and Rudy Gay have also been in the pre-season injury ward, leaving the Spurs scrambling before their first game against the Timberwolves.
Mills, who is starting his 10th season in the world's best league, has developed into a Spurs leader and played the most regular season games in his career last year.
"You always want to be a starting point guard in [any team], that's the goal and the dream," Mills said.
"In this situation it's whatever is best for the team. I think I've always put that first and foremost for however long I've been here.
"With this group, I think it's best coming off the bench. That's awesome. We've got guys who can fill in and it's on me as a leader to make sure we've got guys who understand what the team expects and their role."
The western conference will be stacked with talent again this year as the Golden State Warriors eye another title, LeBron James has joined the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets are still stacked with talent.
"We've always had a team of people who can fulfil roles, it makes for a stronger group. It's a challenge on all of us to make sure guys are ready [for the first game]," Mills said.
"Guys are eager and excited to get after it. We hit a little hurdle with injuries, but we've seen it before. I'm sure we can overcome it. It will be tough, but as long as we're in it together we'll be all right."
Chris Dutton is the sports editor at The Canberra Times.
