Anderson Is Feeling Confident

SAN ANTONIO — After watching his teammates get burned by Kobe Bryant’s 45 points in the Lakers’ Game 1 victory, injured San Antonio shooting guard Derek Anderson didn’t do a good job of hiding his frustration.

“Because I know when I have played against [Bryant], I could go back at him [offensively],” said Anderson, who has not played since suffering a third-degree right shoulder separation on May 5 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

“[Antonio Daniels] has done a great job but we’re two different players. Knowing what I can do by getting easy baskets for Dave [Robinson] and Tim [Duncan], is frustrating. What I try to do for our team is what Kobe does for his team. . . . he tries to create and open things for his teammates, which is the same thing I would be doing.”

David Schmidt, the Spurs’ team physician, allowed Anderson to go through many of the team’s non-contact drills Sunday and the former Clipper said he plans to scrimmage with the team in between tonight’s Game 2 and Friday’s Game 3 at Staples Center.

“I felt good shooting the ball today,” said Anderson, who averaged 15.5 points and 3.7 assists during the regular season. “This is by far the best I’ve felt. But I know I still have to go slow because I don’t want to do something and hurt myself.”

When Anderson signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Spurs after spending one season with the Clippers and two with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he envisioned himself playing in a big playoff series.

“This is what I wanted when I came here . . . to be involved in big games, playing against the best players in the league,” he said.

But will a less than 100% Anderson really help against Bryant? Anderson thinks so.

“Kobe has [scored] 30 on us before but he shot 30 times,” Anderson said. “That’s one point a shot. I’ll take that. When we played against [each other in the regular season], we won a couple of those games. I was able to go at him and he picked up four or five fouls. I was able to go to the hole, get easy shots for our big men and lead to open shots for our shooters on the perimeter.”

Lonnie White

Where was Robinson?

In Game 1, he played only 30 minutes, 15 fewer than Shaquille O’Neal. In his scoreless fourth quarter, Robinson played five minutes, despite having only three fouls.

“Some of it was in our normal rotation, some of it wasn’t,” Robinson said. “I’m going to have to be on the floor a lot more, that’s for sure.”

Because of his aging knees, he averaged only 30 minutes a game in the regular season. But his minutes had increased in the playoffs until Saturday, when Spur Coach Gregg Popovich decided to go with a quicker lineup.

Although Robinson was outscored, 28-14, by O’Neal, his increased presence in the middle might have kept Bryant from converting 10 of 11 layups.