Spurs' McDyess finding his comfort zone

For Antonio McDyess, the moment of truth came in a flash. He was streaking on a fast break in the Spurs' loss to Chicago earlier this week. Manu Ginobili was leading the way.

Without warning, Ginobili whipped the ball across the paint, through a thicket of bodies and toward McDyess' head, leaving its intended recipient with two options.

“Either I was going to catch it,” McDyess said, “or it was going to hit me in the face.”

Unlike other out-of-nowhere Ginobili passes he'd missed, fumbled or otherwise botched this season, McDyess made the catch, and finished the play with a pretty reverse layup.

For McDyess, it was an important Spurs rite of passage, a sign that — at long last — he is beginning to feel comfortable in silver and black.

“I'm kind of getting used to his passes,” said McDyess, who signed a free-agent deal in July. “Normally, I'm looking at the goal, or trying to block out. I've got to put it in my head Manu's going to pass the ball.”

It is one of the many lessons in self-preservation McDyess has learned in his first half-season with the Spurs. By his own admission, the adjustment has been a difficult one for McDyess, the 35-year-old center/forward who spent the previous five seasons in Detroit.

The hand-wringing surrounding Richard Jefferson's slow start in a Spurs uniform has obscured the fact that the team's other marquee addition had been underperforming, too. Traditionally a second-half player, McDyess is averaging 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds, a little better than half of what he produced in his final season with the Pistons.

“It's hard breaking habits,” McDyess said. “Here, it's a totally different system. It's tough, especially when you're so used to playing one way. There's nothing similar between here and Detroit at all.”

While one game does not a breakthrough make, McDyess was encouraged by his 17-point outing Wednesday against Atlanta, his highest scoring night since joining the Spurs.

Combined with his 14-point, seven-rebound performance against the Bulls, McDyess has posted consecutive double-digit scoring games for just the second time this season.

The Spurs hope for more of the same tonight, when they host a surprising Memphis team that has surged within a game of them in the standings, and has already beaten them once this month.

“He's always been a solid player,” coach Gregg Popovich said of McDyess. “I just think for him, it's a matter of finding a spot for himself. Hopefully, that's happening.”

The Spurs would prefer McDyess' eureka moment to come sooner, rather than later. DeJuan Blair, the 6-foot-7 rookie Popovich had been starting at center until Wednesday, is better suited coming off the bench.

The Spurs need McDyess, a better defender and more well-rounded offensive player, to be their starter.

“We know what to expect from him,” guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “He's a vet. He's been there before. I'm very confident to know what we're going to get from him going forward.”

Against Atlanta, McDyess looked like the player the Spurs thought they were getting when they lured him from Detroit.

Making just his second start since Dec. 19, McDyess hit 8 of 9 field goals. He scored on fast breaks. He scored on lobs. He scored points on put-backs, and on the mid-range jumper that has become his signature move.

Whether Wednesday's game was a sign the light has gone on for McDyess, only time will tell. Game by game, moment by moment, he says he is feeling more comfortable in his new uniform.

“The last two games I've been feeling confident, just playing and not thinking,” McDyess said. “I'm just letting my instincts take over. I know it's going to come.”

In the meantime, with Ginobili around, McDyess will keep his head on a swivel. Just to save face.