Reserve Daniel Gafford has no idea when or if he’ll get continual big minutes off the bench once again, but the second-year center promises he’ll be better prepared.
After taking over the starting job for an injured Wendell Carter Jr. in late January, Gafford got the nod in 11 straight games. After a dismal performance in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, however, there wasn’t a 12th. As a matter of fact, Gafford received the dreaded DNP [Did Not Play] Coach’s Decision in 10 of the next 15 games, demoted out of the rotation.
In the Sunday win over the Pistons, however, Gafford was called back into extended action because of Carter suffering blurred vision from an eye poke, and registered a career-high 11 rebounds, as well as scoring eight points.
The difference now?
“I just felt like I took the opportunity for granted,’’ Gafford said about his stint as a starter. “I came out, I was nonchalant, I was not really aggressive. You know, I just came out just like, ‘Hey I just do this every day.’ But like I said, I took it for granted and I basically threw away the things that I was doing, and at that point in time I just knew that changes were gonna have to be made because of how I was playing.’’
What Gafford waits for now is will the roster look different after the Thursday trade deadline, and will it open up minutes for him?
As it stands now Thad Young is the starting five, Carter the backup, and that means Luke Kornet and Gafford are in sit and wait mode.
Getting closer
Garrett Temple (sprained left ankle) missed the game against the Jazz on Monday, but was at least listed as doubtful earlier in the day as opposed to out. A sign that the veteran is close to a return?
“Garrett continues to make really good progress,’’ Donovan said. “I still can’t say when his return is going to be. The next part is the lateral movement, which is probably the most difficult, just to see how he feels doing that.’’
