SAN ANTONIO — The NBA All-Star break came at a fortuitous time for DeMar DeRozan.
After starting the Spurs' first 52 games of the season, DeRozan sat out the last two before the All-Star respite with back spasms.
Declaring himself fit and good to go after a team workout Wednesday, DeRozan will return to the lineup Friday night when the Silver and Black resume their Rodeo Road Trip in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Spurs (23-31) end their stretch of eight consecutive road games in Oklahoma City on Sunday. They beat OKC in their last game before the All-Star break, stopping a slide of five losses that started with the rodeo trip.
DeRozan, in his second season with San Antonio after Toronto traded him to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, left no doubt he's ready to get back on the court and resume his 11th NBA season.
Asked Wednesday how his back was feeling, DeRozan said: "Perfect. I'm back. No problems. No issues. Last couple of days, even today, I felt great. I felt the best physically I've felt all season.
"All of us needed a break mentally, physically, (to) kind of regroup, (and) give it our all this last stretch of the season."
The Spurs' top scorer and playmaker, DeRozan is having one of the best seasons of his career. He is averaging 23.0 points and 5.2 assists, both team highs, and shooting a career-best 53.4 percent from the field. DeRozan is also averaging 5.7 rebounds.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has described DeRozan's play as "spectacular." He has been one of the NBA's top offensive players in his last 25 games, averaging 25.6 points on 57.6 percent shooting.
One of the best midrange shooters in the league, DeRozan is also one of its craftiest. When he's not pulling up for a jumper, DeRozan scores on drives to the basket or dishes out assists with timely passes.
While in the midst of a career season, DeRozan did not land a spot on the Western Conference All-Star squad. As things turned out, he needed the rest to recover from his back spasms, anyway.
A four-time All-Star during his nine-year stint with Toronto, DeRozan also made the All-NBA team twice.
One of the highlights of DeRozan's trip back home to Los Angeles during the All-Star break was seeing his game jersey (No. 10) retired by Southern Cal last Thursday. DeRozan played one season at USC before turning pro in 2009, when he was selected by Toronto with the No. 9 overall pick of the NBA Draft that year.
“Man, it was an honor, it was surreal, something I didn't ever imagine, me getting my jersey retired," DeRozan said. "Be able to be home, witness it. I had my family there, had my daughters be able to witness it. That was definitely the cool part for me."
San Antonio went into the All-Streak break stuck in 10th place in the highly competitive Western Conference, trailing No. 8 Memphis (28-26) by five games and No. 9 Portland by one. The top eight teams in each conference advance advance to the playoffs.
With 28 games left on their schedule, the Spurs can ill afford another skid if they hope to set an NBA record with their 23rd consecutive playoff season.
“It ain’t over until it’s over,” DeRozan said. “The beauty of it, being able to compete in this stretch, is going out there and making that attempt to make it, to kind of switch the narrative and kind of fight back and be that underdog type of story. As a competitor, you definitely want to be a part of that, and we still have the opportunity.”
