Texas Notes: Dekker, Matthews, Spurs

Rockets combo forward Sam Dekker is glad to have undergone the surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back, even if it will cost him at least the first three months of his rookie campaign, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “I’m a little more comfortable,” Dekker said. “I feel good, happy we got everything out of the way. Now, we heal. I met with a lot of people, got a lot of different opinions. We decided this was the best decision. Catching this early will now be good for me for the rest of my career.”

Dekker noted that the issue with his back flared up during summer league play, and that he initially hoped that he would be able to play through the pain this year, Feigen adds. “It effected everything I did on and off the court,” Dekker said. “That was probably the biggest part, being able to get up, walk and get out of bed in the morning. You don’t want to [be unable] to do that, especially at my age, 21. If I want to play a long time in this league, better get that fixed. With how I like to do things, hopefully we can get back as soon as possible. I already began the rehab process.”

Here’s more from the Lone Star state:

• Mavs swingman Wesley Matthews admitted lamenting the missed opportunities of his 2014/15 Blazers squad, where injuries derailed any chance that the team had to advance in the playoffs, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays. Matthews also noted that his future with Portland was directly tied to whether or not the team re-signed LaMarcus Aldridge, the SI scribe adds. When asked if he ever thought about what might have been in Portland, Matthews told Mannix, “A little bit, but not so much anymore. When it first happened, when the season ended the way it did, yeah, I thought about it. We were good. We were a top four team in the league. That wasn’t a fluke, either. You couldn’t help but think about it. I wasn’t sure [after the season] if I’d be back. It was kind of 50-50, really. I came to find out that my fate was tied to LMA [Aldridge]. That’s the decision [Blazers GM] Neil [Olshey] wanted to make with the organization.”
• With the offseason signing of Aldridge and the continued emergence of small forward Kawhi Leonard, the roles of the other members of the Spurs have changed this season, something that the team is still adjusting to despite its 12-3 record, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com writes. “People are still trying to figure out when and where their shots are and what’s right and wrong in the offense. So that leads to a little bit of hesitation,” Tim Duncan said. “We’re gonna make mistakes, and we’re gonna use as we always do, use the 82 [regular season games] to figure those mistakes out and try to minimize them as much as possible. It’s very different for us, but it’s been wonderful because [the new players have] been great, willing to learn.“