1Parker1
02-21-2005, 10:37 PM
Buck Harvey: Duncan loses, exactly as Popovich planned it
www.mysanantonio.com/spor...ea80a.html
San Antonio Express-News
DENVER — Had Gregg Popovich not been his coach Sunday, Tim Duncan would have played more than 16 minutes. He would have played with his sore ankle, and he wouldn't have complained to his coach.
Then? Duncan would have likely won his second All-Star Game MVP award.
As it is, Duncan sat down for good in the third quarter when he was the game's leading scorer. The West was also in the lead, and Popovich didn't care what followed, when both the trophy and the game were lost.
Here's how bothered Duncan was while sitting on the bench.
He ate popcorn.
Popovich didn't snack while he worked Sunday. He instead managed to swallow this event for the most part, giving into an entertainment world he couldn't change.
The practice he ran Saturday showed that. He made it as light as he could, dividing up his team into shooting games.
Popovich had more-than-recess reasons, of course; he wanted to loosen them up and get their shooting touches back. And the players seemed to enjoy it, with some acting as if they wanted to be coached.
Kobe Bryant, for example, took that to an extreme. "I think we're going to come out on Sunday with a defensive attitude," he said. "You can't help but do that when Popovich is coaching. Popovich will let you know."
Popovich normally does. But in an All-Star game?
Popovich joked last week that he planned to call time four minutes into the game, then scream at his team. But as much as Popovich was kidding, he likely wanted to do just that at times Sunday.
Little wonder, when the East started a run in the second quarter, Popovich stood up and called time. TV signals for breaks in All-Star games, not coaches.
The West came out of the huddle with a play for Manu Ginobili — just the way Popovich would do it with the Spurs. When Ginobili missed and the East kept its streak going, Popovich responded with yet another time-out.
It's the line these coaches try to walk on. They need to create some structure, but they aren't supposed to take it too seriously, either. Sometimes both Popovich and Stan Van Gundy played along with the show, and sometimes both couldn't help themselves.
Once, late in the first half, Duncan was whistled for a foul. Popovich stood up from the bench and started to argue, just as he normally would, and then he caught himself. He turned a shade of red that rivaled the Western Conference socks and sat down.
P.J. Carlesimo patted Popovich on the arm as if to say: It will be over soon.
But even All-Star games get serious late if the score is tight. And Van Gundy was actually more animated. He screamed encouragement in the fourth quarter, and he kept his best players on the floor.
Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Popovich never planned on doing the same. All he really worried about before the game was divvying up the minutes, and it wasn't just trying to get everyone on the floor. It was also about keeping some off.
Duncan's ankle was a Spurs' issue, just as Kevin Garnett's knee was a Minnesota one. Popovich tried to get it right, and he talked to both Garnett and Kevin McHale, the Timberwolves' coach before the game. McHale, for one, said he would appreciate less time for his guy.
Steve Nash had a tight hamstring, too. "You don't want to mess up a guy's season," Popovich said.
Not even Nash's? Popovich smiled and shook his head.
But that was just the plan. Once the game heated up, would Popovich be tempted to relent? Would he want more for his own player and this team?
"Not at all," Popovich said afterward. "We went in with a plan and stuck with it."
The same Popovich who doesn't fit with these All-Star weekends had embraced the spirit. Winning really didn't matter. The East pulled away without Duncan, Garnett and Nash on the floor for the West, and Iverson pulled out the MVP.
Note how: Iverson won the award while scoring the same number of points as Duncan in exactly twice the minutes.
Did Duncan mind? "It was a sacrifice I was willing to make," he said. "We lost, but it worked out well."
Worked out well?
He got popcorn, after all.
www.mysanantonio.com/spor...ea80a.html
San Antonio Express-News
DENVER — Had Gregg Popovich not been his coach Sunday, Tim Duncan would have played more than 16 minutes. He would have played with his sore ankle, and he wouldn't have complained to his coach.
Then? Duncan would have likely won his second All-Star Game MVP award.
As it is, Duncan sat down for good in the third quarter when he was the game's leading scorer. The West was also in the lead, and Popovich didn't care what followed, when both the trophy and the game were lost.
Here's how bothered Duncan was while sitting on the bench.
He ate popcorn.
Popovich didn't snack while he worked Sunday. He instead managed to swallow this event for the most part, giving into an entertainment world he couldn't change.
The practice he ran Saturday showed that. He made it as light as he could, dividing up his team into shooting games.
Popovich had more-than-recess reasons, of course; he wanted to loosen them up and get their shooting touches back. And the players seemed to enjoy it, with some acting as if they wanted to be coached.
Kobe Bryant, for example, took that to an extreme. "I think we're going to come out on Sunday with a defensive attitude," he said. "You can't help but do that when Popovich is coaching. Popovich will let you know."
Popovich normally does. But in an All-Star game?
Popovich joked last week that he planned to call time four minutes into the game, then scream at his team. But as much as Popovich was kidding, he likely wanted to do just that at times Sunday.
Little wonder, when the East started a run in the second quarter, Popovich stood up and called time. TV signals for breaks in All-Star games, not coaches.
The West came out of the huddle with a play for Manu Ginobili — just the way Popovich would do it with the Spurs. When Ginobili missed and the East kept its streak going, Popovich responded with yet another time-out.
It's the line these coaches try to walk on. They need to create some structure, but they aren't supposed to take it too seriously, either. Sometimes both Popovich and Stan Van Gundy played along with the show, and sometimes both couldn't help themselves.
Once, late in the first half, Duncan was whistled for a foul. Popovich stood up from the bench and started to argue, just as he normally would, and then he caught himself. He turned a shade of red that rivaled the Western Conference socks and sat down.
P.J. Carlesimo patted Popovich on the arm as if to say: It will be over soon.
But even All-Star games get serious late if the score is tight. And Van Gundy was actually more animated. He screamed encouragement in the fourth quarter, and he kept his best players on the floor.
Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Popovich never planned on doing the same. All he really worried about before the game was divvying up the minutes, and it wasn't just trying to get everyone on the floor. It was also about keeping some off.
Duncan's ankle was a Spurs' issue, just as Kevin Garnett's knee was a Minnesota one. Popovich tried to get it right, and he talked to both Garnett and Kevin McHale, the Timberwolves' coach before the game. McHale, for one, said he would appreciate less time for his guy.
Steve Nash had a tight hamstring, too. "You don't want to mess up a guy's season," Popovich said.
Not even Nash's? Popovich smiled and shook his head.
But that was just the plan. Once the game heated up, would Popovich be tempted to relent? Would he want more for his own player and this team?
"Not at all," Popovich said afterward. "We went in with a plan and stuck with it."
The same Popovich who doesn't fit with these All-Star weekends had embraced the spirit. Winning really didn't matter. The East pulled away without Duncan, Garnett and Nash on the floor for the West, and Iverson pulled out the MVP.
Note how: Iverson won the award while scoring the same number of points as Duncan in exactly twice the minutes.
Did Duncan mind? "It was a sacrifice I was willing to make," he said. "We lost, but it worked out well."
Worked out well?
He got popcorn, after all.