duncan228
01-18-2009, 10:00 PM
Facing Bobcats pits Popovich against his old friend Brown (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Facing_Bobcats_pits_Popovich_against_his_old_frien d_Brown.html)
Jeff McDonald
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In 2006, when Larry Brown resigned as coach of the New York Knicks and resigned himself to a front-office job with the Philadelphia 76ers, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich knew it would not last long.
He just couldn’t see Brown behind a desk, instead of behind a whistle.
“Every time he takes one of those pseudo-management kind of jobs, you just sort of laugh,” said Popovich, who coached under Brown at Kansas and has long counted him as a mentor. “You know he’s going crazy up there. He enjoys the competitiveness and the teaching that comes with being a coach. He’s not going to stay out of it.”
That Brown, already a Hall of Famer at age 67, returned to the bench to coach the Charlotte Bobcats this season ranks as perhaps the least surprising news Popovich has heard all year.
The two longtime friends — whose teams squared off in the 2005 Finals, when Brown was in Detroit — will get reacquainted this afternoon, when the Spurs face the Bobcats for the first time since Brown took over as head coach.
Charlotte is 16-24, second to last in the Southeast Division, but enters today’s game on a three-game winning streak, its longest of the season.
Slowly but surely, the Bobcats are beginning to take on the imprint of their coach — disciplined, aggressive and defensive-minded.
Some of the push to reshape the Bobcats in Brown’s image has come via trade. Since the season began, Charlotte traded for Raja Bell, a tough perimeter defender; Boris Diaw, a long-armed post player; and DeSagana Diop, a 7-foot shot blocker.
“They’re either winning or playing people tougher now,” Popovich said. “The talent they have didn’t say that at the beginning of the year. He’s whipped them into shape, and now they’re believing in themselves a whole lot more.”
Time for Bowen: It’s been a busy road trip so far for Bruce Bowen.
Bowen logged 23 minutes off the bench in Friday’s loss to Philadelphia and 19 in Saturday’s victory at Chicago. It’s the first time the 37-year-old defensive specialist has played that many minutes in back-to-back games since December.
Bowen struggled to stay in front of the 76ers’ Andre Iguodala, but a night later was instrumental in cooling off Chicago’s Ben Gordon after the guard’s 4-for-4 shooting start.
“Bruce did a real fine job on Ben Gordon, because we weren’t sticking with him earlier in the game,” Popovich said. “Bruce was much better on him.”
Jeff McDonald
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In 2006, when Larry Brown resigned as coach of the New York Knicks and resigned himself to a front-office job with the Philadelphia 76ers, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich knew it would not last long.
He just couldn’t see Brown behind a desk, instead of behind a whistle.
“Every time he takes one of those pseudo-management kind of jobs, you just sort of laugh,” said Popovich, who coached under Brown at Kansas and has long counted him as a mentor. “You know he’s going crazy up there. He enjoys the competitiveness and the teaching that comes with being a coach. He’s not going to stay out of it.”
That Brown, already a Hall of Famer at age 67, returned to the bench to coach the Charlotte Bobcats this season ranks as perhaps the least surprising news Popovich has heard all year.
The two longtime friends — whose teams squared off in the 2005 Finals, when Brown was in Detroit — will get reacquainted this afternoon, when the Spurs face the Bobcats for the first time since Brown took over as head coach.
Charlotte is 16-24, second to last in the Southeast Division, but enters today’s game on a three-game winning streak, its longest of the season.
Slowly but surely, the Bobcats are beginning to take on the imprint of their coach — disciplined, aggressive and defensive-minded.
Some of the push to reshape the Bobcats in Brown’s image has come via trade. Since the season began, Charlotte traded for Raja Bell, a tough perimeter defender; Boris Diaw, a long-armed post player; and DeSagana Diop, a 7-foot shot blocker.
“They’re either winning or playing people tougher now,” Popovich said. “The talent they have didn’t say that at the beginning of the year. He’s whipped them into shape, and now they’re believing in themselves a whole lot more.”
Time for Bowen: It’s been a busy road trip so far for Bruce Bowen.
Bowen logged 23 minutes off the bench in Friday’s loss to Philadelphia and 19 in Saturday’s victory at Chicago. It’s the first time the 37-year-old defensive specialist has played that many minutes in back-to-back games since December.
Bowen struggled to stay in front of the 76ers’ Andre Iguodala, but a night later was instrumental in cooling off Chicago’s Ben Gordon after the guard’s 4-for-4 shooting start.
“Bruce did a real fine job on Ben Gordon, because we weren’t sticking with him earlier in the game,” Popovich said. “Bruce was much better on him.”