Thank You Pop

[spurscenter]

I tell you something, without Pop, the Spurs would be a .500 team fighting for the 8th seed with Dallas.....and probably..... miss the playoffs, the way the season was unfolding at the end.

I look forward to every Spurs season because I know the team is coached by a true professional, a basketball mind that brings discipline and order ----- all while the players respect and listen to him, just like the Lakers do with Phil Jackson, Jazz with Jerry Sloan and only a handful of other coaches.

To put it another way, you put in Sam Mitchell and the Spurs are out in December.

You give Mike Dunleavy the Spurs and we be out by the end of pre-season.

We all armchair quarterback Pop's decisions when we lose but we never give him credit for building a 4 time champion in 9 years.

I take that any day and take Pop to be my team's coach every season without question but the mother fucker has to shave next season. I'm drawing the line there.


http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/5189/picture1chm.png

[spurscenter]

http://www.nba.com/spurs/multimedia/090429_pop.html

[J.T.]

Yeah, we can't get a better coach than Pop. His rotations might fail to make sense sometimes but the Spurs are where they are because of him.

[kace]

Some people say Pop is one of the greatest coach of all time considering his palmares.

Some others say he was made by Tim Ducan.

The truth should be somewhere beetween these two arguments.

i always thought Pop was great for communication, ethic, team spirit, defense.

not so sure about offense.

and most of us would say he's not good at developping young players. but tony being mainly his project would speak in his favor though.

all in all, i'm very happy to have him as the spurs coach.

[raspsa]

Future Hall-of-Famer withoout a doubt.

[Obstructed_View]

I tell you something, without Pop, the Spurs would be a .500 team fighting for the 8th seed with Dallas and probably not make the playoffs, the way the season unfolded.
You mean we could have had a lottery pick!? Fire Pop now!

[spurspokesman]

I am happy with him as coach but with A healthy tim tony and manu any nba coach makes the playoffs:wow So I wouldn't go as far as say he is the mastermind. Tim will damn there hand deliver the Knicks to the playoffs. He can be the best head coach in the world one second and the worst( Not giving A talented rookie A chance and very questionable failing rotations you name it) the next. But all in all I am well satisfied with his contributions and he is A HOF no doubt. We all make mistakes. He's only human.He'll find A way to silence the critics as usual.

[spurscenter]

spursspoke, look at Dunleavy with Baron davis, Zach randolph, Eric Gordon.

Pop could take the Clippers and make them a 7th/8th seed easy. Not many can do that.

With all those injuries, the spurs won the hardest division in the league.

It's because of Pop and his staff.

[G-Nob]

He does the best he can with the tools he's given. He's not perfect, but we wouldn't have four titles without him.

[mexicanjunior]

I appreciate all he has done for us in his tenure...doesn't mean he didn't do alot wrong this season though.

[callo1]

OK, I have to offer a dissenting opinion on Pop's coaching job this year. I have always thought Pop was both an excellent coach and by all appearances a good guy as well...just for the record.

This year (actually gradually over the past few years) I think Pop lost touch with his original philosophy which made the Spurs a contender year in and year out...DEFENSE.

There was a time when a player couldn't sniff the court if they didn't play D. This year the defense was simply horrible...all year long except for about a one to two week stretch after the allstar break. Inability to make stops defensively was a constant problem for the '09 Spurs. I can't remember a time since Pop has been at the helm that I have seen as many uncontested dunks by opponents. Down the stretch against teams such as Indiana and the Thunder, the Spurs D looked like swiss cheese.

While it is easy to blame some of the Spurs horrid defense this year on injuries, I think Pop put his players in bad positions in key situations matchup wise. Let me give some examples:

The Laker game where Pop threw a cold George Hill in to guard Kobe was a terrible decision.

Staying with an unproductive Bonner throughout the Mavs series in the starting lineup was....yeah, well...(fill in adverb or colorful metaphor here).

The refusal to use George Hill all series against the the Mavs until a crucial elimination game.

The horrid choice to continue to stay with the agonizing experiment of having Mason run the point was mind boggling to say the least.

George Hill started out the year with a ton of promise, and some consideration for rookie of the year, but for whatever reason, Pop chose the aformentioned Mason PG experiment which in my opinion stunted Hill's development and confidence.

Why Bowen was used so little in key situations this year is a mystery that I can not fathom.

Why Gooden didn't get a second of play in game 5 against the Mav's is puzzling as well. Every time Dirk was able to look over the top of his defender and nail his jumper I cringed. While I understand that Gooden came in and took some rushed shots offensively, I think he was underused. With Gooden and Duncan on the floor at the same time, it put Dirk in a situation where he had to guard either Tim or Drew...both of which down low are mismatches for Dirk. At the very least Gooden had the length to challenge Dirk's shot defensively as well.

Even in years past, in his best coaching years, Pop has allowed other teams to dictate their matchups instead of forcing the other team work to matchup with the Spurs lineup.


While it is easy to give Pop a pass this year and say he did a super job compared to Dunleavy or (fill in scrub coach here), according to Pop's own standards of seasons past, he didn't have a good year in '09 in my opinion.

Flame away if you must....just my opinion based on what I observed this season.


Ps: Thanks to TP (tough as nails all year), Ime (best Spurs defender in the playoffs) and to a TD who wasn't even close to 100% for giving their all.

I think Fin had a year of honorable mention as well.

[superbigtime]

OK, I have to offer a dissenting opinion on Pop's coaching job this year. I have always thought Pop was both an excellent coach and by all appearances a good guy as well...just for the record.

This year (actually gradually over the past few years) I think Pop lost touch with his original philosophy which made the Spurs a contender year in and year out...DEFENSE.

There was a time when a player couldn't sniff the court if they didn't play D. This year the defense was simply horrible...all year long except for about a one to two week stretch after the allstar break. Inability to make stops defensively was a constant problem for the '09 Spurs. I can't remember a time since Pop has been at the helm that I have seen as many uncontested dunks by opponents. Down the stretch against teams such as Indiana and the Thunder, the Spurs D looked like swiss cheese.

While it is easy to blame some of the Spurs horrid defense this year on injuries, I think Pop put his players in bad positions in key situations matchup wise. Let me give some examples:

The Laker game where Pop threw a cold George Hill in to guard Kobe was a terrible decision.

Staying with an unproductive Bonner throughout the Mavs series in the starting lineup was....yeah, well...(fill in adverb or colorful metaphor here).

The refusal to use George Hill all series against the the Mavs until a crucial elimination game.

The horrid choice to continue to stay with the agonizing experiment of having Mason run the point was mind boggling to say the least.

George Hill started out the year with a ton of promise, and some consideration for rookie of the year, but for whatever reason, Pop chose the aformentioned Mason PG experiment which in my opinion stunted Hill's development and confidence.

Why Bowen was used so little in key situations this year is a mystery that I can not fathom.

Why Gooden didn't get a second of play in game 5 against the Mav's is puzzling as well. Every time Dirk was able to look over the top of his defender and nail his jumper I cringed. While I understand that Gooden came in and took some rushed shots offensively, I think he was underused. With Gooden and Duncan on the floor at the same time, it put Dirk in a situation where he had to guard either Tim or Drew...both of which down low are mismatches for Dirk. At the very least Gooden had the length to challenge Dirk's shot defensively as well.

Even in years past, in his best coaching years, Pop has allowed other teams to dictate their matchups instead of forcing the other team work to matchup with the Spurs lineup.


While it is easy to give Pop a pass this year and say he did a super job compared to Dunleavy or (fill in scrub coach here), according to Pop's own standards of seasons past, he didn't have a good year in '09 in my opinion.

Flame away if you must....just my opinion based on what I observed this season.


Ps: Thanks to TP (tough as nails all year), Ime (best Spurs defender in the playoffs) and to a TD who wasn't even close to 100% for giving their all.

I think Fin had a year of honorable mention as well.

Excellent excellent post.

[ChumpDumper]

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/5189/picture1chm.pnghttp://mentalfloss.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/440prairiedog.jpg

[bigfan]

The only real issue I have with Pop this year was the Mason experiment at point. That just wasnt good for Mason or the team. That said, Id rather have Pop than any other coach in the league by a long shot.

[Marcus Bryant]

I get what Pop was trying to do with Mason at point, but he stuck with that longer than it should have to convince himself it wasn't going to work. Of course, it was tied to his lack of confidence in going with Hill as the backup point guard. I wonder if he thought that going with Hill as a backup point in the postseason and Hill cratering would destroy Hill's confidence (as well as Pop's own confidence in Hill) ala Beno moving forward. If there are positives to take from the Spurs' early playoff exit, I think one is that Hill made it clear he can handle postseason pressure.

[EricB]

I get what Pop was trying to do with Mason at point, but he stuck with that longer than it should have to convince himself it wasn't going to work. Of course, it was tied to his lack of confidence in going with Hill as the backup point guard. I wonder if he thought that going with Hill as a backup point in the postseason and Hill cratering would destroy Hill's confidence (as well as Pop's own confidence in Hill) ala Beno moving forward. If there are positives to take from the Spurs' early playoff exit, I think one is that Hill made it clear he can handle postseason pressure.


Yeah, thats the only arguement that i've heard FOR what Pop did, that made sense and made me take pause, although I still disagree with it, I can SEE what he was doing.

I think also it was to get Mason to be more agressive on offense, look for his shot more by putting the ball in his hands.

Oh well.

[ElNono]

Pop has his faults, but overall, I think the good greatly surpasses the bad. It's all you can really ask for.

[Baseline]

OK, I have to offer a dissenting opinion on Pop's coaching job this year. I have always thought Pop was both an excellent coach and by all appearances a good guy as well...just for the record.

This year (actually gradually over the past few years) I think Pop lost touch with his original philosophy which made the Spurs a contender year in and year out...DEFENSE.

There was a time when a player couldn't sniff the court if they didn't play D. This year the defense was simply horrible...all year long except for about a one to two week stretch after the allstar break. Inability to make stops defensively was a constant problem for the '09 Spurs. I can't remember a time since Pop has been at the helm that I have seen as many uncontested dunks by opponents. Down the stretch against teams such as Indiana and the Thunder, the Spurs D looked like swiss cheese.

While it is easy to blame some of the Spurs horrid defense this year on injuries, I think Pop put his players in bad positions in key situations matchup wise. Let me give some examples:

The Laker game where Pop threw a cold George Hill in to guard Kobe was a terrible decision.

Staying with an unproductive Bonner throughout the Mavs series in the starting lineup was....yeah, well...(fill in adverb or colorful metaphor here).

The refusal to use George Hill all series against the the Mavs until a crucial elimination game.

The horrid choice to continue to stay with the agonizing experiment of having Mason run the point was mind boggling to say the least.

George Hill started out the year with a ton of promise, and some consideration for rookie of the year, but for whatever reason, Pop chose the aformentioned Mason PG experiment which in my opinion stunted Hill's development and confidence.

Why Bowen was used so little in key situations this year is a mystery that I can not fathom.

Why Gooden didn't get a second of play in game 5 against the Mav's is puzzling as well. Every time Dirk was able to look over the top of his defender and nail his jumper I cringed. While I understand that Gooden came in and took some rushed shots offensively, I think he was underused. With Gooden and Duncan on the floor at the same time, it put Dirk in a situation where he had to guard either Tim or Drew...both of which down low are mismatches for Dirk. At the very least Gooden had the length to challenge Dirk's shot defensively as well.

Even in years past, in his best coaching years, Pop has allowed other teams to dictate their matchups instead of forcing the other team work to matchup with the Spurs lineup.


While it is easy to give Pop a pass this year and say he did a super job compared to Dunleavy or (fill in scrub coach here), according to Pop's own standards of seasons past, he didn't have a good year in '09 in my opinion.

Flame away if you must....just my opinion based on what I observed this season.


Ps: Thanks to TP (tough as nails all year), Ime (best Spurs defender in the playoffs) and to a TD who wasn't even close to 100% for giving their all.

I think Fin had a year of honorable mention as well.

All good points.

With all due respect, we won a lot of games this year because we have two of the top ten players in the league in Duncan and Parker.

Pop had nothing to do with it. The only thing Pop has been "good" at in years past is defense, and this year our defense was mostly atrocius, and average at best. But for Spurs teams, it was abominable.

Then again, playing defensive liabilities like Finley and Bonner major, major minutes is a good way to make everybody else look horrible.

IF Pop had progressed Hill all year as he did early on, Hill would have been fully ready to make an impact in the playoffs. He is, after all, our most athletic player. We saw what Derrick Rose has done against Boston. Del Negro isn't sitting Rose or limiting his minutes simply because he's a rookie.

Hill is a perfect compliment atthe 2 guard if Bowen is in the lineup. It gives us two storng defenders on the wings, which takes pressure of Tim. With Finley and Mason on the court, opposing wings are whizzing past us all night long, putting our bigs in a difficult position.

If Pop kept saying, "We're not going to outscore anybody," then please tell me why Finley plays 30+ minutes a night?

Not playing gooden more minute is another ridiculous decision. If our defense is already horrible and we're having trouble scoring points, then why should Gooden not play 30+ minutes a night. He's a rebounding machine compare to Bonner and Oberto.

And Gooden played with Tim for a grand total of about 5 minutes the whole time he was here. That is unfathomable.

It's simply frustrating to see good personnel riding the pine while watching guys like Finley and Bonner eat up minutes. And when you look at how incredibly productive Hill and Mason were early on in the year, compared to where they were atthe end, it's absolutely maddening. And it's ALL due to Pop's mad scientist expermentation that did not work at all.

[itzsoweezee]

OK, I have to offer a dissenting opinion on Pop's coaching job this year. I have always thought Pop was both an excellent coach and by all appearances a good guy as well...just for the record.

This year (actually gradually over the past few years) I think Pop lost touch with his original philosophy which made the Spurs a contender year in and year out...DEFENSE.

There was a time when a player couldn't sniff the court if they didn't play D. This year the defense was simply horrible...all year long except for about a one to two week stretch after the allstar break. Inability to make stops defensively was a constant problem for the '09 Spurs. I can't remember a time since Pop has been at the helm that I have seen as many uncontested dunks by opponents. Down the stretch against teams such as Indiana and the Thunder, the Spurs D looked like swiss cheese.

While it is easy to blame some of the Spurs horrid defense this year on injuries, I think Pop put his players in bad positions in key situations matchup wise. Let me give some examples:

The Laker game where Pop threw a cold George Hill in to guard Kobe was a terrible decision.

Staying with an unproductive Bonner throughout the Mavs series in the starting lineup was....yeah, well...(fill in adverb or colorful metaphor here).

The refusal to use George Hill all series against the the Mavs until a crucial elimination game.

The horrid choice to continue to stay with the agonizing experiment of having Mason run the point was mind boggling to say the least.

George Hill started out the year with a ton of promise, and some consideration for rookie of the year, but for whatever reason, Pop chose the aformentioned Mason PG experiment which in my opinion stunted Hill's development and confidence.

Why Bowen was used so little in key situations this year is a mystery that I can not fathom.

Why Gooden didn't get a second of play in game 5 against the Mav's is puzzling as well. Every time Dirk was able to look over the top of his defender and nail his jumper I cringed. While I understand that Gooden came in and took some rushed shots offensively, I think he was underused. With Gooden and Duncan on the floor at the same time, it put Dirk in a situation where he had to guard either Tim or Drew...both of which down low are mismatches for Dirk. At the very least Gooden had the length to challenge Dirk's shot defensively as well.

Even in years past, in his best coaching years, Pop has allowed other teams to dictate their matchups instead of forcing the other team work to matchup with the Spurs lineup.


While it is easy to give Pop a pass this year and say he did a super job compared to Dunleavy or (fill in scrub coach here), according to Pop's own standards of seasons past, he didn't have a good year in '09 in my opinion.

Flame away if you must....just my opinion based on what I observed this season.


Ps: Thanks to TP (tough as nails all year), Ime (best Spurs defender in the playoffs) and to a TD who wasn't even close to 100% for giving their all.

I think Fin had a year of honorable mention as well.


all good points. popovich did an absolutely horrible coaching job this year and got the team stomped to a terrible mavericks team. i can't believe people on here are giving this guy props.

[Bukefal]

Pop is the best we have, he is one of the best coaches in the world. Of course it cannot always be bright and shiny, he is a human being, of course he makes mistakes. but he still did a great job! GO POP!!!

[exstatic]

OK, I have to offer a dissenting opinion on Pop's coaching job this year. I have always thought Pop was both an excellent coach and by all appearances a good guy as well...just for the record.

This year (actually gradually over the past few years) I think Pop lost touch with his original philosophy which made the Spurs a contender year in and year out...DEFENSE.

There was a time when a player couldn't sniff the court if they didn't play D. This year the defense was simply horrible...all year long except for about a one to two week stretch after the allstar break. Inability to make stops defensively was a constant problem for the '09 Spurs. I can't remember a time since Pop has been at the helm that I have seen as many uncontested dunks by opponents. Down the stretch against teams such as Indiana and the Thunder, the Spurs D looked like swiss cheese.

While it is easy to blame some of the Spurs horrid defense this year on injuries, I think Pop put his players in bad positions in key situations matchup wise. Let me give some examples:

The Laker game where Pop threw a cold George Hill in to guard Kobe was a terrible decision.

Staying with an unproductive Bonner throughout the Mavs series in the starting lineup was....yeah, well...(fill in adverb or colorful metaphor here).

The refusal to use George Hill all series against the the Mavs until a crucial elimination game.

The horrid choice to continue to stay with the agonizing experiment of having Mason run the point was mind boggling to say the least.

George Hill started out the year with a ton of promise, and some consideration for rookie of the year, but for whatever reason, Pop chose the aformentioned Mason PG experiment which in my opinion stunted Hill's development and confidence.

Why Bowen was used so little in key situations this year is a mystery that I can not fathom.

Why Gooden didn't get a second of play in game 5 against the Mav's is puzzling as well. Every time Dirk was able to look over the top of his defender and nail his jumper I cringed. While I understand that Gooden came in and took some rushed shots offensively, I think he was underused. With Gooden and Duncan on the floor at the same time, it put Dirk in a situation where he had to guard either Tim or Drew...both of which down low are mismatches for Dirk. At the very least Gooden had the length to challenge Dirk's shot defensively as well.

Even in years past, in his best coaching years, Pop has allowed other teams to dictate their matchups instead of forcing the other team work to matchup with the Spurs lineup.


While it is easy to give Pop a pass this year and say he did a super job compared to Dunleavy or (fill in scrub coach here), according to Pop's own standards of seasons past, he didn't have a good year in '09 in my opinion.

Flame away if you must....just my opinion based on what I observed this season.


Ps: Thanks to TP (tough as nails all year), Ime (best Spurs defender in the playoffs) and to a TD who wasn't even close to 100% for giving their all.

I think Fin had a year of honorable mention as well.

You realize that if we come up with a new defensive scheme, the league outlaws it the next year. The NBA doesn't WANT good defense to be played, and will hamstring any progress on that side of the ball. Good defense, rotations, ball denial, culminating in 23 seconds off the clock, a bad shot, and a defensive board is death to TV ratings.

[Obstructed_View]

And Popovich has shown this year that he has so much reverence for TV ratings...

[peskypesky]

Pop, thank you for what you did in the past. But now, please just go collect wine.

[spurscenter]

http://mentalfloss.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/440prairiedog.jpg



hilarious, ta da da da daaaaaa