duncan228
01-28-2010, 01:13 AM
Trade up: Popovich gets what he wanted (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Trade_up_Popovich_gets_what_he_wanted.html)
Buck Harvey
Gregg Popovich shrugged at the mention of Amare Stoudemire.
Trade? Popovich dismissed an Internet story as merely the season for speculation.
Besides, Popovich had other concerns. He was still working on his previous big-money, big-name trade. He was still trying to do something with another scorer not previously known for playing defense.
Which is why Wednesday mattered. For the first time in a while, Richard Jefferson looked to be exactly what Popovich always wanted him to be.
Jefferson has shown flashes, and sometimes brilliant ones. Earlier in the season, with both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker out against Dallas, Jefferson scored a season-high 29 points.
But that has been Jefferson's problem, too. His flashes have teased. After throwing in the game-winner in Oklahoma City earlier in the month, he mostly stood around and wasn't sure what to do next. The only game he missed in this stretch before Wednesday, then in New Orleans because of a sore back, is the only one the Spurs won.
In the last loss, to Chicago, he missed seven of eight shots, and the one he made was telling. Then he dunked behind his head.
That's Jefferson, ever showy ever the opposite of the player who started at his spot for three championships. The rare Bruce Bowen dunk never made a highlight.
But Bowen moved his feet well, and he paid attention to every detail, and he squeezed everything he had out of his ability. So while many of the Spurs have struggled this season, Jefferson and his salary became the scapegoat.
Overpaid and underachieving he isn't like the way the Spurs used to be, is he?
But Jefferson didn't give himself his contract, and he didn't trade himself to the Spurs. He also didn't trick anyone into thinking he had been anything different his entire career.
His highlights have always been more impressive than his body of work. His stats mushroomed with the Nets mostly because Jason Kidd threw lobs to him, and last season in Milwaukee better defined him.
Then, with both Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut injured, the Bucks wondered if Jefferson could step up. He couldn't.
The Spurs understood all of this when they traded for him. As it would be with Stoudemire if somehow that trade ever happened, the Spurs gambled.
But Popovich knew Jefferson from the 2004 Olympics, and he liked more than his physical ability. He knew Jefferson was coachable.
This is also what fascinates coaches more than anything they do. If they can take talent and reshape it into a winning form, well, nothing is more rewarding.
Popovich focused on one specific area. We want to try and reawaken his earlier inclination, he said before the season began, to play some D.'
Popovich knew the change would take time. And along the way Popovich didn't question Jefferson's competitiveness as much as he was bothered by his sloppiness.
Jefferson says Popovich has stayed on him about everything. He's been intense, Jefferson said.
Wednesday night he was encouraging when, in the second quarter, Jefferson drove and ended up on the floor. Popovich was there, walking down the sideline and clapping.
Popovich was as positive after Jefferson missed a jumper. And late in the game, with the Hawks pulling closer, as opponents have done so often lately, Popovich inserted Jefferson into the lineup.
Popovich also accompanied Jefferson to the scorer's table, with an arm around him then assigned him Atlanta's best scorer, Joe Johnson.
Jefferson stayed with the guard, proving his versatility. He'd earlier defended a 6-foot-11 athlete. And after Jefferson found his place among other Spurs scorers, and after he came up with a steal and fast-break pass, proving that talent does matter, Popovich made sure to commend him.
Nothing was said, then, about Stoudemire.
Buck Harvey
Gregg Popovich shrugged at the mention of Amare Stoudemire.
Trade? Popovich dismissed an Internet story as merely the season for speculation.
Besides, Popovich had other concerns. He was still working on his previous big-money, big-name trade. He was still trying to do something with another scorer not previously known for playing defense.
Which is why Wednesday mattered. For the first time in a while, Richard Jefferson looked to be exactly what Popovich always wanted him to be.
Jefferson has shown flashes, and sometimes brilliant ones. Earlier in the season, with both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker out against Dallas, Jefferson scored a season-high 29 points.
But that has been Jefferson's problem, too. His flashes have teased. After throwing in the game-winner in Oklahoma City earlier in the month, he mostly stood around and wasn't sure what to do next. The only game he missed in this stretch before Wednesday, then in New Orleans because of a sore back, is the only one the Spurs won.
In the last loss, to Chicago, he missed seven of eight shots, and the one he made was telling. Then he dunked behind his head.
That's Jefferson, ever showy ever the opposite of the player who started at his spot for three championships. The rare Bruce Bowen dunk never made a highlight.
But Bowen moved his feet well, and he paid attention to every detail, and he squeezed everything he had out of his ability. So while many of the Spurs have struggled this season, Jefferson and his salary became the scapegoat.
Overpaid and underachieving he isn't like the way the Spurs used to be, is he?
But Jefferson didn't give himself his contract, and he didn't trade himself to the Spurs. He also didn't trick anyone into thinking he had been anything different his entire career.
His highlights have always been more impressive than his body of work. His stats mushroomed with the Nets mostly because Jason Kidd threw lobs to him, and last season in Milwaukee better defined him.
Then, with both Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut injured, the Bucks wondered if Jefferson could step up. He couldn't.
The Spurs understood all of this when they traded for him. As it would be with Stoudemire if somehow that trade ever happened, the Spurs gambled.
But Popovich knew Jefferson from the 2004 Olympics, and he liked more than his physical ability. He knew Jefferson was coachable.
This is also what fascinates coaches more than anything they do. If they can take talent and reshape it into a winning form, well, nothing is more rewarding.
Popovich focused on one specific area. We want to try and reawaken his earlier inclination, he said before the season began, to play some D.'
Popovich knew the change would take time. And along the way Popovich didn't question Jefferson's competitiveness as much as he was bothered by his sloppiness.
Jefferson says Popovich has stayed on him about everything. He's been intense, Jefferson said.
Wednesday night he was encouraging when, in the second quarter, Jefferson drove and ended up on the floor. Popovich was there, walking down the sideline and clapping.
Popovich was as positive after Jefferson missed a jumper. And late in the game, with the Hawks pulling closer, as opponents have done so often lately, Popovich inserted Jefferson into the lineup.
Popovich also accompanied Jefferson to the scorer's table, with an arm around him then assigned him Atlanta's best scorer, Joe Johnson.
Jefferson stayed with the guard, proving his versatility. He'd earlier defended a 6-foot-11 athlete. And after Jefferson found his place among other Spurs scorers, and after he came up with a steal and fast-break pass, proving that talent does matter, Popovich made sure to commend him.
Nothing was said, then, about Stoudemire.