duncan228
05-08-2010, 02:35 AM
Pop needs to evolve quickly to solve this Suns dilemma (http://www.statesman.com/sports/pro/pop-needs-to-evolve-quickly-to-solve-this-677203.html)
Kirk Bohls, Commentary
He's been the one constant.
But one who's constantly evolving, as well. And he certainly has to in a big way now.
It's Gregg Popovich's willingness to change and tweak and adjust that has made the San Antonio Spurs one of the most successful franchises in NBA history, but he had no answer for Goran Dragic.
The four titles the Spurs have won since 1998 are exhibits A, B, C and D. The Spurs won their first in 1999 with defense and David Robinson. They claimed another after acquiring the slashing Manu Ginobili, and adding motion and ball movement. The addition of eye-blink-quick Tony Parker gave the club two of the game's best penetrators.
Popovich changed again Friday night, but it wasn't enough.
The best coach in the league not named Phil Jackson switched his lineup in this Western Conference semifinal, returning Parker to the starting lineup to rescue a Spurs team desperate for a victory after dropping the first two games in Phoenix. The move fell flat as the Spurs blew an 18-point lead and lost 110-96.
Parker's floaters didn't fall and he hurt his shoulder; George Hill and Richard Jefferson all but disappeared; and Tim Duncan missed so many free throws that he's probably calling Shaquille O'Neal for advice.
But Pop was civil and didn't call anybody on his team a dog.
"It was big giving up nine free throws in the first half," Pop said, referring to the nine misses early and 11 overall. "And their second team kicked our butt. They were fantastic."
No game plan in the world could have helped the Spurs against the Goran Dragic Show. The second-year guard out of Slovenia who used to stay up till 4 a.m. in his homeland to watch Suns games will now keep Pop up way past midnight.
"Steve who?" joked Suns coach Alvin Gentry, a former Spurs assistant.
Steve Nash's backup was so good that the Pop protégé kept Nash, as well as Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson, on his bench for most of the fourth quarter and will have them more rested for Game 4 and a possible, incredible sweep of the proud Spurs.
But there will be no fifth banner at the AT&T Center this season. There may not even be a win in the second round after falling behind by three games in the series.
It'll take more than Pop can deliver to turn this series around. Gentry outcoached his mentor by staying with a small lineup to spread the floor for more one-on-one isolation plays.
Pop's always been a great listener and doesn't have to prove he's the smartest guy in the room even though the Air Force grad with a degree in Soviet studies probably is. He listened to Sam Presti's pitch to draft a raw Frenchman even after a disastrous workout, and got an All-Star guard and Finals MVP out of the deal by taking Parker as a late first-rounder.
Presti's now making winners out of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and former Spurs player Danny Ferry is running the show at Cleveland and could bring a title to the Cavs. Pop's pupils are shining even if his team is struggling.
Pop had better hope someone on his staff comes up with a plan for Sunday.
"Pop empowers everybody like Phil does," said Suns general manager Steve Kerr, who played for Popovich during two championship seasons. "He makes everybody feel important. That's what the great coaches do."
The Spurs struggled to win 50 games this year, but Pop found a way to get past the Mavericks in the opening round. In fact, he all but arranged it, benching Duncan and Ginobili in the season finale against Dallas to set up a first-round series with the Mavs and avoid the Suns for a round.
Then, while Rick Carlisle was benching regulars Caron Butler and Shawn Marion in favor of a small lineup for almost an entire half and failing to use Rodrigue Beaubois when he was hot, Pop begged Hill to not defer to the Big Three and changed up defenses by crowding Jason Kidd on the three-point line and squeezing Jason Terry on pick-and-rolls.
Likewise, Gentry learned under Pop to stick with the hot hand and got 26 points in 13 second-half minutes from Dragic.
"He's changed a lot over the years," Kerr said. "You win four championships, you're playing with house money. That means you can completely be who you are."
Pop and the Spurs know who they are: an aging, veteran team whose window in the Duncan Era may be closing. They know they've been good and lucky, as well as just good.
As Holt joked of the Spurs' knack for drawing the top picks in a pair of NBA draft lotteries, "Good planning."
Who would argue with a plan that brought the Spurs two Hall of Fame big men in Robinson and Duncan?
The question lingers about who's next in that line of great draft picks. There may not be another for a while, but Holt strongly refuted rumors that the Spurs might trade away Parker for a young big man because of the emergence of second-year guard George Hill.
"You see what he's doing?" Holt said of Parker's presence before Game 3. "Everybody forgot he didn't play, what, 35 (actually 26) games. Tony's been a three-ring guy. We have no plans to do anything with him."
The Spurs broke the bank in the offseason, signing Jefferson and Antonio McDyess, and paying a significant luxury tax before exceeding the salary cap with a payroll that sits above $77 million. When it was put that way to Holt, the owner clutched his heart in faux misery, then grabbed his wallet.
That said, Holt and others in the organization are betting Popovich is too driven, too smitten with basketball to walk away after his contract expires in two seasons or beyond. Popovich might be too intrigued by young talent like Hill, DeJuan Blair and 6-11 Tiago Splitter to walk away and devote all his time to his winery outside Portland.
"I think basketball's in his blood," Kerr said, "He could become a GM, run a team."
Holt's not ready to lose Pop just yet.
"He can't leave," he said.
He may be leaving the playoffs sooner than expected, however.
Kirk Bohls, Commentary
He's been the one constant.
But one who's constantly evolving, as well. And he certainly has to in a big way now.
It's Gregg Popovich's willingness to change and tweak and adjust that has made the San Antonio Spurs one of the most successful franchises in NBA history, but he had no answer for Goran Dragic.
The four titles the Spurs have won since 1998 are exhibits A, B, C and D. The Spurs won their first in 1999 with defense and David Robinson. They claimed another after acquiring the slashing Manu Ginobili, and adding motion and ball movement. The addition of eye-blink-quick Tony Parker gave the club two of the game's best penetrators.
Popovich changed again Friday night, but it wasn't enough.
The best coach in the league not named Phil Jackson switched his lineup in this Western Conference semifinal, returning Parker to the starting lineup to rescue a Spurs team desperate for a victory after dropping the first two games in Phoenix. The move fell flat as the Spurs blew an 18-point lead and lost 110-96.
Parker's floaters didn't fall and he hurt his shoulder; George Hill and Richard Jefferson all but disappeared; and Tim Duncan missed so many free throws that he's probably calling Shaquille O'Neal for advice.
But Pop was civil and didn't call anybody on his team a dog.
"It was big giving up nine free throws in the first half," Pop said, referring to the nine misses early and 11 overall. "And their second team kicked our butt. They were fantastic."
No game plan in the world could have helped the Spurs against the Goran Dragic Show. The second-year guard out of Slovenia who used to stay up till 4 a.m. in his homeland to watch Suns games will now keep Pop up way past midnight.
"Steve who?" joked Suns coach Alvin Gentry, a former Spurs assistant.
Steve Nash's backup was so good that the Pop protégé kept Nash, as well as Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson, on his bench for most of the fourth quarter and will have them more rested for Game 4 and a possible, incredible sweep of the proud Spurs.
But there will be no fifth banner at the AT&T Center this season. There may not even be a win in the second round after falling behind by three games in the series.
It'll take more than Pop can deliver to turn this series around. Gentry outcoached his mentor by staying with a small lineup to spread the floor for more one-on-one isolation plays.
Pop's always been a great listener and doesn't have to prove he's the smartest guy in the room even though the Air Force grad with a degree in Soviet studies probably is. He listened to Sam Presti's pitch to draft a raw Frenchman even after a disastrous workout, and got an All-Star guard and Finals MVP out of the deal by taking Parker as a late first-rounder.
Presti's now making winners out of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and former Spurs player Danny Ferry is running the show at Cleveland and could bring a title to the Cavs. Pop's pupils are shining even if his team is struggling.
Pop had better hope someone on his staff comes up with a plan for Sunday.
"Pop empowers everybody like Phil does," said Suns general manager Steve Kerr, who played for Popovich during two championship seasons. "He makes everybody feel important. That's what the great coaches do."
The Spurs struggled to win 50 games this year, but Pop found a way to get past the Mavericks in the opening round. In fact, he all but arranged it, benching Duncan and Ginobili in the season finale against Dallas to set up a first-round series with the Mavs and avoid the Suns for a round.
Then, while Rick Carlisle was benching regulars Caron Butler and Shawn Marion in favor of a small lineup for almost an entire half and failing to use Rodrigue Beaubois when he was hot, Pop begged Hill to not defer to the Big Three and changed up defenses by crowding Jason Kidd on the three-point line and squeezing Jason Terry on pick-and-rolls.
Likewise, Gentry learned under Pop to stick with the hot hand and got 26 points in 13 second-half minutes from Dragic.
"He's changed a lot over the years," Kerr said. "You win four championships, you're playing with house money. That means you can completely be who you are."
Pop and the Spurs know who they are: an aging, veteran team whose window in the Duncan Era may be closing. They know they've been good and lucky, as well as just good.
As Holt joked of the Spurs' knack for drawing the top picks in a pair of NBA draft lotteries, "Good planning."
Who would argue with a plan that brought the Spurs two Hall of Fame big men in Robinson and Duncan?
The question lingers about who's next in that line of great draft picks. There may not be another for a while, but Holt strongly refuted rumors that the Spurs might trade away Parker for a young big man because of the emergence of second-year guard George Hill.
"You see what he's doing?" Holt said of Parker's presence before Game 3. "Everybody forgot he didn't play, what, 35 (actually 26) games. Tony's been a three-ring guy. We have no plans to do anything with him."
The Spurs broke the bank in the offseason, signing Jefferson and Antonio McDyess, and paying a significant luxury tax before exceeding the salary cap with a payroll that sits above $77 million. When it was put that way to Holt, the owner clutched his heart in faux misery, then grabbed his wallet.
That said, Holt and others in the organization are betting Popovich is too driven, too smitten with basketball to walk away after his contract expires in two seasons or beyond. Popovich might be too intrigued by young talent like Hill, DeJuan Blair and 6-11 Tiago Splitter to walk away and devote all his time to his winery outside Portland.
"I think basketball's in his blood," Kerr said, "He could become a GM, run a team."
Holt's not ready to lose Pop just yet.
"He can't leave," he said.
He may be leaving the playoffs sooner than expected, however.