Kori Ellis
06-09-2005, 01:58 AM
Spurs, the humble champions
By MIKE PHILLIPS
Miami Herald
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/sports/11848864.htm
SAN ANTONIO - They are a mist, a vapor, an all but unseen and unnoticed force that somehow thrives in the high glitz realm of the N-Me-BA, where sports' most spoiled and pampered group of athletes beat their chests and scream me-me-me in an Armani world that is driven by star power and shoe endorsements, a soap opera of in-your-face superstars.
But here they are, once again in the Finals, these orphans of the NBA, these bland-leading-the-bland San Antonio Spurs, these unassuming and unselfish Spurs, who know as much about humility as running the pick and roll.
``We know who we are,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the son of a Gary, Ind., steelworker who still can't believe he's an NBA coach. Popovich faces Detroit and his close friend and mentor Larry Brown on Thursday night in the opening game of the NBA Finals.
He was asked this week if he ever felt guilty when he had won two NBA titles and Brown, who won last year, had not won a title yet. After all, Brown gave Popovich his start in the NBA.
``I feel guilty all the time, for just being here,'' Popovich said. ``What the hell am I doing here? I didn't a need a championship to feel like that.''
That's the sincere modesty that runs this team, a team that has won more than anyone during the past seven years, and a team that will be looking for its third title since 1999. Whenever he is asked, Popovich, who has the highest winning percentage of any active coach and sixth highest in NBA history, always gives the same pat answer for San Antonio's success: ``We had David Robinson and then we had Tim Duncan. That's it,'' Popovich said.
And if Popovich is modest, then Duncan is downright embarrassing. There is no star in any sport who wears his success like Duncan, the anti-me-me-me player who has quietly won a couple of MVP awards while helping shape a dynasty. It all starts with Popovich, whose fingerprints are all over this team, but it's Duncan's huge hands that help mold it on the court.
EFFECTIVE PAIRING
``It's a perfect marriage,'' Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo said. ``I don't have the analogy, but it's one of those that has made the other so much better. I say that realizing that Duncan is maybe the best player in this league, and regardless of where he played he would still be one of the best players in the league. But I think Pop has gotten so much more out of him, and their relationship is so central to Timmy's success, and I say the same thing about Pop. He would be one of the best coaches in the league if he had other guys, but him and Timmy have made each other so much better. It's unbelievable.''
There is one idea in San Antonio, where Popovich preaches defense first and no tolerance for NBA-size egos or show-stealing acts on the court. Earlier in the year Malik Rose, who was later traded to New York, put on one of those fuming tirades after he thought he had been fouled. Popovich benched him. In San Antonio, they remember the Alamo, but if you're going to play for the Spurs, you better remember to play defense.
``He is very demanding, especially defensively,'' Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer said.
``He gets after them. There are plenty of tongue-lashings going around, but he's also very caring and concerned about them as people. He has that latitude to be kind of hard on them, because they know he cares about them.''
So does Duncan, who can be seen taking a player to the side to give him help. There's no finger pointing, just advice from the team's superstar. There's the story of how a young player once made a mistake on the court, and Duncan came to the timeout and asked Popovich: ``You got him, or do I got him,'' before putting his arm around the player and talking to him.
Both shy from the spotlight, but that might have to do with their humble beginnings. Popovich, who is an expert on wines and likes to talk about the works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky as much as defense in the fourth quarter.
He has a degree in Soviet studies from the Air Force Academy and worked in military intelligence in the Air Force before beginning a long road in coaching that led him from tiny Pomona-Pitzer, a Division III school known for academics not basketball, to the NBA, where he became Brown's assistant in San Antonio in 1988.
He came back as the general manager in 1994, and after firing Bob Hill 19 games into the '96-97 season, Popovich - with no NBA experience - began coaching the Spurs. He has become the prefect fit in a league that is full of coaching turmoil.
ONE VISION
``There has been one vision in this franchise for 12 years,'' Carlesimo said. ``He Popovich can be humble all he wants, but he has basically made every big decision in this franchise in personnel and on the floor for 12 years. Now, David and Tim have empowered him to do that, but this franchise has been like this pointing his hands in front of him.
``It's been headed in one direction for so long. That's almost unique in this league. You can say it about Utah, and there may have been others that have stayed together for six, seven years, but no place has been like this. It's amazing.''
No one is more unselfish than Duncan, who at 12 was a world-class 400-meter swimmer who grew up in St. Croix and dreamed of being an Olympic swimmer until Hurricane Hugo destroyed the pool and just about everything else on the island.
``I think the key with Timmy is he is so unselfish. He doesn't care who takes the shot,'' Spurs guard Tony Parker said. ``He doesn't care who takes it to the basket to win the game. Either he is going to do it, or someone else. He is just very unselfish.''
And the Spurs have become the anti-NBA team that everyone envies. Earlier this week, Cleveland coach and former Spurs assistant Mike Brown told The San Antonio Express that ``instead of saying, I want to be like Mike, teams are saying, I want to be like the Spurs.''
That's what San Antonio brings to the finals.
By MIKE PHILLIPS
Miami Herald
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/sports/11848864.htm
SAN ANTONIO - They are a mist, a vapor, an all but unseen and unnoticed force that somehow thrives in the high glitz realm of the N-Me-BA, where sports' most spoiled and pampered group of athletes beat their chests and scream me-me-me in an Armani world that is driven by star power and shoe endorsements, a soap opera of in-your-face superstars.
But here they are, once again in the Finals, these orphans of the NBA, these bland-leading-the-bland San Antonio Spurs, these unassuming and unselfish Spurs, who know as much about humility as running the pick and roll.
``We know who we are,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the son of a Gary, Ind., steelworker who still can't believe he's an NBA coach. Popovich faces Detroit and his close friend and mentor Larry Brown on Thursday night in the opening game of the NBA Finals.
He was asked this week if he ever felt guilty when he had won two NBA titles and Brown, who won last year, had not won a title yet. After all, Brown gave Popovich his start in the NBA.
``I feel guilty all the time, for just being here,'' Popovich said. ``What the hell am I doing here? I didn't a need a championship to feel like that.''
That's the sincere modesty that runs this team, a team that has won more than anyone during the past seven years, and a team that will be looking for its third title since 1999. Whenever he is asked, Popovich, who has the highest winning percentage of any active coach and sixth highest in NBA history, always gives the same pat answer for San Antonio's success: ``We had David Robinson and then we had Tim Duncan. That's it,'' Popovich said.
And if Popovich is modest, then Duncan is downright embarrassing. There is no star in any sport who wears his success like Duncan, the anti-me-me-me player who has quietly won a couple of MVP awards while helping shape a dynasty. It all starts with Popovich, whose fingerprints are all over this team, but it's Duncan's huge hands that help mold it on the court.
EFFECTIVE PAIRING
``It's a perfect marriage,'' Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo said. ``I don't have the analogy, but it's one of those that has made the other so much better. I say that realizing that Duncan is maybe the best player in this league, and regardless of where he played he would still be one of the best players in the league. But I think Pop has gotten so much more out of him, and their relationship is so central to Timmy's success, and I say the same thing about Pop. He would be one of the best coaches in the league if he had other guys, but him and Timmy have made each other so much better. It's unbelievable.''
There is one idea in San Antonio, where Popovich preaches defense first and no tolerance for NBA-size egos or show-stealing acts on the court. Earlier in the year Malik Rose, who was later traded to New York, put on one of those fuming tirades after he thought he had been fouled. Popovich benched him. In San Antonio, they remember the Alamo, but if you're going to play for the Spurs, you better remember to play defense.
``He is very demanding, especially defensively,'' Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer said.
``He gets after them. There are plenty of tongue-lashings going around, but he's also very caring and concerned about them as people. He has that latitude to be kind of hard on them, because they know he cares about them.''
So does Duncan, who can be seen taking a player to the side to give him help. There's no finger pointing, just advice from the team's superstar. There's the story of how a young player once made a mistake on the court, and Duncan came to the timeout and asked Popovich: ``You got him, or do I got him,'' before putting his arm around the player and talking to him.
Both shy from the spotlight, but that might have to do with their humble beginnings. Popovich, who is an expert on wines and likes to talk about the works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky as much as defense in the fourth quarter.
He has a degree in Soviet studies from the Air Force Academy and worked in military intelligence in the Air Force before beginning a long road in coaching that led him from tiny Pomona-Pitzer, a Division III school known for academics not basketball, to the NBA, where he became Brown's assistant in San Antonio in 1988.
He came back as the general manager in 1994, and after firing Bob Hill 19 games into the '96-97 season, Popovich - with no NBA experience - began coaching the Spurs. He has become the prefect fit in a league that is full of coaching turmoil.
ONE VISION
``There has been one vision in this franchise for 12 years,'' Carlesimo said. ``He Popovich can be humble all he wants, but he has basically made every big decision in this franchise in personnel and on the floor for 12 years. Now, David and Tim have empowered him to do that, but this franchise has been like this pointing his hands in front of him.
``It's been headed in one direction for so long. That's almost unique in this league. You can say it about Utah, and there may have been others that have stayed together for six, seven years, but no place has been like this. It's amazing.''
No one is more unselfish than Duncan, who at 12 was a world-class 400-meter swimmer who grew up in St. Croix and dreamed of being an Olympic swimmer until Hurricane Hugo destroyed the pool and just about everything else on the island.
``I think the key with Timmy is he is so unselfish. He doesn't care who takes the shot,'' Spurs guard Tony Parker said. ``He doesn't care who takes it to the basket to win the game. Either he is going to do it, or someone else. He is just very unselfish.''
And the Spurs have become the anti-NBA team that everyone envies. Earlier this week, Cleveland coach and former Spurs assistant Mike Brown told The San Antonio Express that ``instead of saying, I want to be like Mike, teams are saying, I want to be like the Spurs.''
That's what San Antonio brings to the finals.