Kori Ellis
06-18-2005, 04:39 AM
Buck Harvey: Venus vs. Serena — a sister will suffer
Web Posted: 06/18/2005 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA061805.1S.COL.BKNharvey.1d200404.html
San Antonio Express-News
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — I don't know if Gregg Popovich has been outcoached.
But I know it looks that way.
I know everything changed after two games for Larry Brown, just as it did for Phil Jackson a year ago. I know Popovich's reputation isn't built on strategy. I know Brown, instead, is famous for seeing what others do not, and that the Spurs have looked unprepared at times for a simple trap.
That's why I also know Popovich isn't going against just a friend in these Finals.
He's going against another career-defining moment.
That doesn't stop Popovich and Brown from playing on their Venus-Serena sister act. Both say they are really sorry after twice smashing the other in the mouth with overheads.
Both are equally astonished they've alternated these beatings, as well as how random the game can be. In the 1990 playoffs they were on the bench together, with the Spurs playing the Blazers in the final minute of a seventh game, when Clyde Drexler launched a 25-foot, makes-no-sense 3-pointer.
Popovich nudged Brown and said, "That's it, we've won."
Then the shot fell.
Both coaches fully understand their reputations fall when such shots do, and each has enjoyed the other side in recent seasons. Popovich, for example, has never received as much respect as he has this past year.
Brown's peak came last season with his first NBA title. "I remember the experience I had last year at this time," he said Friday. "I mean, everybody was so happy for me personally last year, I was put way up there."
He raised a hand to show how high.
Just a week ago he would have had to lower his hand considerably. He was criticized for talking to Cleveland, as well as for being a distraction to his team. Wasn't it true the Pistons were dispirited because of him?
Now, if he comes back to win this championship, Brown will be seen as the ultimate chess player. "But I don't get caught up in that too much," he said. "It's part of our profession. We get far too much credit when things go too good, and you get a lot more criticism when things go bad."
Popovich knows the same. His get-over-yourself philosophy works well in this climate.
But it's also true that these Finals help cement reputations, and Popovich faces another watershed. His system and his locker-room charisma are beyond reproach, as is his stress of discipline and defense. But coming off Game 4, there are reasons to wonder if he can adjust on the fly as Brown and Jackson have done against him.
Popovich made a smart, early move Thursday. With Tim Duncan frustrated after a non-call, Popovich all but asked for a technical foul. In exchange for a free throw, Popovich got his point across and relieved some of Duncan's stress.
That didn't last long. Duncan's 2001 body language returned, as did flinching Spurs. The Pistons threw traps at the Spurs — notably Beno Udrih — when the Spurs could themselves have played pressure defense.
Then came the same Detroit defense that was there in Game3. How can the Pistons defend Duncan, stop penetration and still get out on the Spurs' 3-point shooters?
Popovich had no answers, and perhaps no coach would have. When the Spurs vomit turnovers — twitching with flu-like symptoms — there's not an X that can counter an O.
Those around this series say the same, as does Popovich. "I think, well, why is it going on?" he asked Friday. "It's going on because we've succumbed to their physical play. (The Pistons) have raised the bar in physicality. They do not want to give up the ring, and we have not met that challenge to date."
That's Popovich. His coaching creed is honesty. He called his bench "awful" Friday, and he's in the faces of the rest. He likely used the word "soft" at some point.
"The last time I checked," Popovich said of the Pistons, "they were the same guys we played in San Antonio."
But that's just it. The Pistons aren't the same anymore, and neither are the Spurs. And asked how he could explain the series turnaround, Brown answered Thursday night with a smile.
"Good coaching," Brown said.
I know he was kidding.
But will others?
Web Posted: 06/18/2005 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA061805.1S.COL.BKNharvey.1d200404.html
San Antonio Express-News
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — I don't know if Gregg Popovich has been outcoached.
But I know it looks that way.
I know everything changed after two games for Larry Brown, just as it did for Phil Jackson a year ago. I know Popovich's reputation isn't built on strategy. I know Brown, instead, is famous for seeing what others do not, and that the Spurs have looked unprepared at times for a simple trap.
That's why I also know Popovich isn't going against just a friend in these Finals.
He's going against another career-defining moment.
That doesn't stop Popovich and Brown from playing on their Venus-Serena sister act. Both say they are really sorry after twice smashing the other in the mouth with overheads.
Both are equally astonished they've alternated these beatings, as well as how random the game can be. In the 1990 playoffs they were on the bench together, with the Spurs playing the Blazers in the final minute of a seventh game, when Clyde Drexler launched a 25-foot, makes-no-sense 3-pointer.
Popovich nudged Brown and said, "That's it, we've won."
Then the shot fell.
Both coaches fully understand their reputations fall when such shots do, and each has enjoyed the other side in recent seasons. Popovich, for example, has never received as much respect as he has this past year.
Brown's peak came last season with his first NBA title. "I remember the experience I had last year at this time," he said Friday. "I mean, everybody was so happy for me personally last year, I was put way up there."
He raised a hand to show how high.
Just a week ago he would have had to lower his hand considerably. He was criticized for talking to Cleveland, as well as for being a distraction to his team. Wasn't it true the Pistons were dispirited because of him?
Now, if he comes back to win this championship, Brown will be seen as the ultimate chess player. "But I don't get caught up in that too much," he said. "It's part of our profession. We get far too much credit when things go too good, and you get a lot more criticism when things go bad."
Popovich knows the same. His get-over-yourself philosophy works well in this climate.
But it's also true that these Finals help cement reputations, and Popovich faces another watershed. His system and his locker-room charisma are beyond reproach, as is his stress of discipline and defense. But coming off Game 4, there are reasons to wonder if he can adjust on the fly as Brown and Jackson have done against him.
Popovich made a smart, early move Thursday. With Tim Duncan frustrated after a non-call, Popovich all but asked for a technical foul. In exchange for a free throw, Popovich got his point across and relieved some of Duncan's stress.
That didn't last long. Duncan's 2001 body language returned, as did flinching Spurs. The Pistons threw traps at the Spurs — notably Beno Udrih — when the Spurs could themselves have played pressure defense.
Then came the same Detroit defense that was there in Game3. How can the Pistons defend Duncan, stop penetration and still get out on the Spurs' 3-point shooters?
Popovich had no answers, and perhaps no coach would have. When the Spurs vomit turnovers — twitching with flu-like symptoms — there's not an X that can counter an O.
Those around this series say the same, as does Popovich. "I think, well, why is it going on?" he asked Friday. "It's going on because we've succumbed to their physical play. (The Pistons) have raised the bar in physicality. They do not want to give up the ring, and we have not met that challenge to date."
That's Popovich. His coaching creed is honesty. He called his bench "awful" Friday, and he's in the faces of the rest. He likely used the word "soft" at some point.
"The last time I checked," Popovich said of the Pistons, "they were the same guys we played in San Antonio."
But that's just it. The Pistons aren't the same anymore, and neither are the Spurs. And asked how he could explain the series turnaround, Brown answered Thursday night with a smile.
"Good coaching," Brown said.
I know he was kidding.
But will others?