Aggie Hoopsfan
06-27-2005, 10:39 PM
I admit it, I was wrong.
Never has crow tasted better than it did last Thursday as we celebrated title #3.
For the past several years I have been leading the chorus of criticism directed at one Gregg Popovich. Offensively as creative as a brick. Weak substitution patterns. Over-reliance on Tim Duncan when he’s got other guys who can score too. Choking back the reigns too much on Manu Ginobili. Too much 4down. Can’t adjust in a series.
I could go on. But I won’t. This post-season showed there is a method to Pop’s madness, and he’s made me a believer.
Offensively creative as a brick? The consistent trend for this entire playoff run consisted of putting the ball in the hands of Ginobili in fourth quarters (something I've long begged for), and all Manu did was go out and score 11 points in the fourth, including six points in the last minute to close it out.
And we won’t even get into the Spurs offensive makeovers in each of their other three playoff series, the last of which (Phoenix) prompted Pop to wax ecstatic that the Spurs were the league’s best “chameleons.” You wanna run? We’ll run. You want to go toe to toe in the half court? Let’s get it on. Anything you can do we can do better. That's what I'm talking about!
Weak substitution patterns? One of the significant adjustments of the Finals was made when Pop shortened his bench, kept Beno there, and let Manu Ginobili moonlight as the Spurs backup point guard.
Over-reliance on Tim Duncan? Bowen, Horry, and Ginobili all took turns hammering home nails in the Detroit coffin as game 7 wound down. Ginobili averaged over 20 a game in the playoffs, and often had the ball in his hands at crunch time.
Choking the reigns on Ginobili? In prior years Pop would have probably sat Manu for some of the turnovers he produced in this series, but Pop has come to take the good and the bad from Ginobili, realizing the good far outweighs the bad. And as Ginobili has grown, so has this team, and here’s the fun part – this team is just picking up steam.
Too much 4down? The Spurs have gone to a more motion based offense, capitalizing on their quickness on the perimeter to slash and burn teams to the ground. Gone are the days of Tim Duncan being the first, second, and third options on offense, and that makes this Spurs team stronger. And with Scola probably coming in and rumors that Oberto might find his way here, the flex offense looks like it's fixing to be a staple of this team for many years to come.
(but while I'm talking about it, can we pleeeeeeease see some Horry-Ginobili pick and roll action next year?)
Can’t adjust in a series? How’s this for adjustments: not only does he slide Bruce Bowen over to Mr. Clutch Chauncey Billups for the final crucial minutes of game 7, he also hit Detroit over the head with a 2-3 zone that stifled and altogether confused the Pistons at a critical point in the game.
Need proof? After the Spurs went to the zone Detroit coughed up 5 turnovers, had 2 shot clock violations, and had its last gasp Billups three pointer stuffed by defensive stopper Bruce Bowen. Checkmate.
But the fact of the matter is Pop is the league’s best. He joins an elite fraternity of 4 other coaches to ever have three or more NBA titles in their career, and he sits today in great shape to move up the pecking order and tie Pat Riley for #4 next year.
Now there's still gonna be times when his substitutions make us all say "huh?", and there's still going to be times when our offense gets more stale than three week old bread, but I'm just going to have to roll with the punches on that (but reserve the right to point it out, in the interest of good hoops dialog here on the site :lol ).
So I have to say it: Gregg P_p_vich (for Shelly) is the best coach in this league. And the crow’s not bad either.
Never has crow tasted better than it did last Thursday as we celebrated title #3.
For the past several years I have been leading the chorus of criticism directed at one Gregg Popovich. Offensively as creative as a brick. Weak substitution patterns. Over-reliance on Tim Duncan when he’s got other guys who can score too. Choking back the reigns too much on Manu Ginobili. Too much 4down. Can’t adjust in a series.
I could go on. But I won’t. This post-season showed there is a method to Pop’s madness, and he’s made me a believer.
Offensively creative as a brick? The consistent trend for this entire playoff run consisted of putting the ball in the hands of Ginobili in fourth quarters (something I've long begged for), and all Manu did was go out and score 11 points in the fourth, including six points in the last minute to close it out.
And we won’t even get into the Spurs offensive makeovers in each of their other three playoff series, the last of which (Phoenix) prompted Pop to wax ecstatic that the Spurs were the league’s best “chameleons.” You wanna run? We’ll run. You want to go toe to toe in the half court? Let’s get it on. Anything you can do we can do better. That's what I'm talking about!
Weak substitution patterns? One of the significant adjustments of the Finals was made when Pop shortened his bench, kept Beno there, and let Manu Ginobili moonlight as the Spurs backup point guard.
Over-reliance on Tim Duncan? Bowen, Horry, and Ginobili all took turns hammering home nails in the Detroit coffin as game 7 wound down. Ginobili averaged over 20 a game in the playoffs, and often had the ball in his hands at crunch time.
Choking the reigns on Ginobili? In prior years Pop would have probably sat Manu for some of the turnovers he produced in this series, but Pop has come to take the good and the bad from Ginobili, realizing the good far outweighs the bad. And as Ginobili has grown, so has this team, and here’s the fun part – this team is just picking up steam.
Too much 4down? The Spurs have gone to a more motion based offense, capitalizing on their quickness on the perimeter to slash and burn teams to the ground. Gone are the days of Tim Duncan being the first, second, and third options on offense, and that makes this Spurs team stronger. And with Scola probably coming in and rumors that Oberto might find his way here, the flex offense looks like it's fixing to be a staple of this team for many years to come.
(but while I'm talking about it, can we pleeeeeeease see some Horry-Ginobili pick and roll action next year?)
Can’t adjust in a series? How’s this for adjustments: not only does he slide Bruce Bowen over to Mr. Clutch Chauncey Billups for the final crucial minutes of game 7, he also hit Detroit over the head with a 2-3 zone that stifled and altogether confused the Pistons at a critical point in the game.
Need proof? After the Spurs went to the zone Detroit coughed up 5 turnovers, had 2 shot clock violations, and had its last gasp Billups three pointer stuffed by defensive stopper Bruce Bowen. Checkmate.
But the fact of the matter is Pop is the league’s best. He joins an elite fraternity of 4 other coaches to ever have three or more NBA titles in their career, and he sits today in great shape to move up the pecking order and tie Pat Riley for #4 next year.
Now there's still gonna be times when his substitutions make us all say "huh?", and there's still going to be times when our offense gets more stale than three week old bread, but I'm just going to have to roll with the punches on that (but reserve the right to point it out, in the interest of good hoops dialog here on the site :lol ).
So I have to say it: Gregg P_p_vich (for Shelly) is the best coach in this league. And the crow’s not bad either.