To all the Pop haters

[Vito Corleone]

The system that created all those lopsided wins over Miami is a direct result of Pop's offense. Keep that in mind the next time you call for his head.

[xmas1997]

Plus getting that foreign coach on staff, Messina?, will help because it seems like the Spurs already use a Euro type offense.

[siraulo23]

He took the spurs offense to another level after one year

he realized the spurs struggled badly when teams like okc/hear shut down tp, this year he addressed that problem by preaching the ball not to stick, incredible

duncan mentioned how pop took last year's lost the hardest, and he coached almost flawlessly throughout the POs, decisive gameplan on defense, calling timeouts at the right time, minute distribution etc...

[xmas1997]

Pop is a genius, without a doubt.

[hitmantb]

It took 3 years to finally remove the dependency of Parker and perfect the system, but role player growth was huge during this span. Adding Diaw was huge. Parker/Manu/Diaw just so much passing for opponent to deal with when they shut down Parker.

The growth of role players was every bit as big as Pop's system. Against teams like OKC and MIA you literally have a single second of opening, in 2012 players like Green, Leonard etc were intimated by OKC's sheer talent, once Parker was shut down they could not make OKC pay.

This year it felt like if the opponent was late even half a step on rotation, 3 pointer with 40% accuracy goes in. It is like the equivalent of peak Shaq efficiency (60% 2 pointers), just too nasty. Throw in Green/Leonard as one of the best defending duos in the league, Duncan/Splitter one of the best interior defensive duos, so strong!

[xmas1997]

It took 3 years to finally remove the dependency of Parker and perfect the system, but role player growth was huge during this span. Adding Diaw was huge. Parker/Manu/Diaw just so much passing for opponent to deal with when they shut down Parker.

The growth of role players was every bit as big as Pop's system. Against teams like OKC and MIA you literally have a single second of opening, in 2012 players like Green, Leonard etc were intimated by OKC's sheer talent, once Parker was shut down they could not make OKC pay.

This year it felt like if the opponent was late even half a step on rotation, 3 pointer with 40% accuracy goes in. It is like the equivalent of peak Shaq efficiency (60% 2 pointers), just too nasty. Throw in Green/Leonard as one of the best defending duos in the league, Duncan/Splitter one of the best interior defensive duos, so strong!

I agree, they perfected their system and added very few integral players like Belli who had a learning curve this year.
He will be better this coming year, as will all the current players even though there will be an aging curve too.

[T Park]

Pop haters are pissed as all hell right now. Won't show up again till a losing streak in December.

[xmas1997]

Pop haters are pissed as all hell right now. Won't show up again till a losing streak in December.

SBM came on his thread and said he is glad Pop proved him wrong, so there are some who have class and can admit it when they are wrong.

[Vito Corleone]

It's funny, my dad is one of he biggest Pop haters around, and even he is acting like Pop did something right.

Pop has completely changed his coaching from defense defense defense to coaching the most explosive offense in the NBA. That is a huge change for any coach, and Pop has pulled it off.

[travis2]

It's funny, my dad is one of he biggest Pop haters around, and even he is acting like Pop did something right.

Pop has completely changed his coaching from defense defense defense to coaching the most explosive offense in the NBA. That is a huge change for any coach, and Pop has pulled it off.

Do not lose sight of the fact that that "most explosive offense in the NBA" is (at least in part) predicated on the same-old hard-nosed defense. When the Spurs went away from a defensive philosophy a few years back, they struggled in the playoffs. Pop made defense a priority again last year.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

The system that created all those lopsided wins over Miami is a direct result of Pop's offense. Keep that in mind the next time you call for his head.

Pop just copied the Euro offense that D'antoni ran. Difference is, Pop added a lot more discipline to it.

He didn't create anything, he just perfected it. And that is the magic of Pop, taking something and making it better. This goes with players such as Kawhi, Green, Leonard, Splitter, Parker, etc. Look how much each player has improved under Pop's tutelage.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Plus getting that foreign coach on staff, Messina?, will help because it seems like the Spurs already use a Euro type offense.

Great move by the Spurs. Will not only help to improve the Spurs current offensive system, but he will attract more Int'l players to the Spurs.

[jjktkk]

Do not lose sight of the fact that that "most explosive offense in the NBA" is (at least in part) predicated on the same-old hard-nosed defense. When the Spurs went away from a defensive philosophy a few years back, they struggled in the playoffs. Pop made defense a priority again last year.

I always get a chuckle out of comments like this. I doubt Pop really wanted to get away from his defensive philosophies, but rather he needed to replace the personnel that executed those defensive principles, mainly a perimeter stopper on defense. Over the past few years, notice how the Spurs defense improved as Leonard developed?

[travis2]

No need to be dismissive about the idea. Chuckle all you want, but it's true...and we're saying the same thing. I never said Pop wanted to get away from those principles...but the fact remains that he did. The defensive stats bear it out. Whether it was because he didn't have the personnel, he didn't put as much emphasis on it, or both (my personal choice), defense was second fiddle for a while.

[Vito Corleone]

I always get a chuckle out of comments like this. I doubt Pop really wanted to get away from his defensive philosophies, but rather he needed to replace the personnel that executed those defensive principles, mainly a perimeter stopper on defense. Over the past few years, notice how the Spurs defense improved as Leonard developed?

I can buy that, since our best defensive teams came from when we had a great defensive 3 we can rely on. First it was Elliott then Bowen and now Leonard. And I actually think Leonard has the chance to be the best of them all.

[superbigtime]

It wasn't just players like Manu who redeemed themselves, Pop did too. This was his masterpiece.

[Kidd K]

Only the ignorant Spurs fans wanted Pop replaced. If you see someone with that take, you can pretty much skip all their future posts and not miss a worthwhile take even once.

It isn't like Pop was in "I clearly don't give a shit anymore" mode like Phil Jackson was in his last season. Pop is always serious and trying to coach as much as he can.

[travis2]

Only the ignorant Spurs fans wanted Pop replaced. If you see someone with that take, you can pretty much skip all their future posts and not miss a worthwhile take even once.

Agreed...