ShoogarBear
01-06-2006, 05:12 PM
He uses a word that hints that he's been reading ST. Also in the article (not posted) are some good comments from Joe Dumars:
Link (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/ian_thomsen/01/06/carmelo/2.html)
GREGG POPOVICH, Spurs coach:
On his team's 25-7 start, second only to the Pistons:
"That says more about the competition than it does about us. I don't think overall, top to bottom, the league is as competitive this year as it has been the last two to three years. That is more indicative of why our record is what it is. We've been playing inconsistently in the sense that we haven't been playing at the same level that we were at the end of last season. By comparison Detroit is playing the same as they were at the end of last season -- or better.
"We're not playing with that kind of fuel (sounds like he's been talking to ducks!) and purpose right now. We're playing well enough to be one of the better teams, but we've got room to improve, room to gear it up emotionally and physically, and I think I'm being relatively patient with waiting for all that to kick in. We're on pace to be a very good team if we continue to use the same philosophy of improving so that we're at our best come playoff time."
On the importance of the Spurs' upcoming rematch with the Pistons:
"It's a big game in the sense that I want to match their physicality and their aggressiveness and their purpose. I'll be very disappointed if I don't see that. If we win the game because we shot the hell out of it, I won't be that impressed, and if we lose the game because we didn't shoot well then that won't bother me. I wish the game was in February or March. We just played them, and now we're going to play them again. I'd rather play them down the road when Manu's back in the flow and Timmy [Duncan] feels a little bit better."
On Tim Duncan's lingering foot injury:
"He's had plantar fasciitis the whole season from the beginning. He's been playing in pain and doing a pretty good job of it. He won't let me take him out of the lineup. The only thing that's go to cure him is rest, but that's not going to happen. So he's playing with the pain and back-to-backs are tough for him. He's basically gutting it out really well. Its not like if he continues to play its going to get worse, because that would have already happened. It just isn't getting better. And when he gets a couple of days off it feels better, and then it (the pain) will come back. Everybody has that, everybody has bumps and bruises. The biggest concern is that against Detroit I'd want to see physicality, aggressiveness, purpose, and win or lose I'll come away from it feeling great at this point in the year."
On the Spurs' historical trend of improving over the second half of the regular season:
"That has been a consistent pattern. But I certainly don't want to assume that it's going to happen again. So that means that I have to approach it like we always do, and that's that we always want to improve. It doesn't necessarily mean that because we won a game we improved, or because we lost a game we didn't improve; you've got to really analyze each game and see if we're making the right decisions or as a team if we're sharing the ball enough or as a team are we in the right spots defensively enough -- and then the game will be decided on who shot well and who took care of the ball and all those other little things."
On how Detroit has improved under Saunders:
"They're definitely different. They're going to shoot quicker, they're go to shoot it on the break more, shoot more jump shots on the break, shoot less free throws probably; but they have full confidence in letting that jumper fly and running things that get people open for those jump shots. They're very ready to up the pace and let the jumpers fly a little bit earlier than they did last year, and that's the first thing that you notice right off the bat. They executed well last year too, but now they're executing Flip's style of play for the jumpers and that sort of thing."
On his favorites for MVP:
"We were sitting around the other day saying, 'Who's doing the job?' You've got the two guys scoring all the points with Kobe [Bryant] and Allen [Iverson], so people are going to mention them because they're scoring points. But the two guys we talk about are [Dirk] Nowitzki and Billups. I think Nowitzki is amazing. They've got one of the best teams in the league and its predicated on him: If he doesn't play, they're not Dallas. He's rebounding, he's posting up, Avery's got him on the block more. He's making shots and he's making them in the fourth quarter, he's unreal.
"Billups can make the three and he's going to shoot the three better than Kobe. He can penetrate, he can got to the free throw line, he's a fantastic free throw shooter, he can find somebody while he's doing the penetration at the end of the game. He's definitely a candidate."
On why Dallas has emerged as the Spurs' top rival in the West:
"Dallas is the one in the West that has been the most consistent. Dallas has a couple things going for them. One is that Avery knows what he's doing. He's played for enough coaches and was in the league long enough and he has a natural enough feel for the game that he has confidence in what he thinks wins and loses, and he's persistent enough that he will demand it enough on a daily basis from everybody, from the twelfth guy to the first guy. So that's going to be good for the team. Secondly, they're playing with some fuel (!!) too. They want to get there, they've been trying year in year out with a talented group to get there and it hasn't happened. They have that fuel of wanting to be there, they don't want to lose to San Antonio again, they don't want to lose to Phoenix or anybody else. They want to get there and they're playing like that now and Avery has instilled that sense of purpose in them."
Link (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/ian_thomsen/01/06/carmelo/2.html)
GREGG POPOVICH, Spurs coach:
On his team's 25-7 start, second only to the Pistons:
"That says more about the competition than it does about us. I don't think overall, top to bottom, the league is as competitive this year as it has been the last two to three years. That is more indicative of why our record is what it is. We've been playing inconsistently in the sense that we haven't been playing at the same level that we were at the end of last season. By comparison Detroit is playing the same as they were at the end of last season -- or better.
"We're not playing with that kind of fuel (sounds like he's been talking to ducks!) and purpose right now. We're playing well enough to be one of the better teams, but we've got room to improve, room to gear it up emotionally and physically, and I think I'm being relatively patient with waiting for all that to kick in. We're on pace to be a very good team if we continue to use the same philosophy of improving so that we're at our best come playoff time."
On the importance of the Spurs' upcoming rematch with the Pistons:
"It's a big game in the sense that I want to match their physicality and their aggressiveness and their purpose. I'll be very disappointed if I don't see that. If we win the game because we shot the hell out of it, I won't be that impressed, and if we lose the game because we didn't shoot well then that won't bother me. I wish the game was in February or March. We just played them, and now we're going to play them again. I'd rather play them down the road when Manu's back in the flow and Timmy [Duncan] feels a little bit better."
On Tim Duncan's lingering foot injury:
"He's had plantar fasciitis the whole season from the beginning. He's been playing in pain and doing a pretty good job of it. He won't let me take him out of the lineup. The only thing that's go to cure him is rest, but that's not going to happen. So he's playing with the pain and back-to-backs are tough for him. He's basically gutting it out really well. Its not like if he continues to play its going to get worse, because that would have already happened. It just isn't getting better. And when he gets a couple of days off it feels better, and then it (the pain) will come back. Everybody has that, everybody has bumps and bruises. The biggest concern is that against Detroit I'd want to see physicality, aggressiveness, purpose, and win or lose I'll come away from it feeling great at this point in the year."
On the Spurs' historical trend of improving over the second half of the regular season:
"That has been a consistent pattern. But I certainly don't want to assume that it's going to happen again. So that means that I have to approach it like we always do, and that's that we always want to improve. It doesn't necessarily mean that because we won a game we improved, or because we lost a game we didn't improve; you've got to really analyze each game and see if we're making the right decisions or as a team if we're sharing the ball enough or as a team are we in the right spots defensively enough -- and then the game will be decided on who shot well and who took care of the ball and all those other little things."
On how Detroit has improved under Saunders:
"They're definitely different. They're going to shoot quicker, they're go to shoot it on the break more, shoot more jump shots on the break, shoot less free throws probably; but they have full confidence in letting that jumper fly and running things that get people open for those jump shots. They're very ready to up the pace and let the jumpers fly a little bit earlier than they did last year, and that's the first thing that you notice right off the bat. They executed well last year too, but now they're executing Flip's style of play for the jumpers and that sort of thing."
On his favorites for MVP:
"We were sitting around the other day saying, 'Who's doing the job?' You've got the two guys scoring all the points with Kobe [Bryant] and Allen [Iverson], so people are going to mention them because they're scoring points. But the two guys we talk about are [Dirk] Nowitzki and Billups. I think Nowitzki is amazing. They've got one of the best teams in the league and its predicated on him: If he doesn't play, they're not Dallas. He's rebounding, he's posting up, Avery's got him on the block more. He's making shots and he's making them in the fourth quarter, he's unreal.
"Billups can make the three and he's going to shoot the three better than Kobe. He can penetrate, he can got to the free throw line, he's a fantastic free throw shooter, he can find somebody while he's doing the penetration at the end of the game. He's definitely a candidate."
On why Dallas has emerged as the Spurs' top rival in the West:
"Dallas is the one in the West that has been the most consistent. Dallas has a couple things going for them. One is that Avery knows what he's doing. He's played for enough coaches and was in the league long enough and he has a natural enough feel for the game that he has confidence in what he thinks wins and loses, and he's persistent enough that he will demand it enough on a daily basis from everybody, from the twelfth guy to the first guy. So that's going to be good for the team. Secondly, they're playing with some fuel (!!) too. They want to get there, they've been trying year in year out with a talented group to get there and it hasn't happened. They have that fuel of wanting to be there, they don't want to lose to San Antonio again, they don't want to lose to Phoenix or anybody else. They want to get there and they're playing like that now and Avery has instilled that sense of purpose in them."