What do you think of Gregg Popovich?

[dknights411]

So many Pop threads tonight makes it clear who is this board's scapegoat. So what do you think of Pop? Is he still one of the best, or is he a has been? I still think he's great, he's just going outside of the playbook a bit lately. But he's still up there when push comes to shove. But that's just my opinion.

[midgetonadonkey]

I still find him extremely attractive.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Defensive coaching: A
Offensive Coaching: F-

[SequSpur]

Pop lost Pop in last year's playoffs.

[Nero]

It's our roster, Pop is still a great coach.

[Tek_XX]

Pop is number one scapegoat, and he deserves it.

[bdictjames]

Pop has never been pop since Avery took over the Mavs

[Tek_XX]

small ball pop

[dropstep4421]

anybody seen larry brown

[TDMVPDPOY]

he lost all creditbility when tryin to play smallball and that white rotation

[nobodi_home]

The stupid shit being spewed out right now over WOAI Radio is absolutely disgusting. Who hires these morons anyway?
Coach Pop? Damn, he's one of those like-able guys that makes it tough to say anything nasty. But nasty things need to be pointed out. HOWEVER, just because a team gets on a 3 game losing streak, this is no time to start acting crazy. But there are serious questions that need be asked about Pop's strategy.

How many dedicated Spurs fans have gone back to analyze the playoff tapes from last year? See anything similar to what's happening now?

God only knows why, but Coach Pop seems to think he can direct a winning campaign with NO CENTER. I'm not known for being gooshie-gooshie on newbie players, but Oberto has done very well, but he does screw up occasionally, but not as bad as other big-name Spurs players. But Coach Pop COMES WITH THE HOOK, and slams Oberto on the bench and leaves him there for long stretches. Pop pulls the same shit on Berry, and Beno. Why the hell doesn't he slam Duncan, Ginobli and Parker for all their stupid ass TURNOVERS and moronic, ill-advised shots?? OH NO NO NO, you can't slam Duncan, Parker and Manu. Well, why the hell not????

Well, if that's the formula, I don't hold out much hope for SAS come playoff time. Does anyone remember what Pop did last year? Oh yea, he kept Nazi out on the floor when not just logic and reason, but the TAPES reveal conclusively that Nazi didn't have a clue what he was doing, to say nothing of all the damned dropped passes, etc. Yet he kept right on with Nazi, keeping Rasho on the bench, for reasons that no one still understands. And now, Pop is pulling the same crap, thinking that Robert Horry is some kind of CENTER.

Pop and his "NO CENTER" strategy is doomed to failure, and for Spurs fans that are tired of losing, get some leather-coated nerve endings because there's a lot more loses on the way... Just because SAS can beat up on the NBA's losers, which is most of the league, doesn't mean you're in the drivers seat for another championship. There will be NO CHAMPIONSHIP in San Antonio come June 2007!!! Dallas, Utah, LAX or Phoenix will clean Coach Pop’s clock in a hurry come playoff time.

Nope, not with this strategy, so stop blaming Barry, Beno and the other bench players. The problem may be on the bench, indeed, but it's not with gentlemen that wear player uniforms. It's those knotheads in the $1,000 suits and ties.

[dknights411]

The stupid shit being spewed out right now over WOAI Radio is absolutely disgusting. Who hires these morons anyway?
Coach Pop? Damn, he's one of those like-able guys that makes it tough to say anything nasty. But nasty things need to be pointed out. HOWEVER, just because a team gets on a 3 game losing streak, this is no time to start acting crazy. But there are serious questions that need be asked about Pop's strategy.

How many dedicated Spurs fans have gone back to analyze the playoff tapes from last year? See anything similar to what's happening now?

God only knows why, but Coach Pop seems to think he can direct a winning campaign with NO CENTER. I'm not known for being gooshie-gooshie on newbie players, but Oberto has done very well, but he does screw up occasionally, but not as bad as other big-name Spurs players. But Coach Pop COMES WITH THE HOOK, and slams Oberto on the bench and leaves him there for long stretches. Pop pulls the same shit on Berry, and Beno. Why the hell doesn't he slam Duncan, Ginobli and Parker for all their stupid ass TURNOVERS and moronic, ill-advised shots?? OH NO NO NO, you can't slam Duncan, Parker and Manu. Well, why the hell not????

Well, if that's the formula, I don't hold out much hope for SAS come playoff time. Does anyone remember what Pop did last year? Oh yea, he kept Nazi out on the floor when not just logic and reason, but the TAPES reveal conclusively that Nazi didn't have a clue what he was doing, to say nothing of all the damned dropped passes, etc. Yet he kept right on with Nazi, keeping Rasho on the bench, for reasons that no one still understands. And now, Pop is pulling the same crap, thinking that Robert Horry is some kind of CENTER.

Pop and his "NO CENTER" strategy is doomed to failure, and for Spurs fans that are tired of losing, get some leather-coated nerve endings because there's a lot more loses on the way... Just because SAS can beat up on the NBA's losers, which is most of the league, doesn't mean you're in the drivers seat for another championship. There will be NO CHAMPIONSHIP in San Antonio come June 2007!!! Dallas, Utah, LAX or Phoenix will clean Coach Pop’s clock in a hurry come playoff time.

Nope, not with this strategy, so stop blaming Barry, Beno and the other bench players. The problem may be on the bench, indeed, but it's not with gentlemen that wear player uniforms. It's those knotheads in the $1,000 suits and ties.

Hey it's not like he didn't TRY to get a center! Remember we tried to lure Zo and Pryz? ANd don't forget about the pipe dream to get Big Ben. But I wouldn't have stuck with Rasho or Nazr just because we need a Center.

With that said, I'm still wondering why hasn't Butler seen a lot of action yet? If Pop is playing around with the lineup, then shouldn't Butler be used a BIT more than he is?

[nobodi_home]

Well, with due respect to my fellow poster and spurs fan, (Knights411), I'm still trying to figure out the logic and reason for sending Rasho to Toronto, or for keeping him on the bench thru the playoffs last year. That never made any sense, but let's not forget why Dallas defeated San Antonio in last years thrilling Game 7: TIMMY DUNCAN!!!! C'mon now guys, PLAY THE TAPE, just play the tape! Who had the chance to just tip in a little ol' basketball, from 2 feet away? Timmy D. Couldn't get the job done. And who committed the stupid fouls that put Dirk at the line? Manu!!! But Timmy and Manu are the chosen few who cannot be slammed or raked over the coals, and who's fault is that? Several factors, actually, including, but not limited to: the press, the front office and the coaching staff. Pick on Rasho, Berry, Findley, anybody else.
Tonight was a beautiful example of where Rasho would have excelled, a big man, in the middle, who knows how to play center and give Dirk lots of trouble, but Dirk scored more points TONIGHT than any other time this season, and he's had a pretty good season before arriving in San Antonio January 5 for the big game with arch-rivals SAS.

Coach Pop, for letting go of Rasho, you're an absolute idiot. Maybe Oberto could learn to follow in Rasho's footsteps, but not if you're gonna keep throwing temper-tantrums at him, and slamming his young ass on the bench every time he pulls a Duncan-style fuckup .

SAS needed a real center tonight and didn't have one. Outcome: Spurs lose.
Prosecution rests..........

[supaphly119]

oh please, rasho was just as useless...we need someone who can grab rebounds...they don't even need to score. hell, how about tyson chandlers 5ppg and 12rpg?

[dknights411]

Well, with due respect to my fellow poster and spurs fan, (Knights411), I'm still trying to figure out the logic and reason for sending Rasho to Toronto, or for keeping him on the bench thru the playoffs last year. That never made any sense, but let's not forget why Dallas defeated San Antonio in last years thrilling Game 7: TIMMY DUNCAN!!!! C'mon now guys, PLAY THE TAPE, just play the tape! Who had the chance to just tip in a little ol' basketball, from 2 feet away? Timmy D. Couldn't get the job done. And who committed the stupid fouls that put Dirk at the line? Manu!!! But Timmy and Manu are the chosen few who cannot be slammed or raked over the coals, and who's fault is that? Several factors, actually, including, but not limited to: the press, the front office and the coaching staff. Pick on Rasho, Berry, Findley, anybody else.
Tonight was a beautiful example of where Rasho would have excelled, a big man, in the middle, who knows how to play center and give Dirk lots of trouble, but Dirk scored more points TONIGHT than any other time this season, and he's had a pretty good season before arriving in San Antonio January 5 for the big game with arch-rivals SAS.

Coach Pop, for letting go of Rasho, you're an absolute idiot. Maybe Oberto could learn to follow in Rasho's footsteps, but not if you're gonna keep throwing temper-tantrums at him, and slamming his young ass on the bench every time he pulls a Duncan-style fuckup .

SAS needed a real center tonight and didn't have one. Outcome: Spurs lose.
Prosecution rests..........

My problem with Rasho was his contract. For somebody making as much as he did, he should have shown up more on both sides of the court. From a business standpoint, I would find a way to trade Rasho too, in order to have more room to make some moves later on down the road. It may look like trading Rasho was a really bad idea on the floor now, but it gives us more room to work with money-wise in the future I'd take that in a heartbeat.

Rasho was purely a business decision.

[Nero]

and for Spurs fans that are tired of losing,



haha, it funny the way we talk here, being the winningest team in pro sports for the past 10 years. We really have been spoiled. It's great.

[dknights411]

haha, it funny the way we talk here, being the winningest team in pro sports for the past 10 years. We really have been spoiled. It's great.

I wondered what it was like for Boston fans in the 60s what the Celtics were in a slump. If only internet message boards were around back then... :lol

[nkdlunch]

With these moves Pop is doing, I don't think he still got it.

Spurs have a coaching problem, but that ain't the only problem

[KB24]

Phil Jackson >>>>>>>> POPABITCH

[koopa]

i've never liked pop, he has just ridden the coattail of tim duncan for all these years, with the teams we've had we should've at least 3peated once, but pop just doesn't know how to get his team ready for a title defense, and he doesn't know how to make us better every year, he always seems to just want to stay the same or add a couple of little scrubs here and there while everyone else around the league gets better........he is out coached a lot, sometimes it's embarassing.........if we had a coach like phil jackson we'd have probably 4peated

[Brutalis]

True Spurs fans are biased and demand perfection therefor Pop is in a lose lose situation.

[VaSpursFan]

to be honest, i think a change needs to be made. the typical pop rants and callouts through the media aren't working so that may be a sign of the team tuning him out. what's clearly an issue is pop's inability to recognize momentum shifts and make in-game adjustments.

[exstatic]

One thing I would suggest to Pop: when the Mavs go small-ball and have Dirk out there as their only big, don't post Tim in his normal spot in the wing. That works on most bigs and give Tim the option to shoot or drive. He isn't going to take Dirk off the dribble, so post his ass on the LOW BLOCK, just outside the lane. Dirk has no chance to defend him there, and the help will have to come a LOT quicker, like before he even makes a move if they don't want him to drop 35 points. The help will also have to cover more ground than they do to his wing spot, and have little chance to recover back if he passes out. That uncovers our shooters, and the rest is a beautiful thing. Dallas either plays big ball or they get their asses beat.

[exstatic]

to be honest, i think a change needs to be made. the typical pop rants and callouts through the media aren't working so that may be a sign of the team tuning him out. what's clearly an issue is pop's inability to recognize momentum shifts and make in-game adjustments.
Considering that he's won three championships, Holt loves his ass, and none of the team other than T,T, & M will be here two years from now, this ain't happening.

[dknights411]

Popovich is just a lucky coach..

He's really not all that good.

He can't not be compared to the greats like Aubaurch, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley...

He is just a lucky one.

Luck does play a part in the long run, but he's not JUST a lucky coach. Were you even paying attention in 03, or 05? The Spurs are one of the most systemattic teams in the NBA, and coaching plays a REALLY big part in that. A string of bad games shouldn't undo all that he's done thus far.

[SenorSpur]

Pop is as much to blame for the shape this roster is in - a bunch of older, non-athletic players who can no longer "carry the mail" from quarter to quarter (especially the 4th) or game to game.

His organizational arrogance showed when he claimed during the offseason that "Spurs fans tend to overract. It's amazing to me that all of a sudden were an old team. If we had won that Game 7 with the Mavs we wouldn't be having this conversation." I paraphrased most of that - but you get the point.

After watching the Mavs run circles around his team for 7 games, you would think he would have tried to make at least add 1-2 more good, solid, younger players to this team. I don't question the pickups of Bonner or Elson. That was good, yet it was not enough.

Instead, he made the cardinal sin of overestimating his talent level. Horry, Finley, Barry, and Bowen have their best days behind them. While I would retain Bowen, there are certain matchups (Dirk, Bonzi, LeBron) that do not warrant him playing huge minutes.