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Nice read.
Opposite, and yet aligned with Popovich
Buck Harvey
Alvin Gentry should have been Gregg Popovich on Sunday afternoon. Gentry should have called time, and he should have screamed.
Gentry had a right.
He instead coached as the perfect fit for the imperfect team. He got what he could out of a flawed roster, and he smiled as he worked the refs, and he once again absorbed toxins from a snake-bit franchise.
Popovich, had he traded places, would have done well to do the same.
Twenty years ago, neither could have imagined this future. Then, they arrived in San Antonio as twins. They were unknown, young, broke and feeling lucky to follow Larry Brown on a great adventure.
Gentry's car had 83,000 miles on it then, and he didn't plan to add many more in San Antonio. He figured two years with the Spurs would look good on his résumé; that would help him land a college job.
So he rented a condo, talking the landlord into taking one month's rent with the promise to pay the second as soon as he got his first paycheck from the Spurs. “That's the way we all were then,” Gentry said.
Popovich was as unsure about the future. Most remember him as special, even then, with a rare mix of intelligence, charm and craziness. But no one knew. In those early days, on the team charter, Popovich would get so pepped up, he would do pushups on the floor.
Gentry was far more relaxed, and this would be his damning profile when he broke through and became the head coach of the Heat, Pistons and Clippers. They say he was too nice and that he wanted to be liked, and players didn't respond.
These are the generalities applied to those who lose games. Popovich has the opposite image now, but how different would his life have been with the Clippers?
He instead coaches his kind of guys, his way. Late in the fourth quarter Sunday, with the Suns dangerously close, Popovich yelled first at Tim Duncan, then at Ime Udoka, then at an entire huddle.
The Spurs had reason to yell back. George Hill had played 42 seconds before Popovich sent him into crunch time, and Popovich kept Duncan on the bench late in the game when the Suns went small.
Had the Spurs lost, Popovich would have heard some criticism on message boards. Otherwise, few others would have said much. Four les provide a cushion.
Gentry has never worked with anything like this. His first head-coaching job was like this one, coming in mid-season after a firing. He's never been his own boss, as Popovich has been, and he's had players not known for always taking orders well.
Popovich should spend a day telling Shaquille O'Neal, for example, how to hedge on a pick-and-roll.
Gentry also works for a franchise steeped in financial missteps. Needing to dump salary before last season, for example, the Suns traded Kurt Thomas to the franchise then in Seattle. To take Thomas' salary, the Sonics asked for and got two first-round draft picks from Phoenix.
Popovich has never faced such personnel , and R.C. Buford is a reason. As for the 20-year anniversary: Buford also arrived with Popovich and Gentry.
Because Buford traded for Thomas, Gentry re-lived this Phoenix decision. Thomas battled Shaq as well as Duncan did.
So Gentry had a right to scream, to wonder why bad luck took away Amare Stoudemire, and why bad management took away Thomas. He had a right to scream about the free-throw discrepancy Sunday and to panic as his team heads toward the lottery.
In the past, he would have. He felt pressure in past jobs, and along the way, he sometimes lost his strength, which is his personality.
Now he's past that. He jokes that he has a multi-week contract, and he coaches with a stern sense of calm. He's gotten on Shaq and Steve Nash recently, and observers say he even had a Popovich moment in practice this past weekend.
Gentry does this knowing he doesn't have much of a bench, and his best days might be like Sunday. Then, the Suns did well to hang around.
For all of Popovich's reputation for defense: Nash circled with less than a minute left and found no Spurs within yards of him. His open 3-pointer would have pulled the Suns within two. Had he not missed.
Gentry signaled to Popovich as he walked off, and he spoke evenly afterward. He acted like a coach who has lost jobs before and knows life goes on. And if what he's doing now isn't good enough for Suns management, then his return to San Antonio on Sunday should mean something.
Twenty years later, Gentry was still a lot like Popovich.
Nice read.
Good one Buck.
I would have loved to see thatHe's gotten on Shaq and Steve Nash recently, and observers say he even had a Popovich moment in practice this past weekend.
Not to that degree, but close.Gentry also works for a franchise steeped in financial missteps. Needing to dump salary before last season, for example, the Suns traded Kurt Thomas to the franchise then in Seattle. To take Thomas' salary, the Sonics asked for and got two first-round draft picks from Phoenix.
Popovich has never faced such personnel , and R.C. Buford is a reason. As for the 20-year anniversary: Buford also arrived with Popovich and Gentry.
Hmm, what is Buck talking about
haha.Had the Spurs lost, Popovich would have heard some criticism on message boards.
spurstalk criticizes him no matter what.
Harvey is always an interesting read. A foggy sense of darkness, mystery and feelings permeatesHmm, what is Buck talking about
I've always called it "Buck-noir".
Yeah, me too. I think most Suns players with the exception of Hill and Nash don't have the maturity to face blistering constructive criticism.. if Pop was their coach he'd have a mutiny on his hands in no time flat.
Interesting article
F'ing harvey, another great article. Dude has got to be jumping ship soon from the rag some san antonion's call a newspaper.
Gentry = Lottery bound.
Popovich = Hall of Fame bound.
Nuff said.
I really think all those E-N writers read this board....Had the Spurs lost, Popovich would have heard some criticism on message boards
there'd be dead bodies... and none of them will be Pop's.
there is no doubt the E-N writers read Spurstalk.
I can think of a spurs trade that parralels the thomas trade VERY easily.
They're taking shots! We're under attack!I really think all those E-N writers read this board....
Don't do it...don't do it!
SpursTalk anyone?Had the Spurs lost, Popovich would have heard some criticism on message boards. Otherwise, few others would have said much. Four les provide a cushion.
I read lines like this and then wonder how anybody...reporters, scouts, FO, even players...could not be reading boards like this and forego tapping the best sources for basketball information.
I think they probably are around here a lot more than we realize.
Also about as well as he used to battle Duncan.Thomas battled Shaq as well as Duncan did.
Losing Joe Johnson was probably the beginning of the Suns unraveling...but that was another in a line of boneheaded moves that went directly against what the Suns were trying to do.
This is the only thing that makes sense in this whole article. Everything else is diaherrea of the mouth. Where's Buck going with this article ? For instance :
Popovich has the opposite image now, but how different would his life have been with the Clippers?
Did he forget that Pop was dismissed just like Gentry was with Brown's staff ? He went to Golden State as an assistant coach cast-off and worked under Don Nelson. He didn't have some charmed life.
How soon people forget...I clearly remember Pop doing the best he could with the likes of Jamie Feick, Carl Herrera, Avery Johnson and Will Perdue. They didn't win many games but Pop's coaching really showed through that year. Those guys had such limited talent but they played their asses off for Pop. If he gone to the Clippers, he would have done the same thing.
That's ridiculous. That's some problem inheriting a team with Steve Nash, Shaq and Amare Stoudemire. How stupid does that sound ? Poor Alvin Gentry.
Again, go take a look at the roster that Pop had to deal with and keep in mind that Sean and David were both out with injuries. Did Buck ever consider that ? What he should have done was a quick article on fate. One coach got to draft Tim Duncan and was secure enough in his abilities to coach a Superstar while the other wanted to be "liked" by his players and that got him the role of "fill in" coach for the rest of his career.
What ? How ? What the f*ck is that even supposed to mean ?
Buck, that article was garbage. It wasn't well thought out or even researched. What a reach. Geez, what the heck do these guys do all day ? He's only responsible for what ? 4 or 5 articles a week ?
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