Spurs at Nets Previews

[Fireball]

Tiago Splitter (hamstring) out again tonight vs. Nets

I really would like to kick Manu ... I mean his sneaky foul on Calderon caused Splitters injury in the first place. So sad

[silverblk mystix]

I really would like to kick Manu ... I mean his sneaky foul on Calderon caused Splitters injury in the first place. So sad

That's how I felt when it happened...but happens...of course Manu probably feels worse about it than we do...

[duncan228]

Just the Spurs part, hit the link for it all.

Nets coach focused on Spurs, not Anthony
By Fred Kerber
The New York Post

...The first order of business is facing the NBA's best, the Spurs, tonight in Newark, where Avery Johnson admits he'll feel a "soft spot" for the opposition and his mentor, Gregg Popovich.

Johnson squared off against him while coaching Dallas, but admits every time can feel like the first time.

"Any time I face San Antonio, you've got a big soft spot for them because they mean so much to me," said Johnson, who hit the winning shot in the 1999 NBA Finals, clinching Game 5 for Popovich's Spurs against the Knicks.

"I mean, my jersey's retired in the AT&T Center. Pop means so much to me. Tim [Duncan] means so much to me. Peter Holt the owner. R.C. Buford the GM," Johnson added. "We just go so far back and we're still friends until this day. So it means a lot. Obviously, when the ball goes up, we'll try to do our best to win the game, but Pop is my mentor and it's going to be a pretty good night."

Johnson readily acknowledges Popovich's strong influence on his coaching. What did he take first and foremost from the Spurs' four-time championship coach?

"More than anything, just be consistent. Consistency and discipline. That's what he's good at," Johnson said. "And he really does a great job of communicating with his players where there's no gray area."


..."With a team like that, you've got to push the pace," said Devin Harris. "You don't want to go against their half-court defense. It's solid. We have similarities in what we do as far as where they like to go so we should know how to attack it."

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/nets/...iTzF2kdBXT1VOO

[duncan228]

Nets’ Avery Johnson eager for visit from Spurs' Gregg Popovich
By Al Iannazzone
The Record

Before he was in charge in San Antonio, Gregg Popovich was given the assignment of cutting Avery Johnson before Christmas in 1991. Popovich hated doing it, but he went to Johnson’s place and helped him pack.

When Popovich took over the Spurs’ basketball department he made sure he brought Johnson back, signing him to his first multi-year contract in 1994.

“I loved giving that to him,” Popovich said. “We’ve been close and sharing ideas for a long time.”

Johnson and Popovich try to speak every week and tonight will be on opposing sidelines when the Nets face the Spurs at Prudential Center. Popovich’s influence is all over Johnson’s coaching style as he is hard-driving, vocal and stresses defense.

In a perfect world, Johnson would like to build “a program” similar to what Popovich has in San Antonio. (They both use the word “program,” by the way). It helps when you have David Robinson and later Tim Duncan. The Nets (17-38) obviously need to upgrade their roster.

Johnson, who began this season with the NBA’s best winning percentage as a head coach (.735), is losing at a clip he’s probably never experienced. Many people keep waiting for him to snap, as the Nets repeatedly come out with little energy and have defensive and schematic breakdowns – as they did in Saturday’s 105-95 loss to the Knicks, allowing New York to shoot 16-for-34 from three. But Popovich said Johnson can be patient because he understands the Nets are a major work-in-progress.

“He’s highly intelligent and understands completely the situation he’s in,” Popovich said. “He knows it’s going to take time. He knows who he has on his team. He knows what the abilities are, what the standards are. He knows what it’s like to win a championship so he knows he’s got a long way to go.

“Right now he’s interested in teaching and seeing who wants to compete, who can learn, who can improve. That’s how he’s going to move forward and decide who should be with that group.
The Nets were ready to trade more than half their roster, including Devin Harris and Derrick Favors, for Carmelo Anthony. But owner Mikhail Prokhorov told general manager Billy King to back out of talks last month.

The trade deadline is Feb. 24. People inside and outside of the Nets’ organization believe Denver will call between now and then. If they can’t get Anthony, the Nets will have to go another route to try to build a winning program.

“According to [Johnson] everybody is patient because everybody understands the situation,” Popovich said. “That is really important because too much in the league people get jumpy and have knee-jerk reactions. I think they know what they’re doing as far as the situation is concerned.”

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/02..._Popovich.html

[Penya]

Tiago is back to San Antonio, won't play @ Chicago.