Popovich finally comfortable talking about possible repeat

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Popovich finally comfortable talking about possible repeat
Tim Povtak | INSIDE THE NBA October 30, 2007
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...,838190.column

Maybe he's just getting a little soft in his old age, but Gregg Popovich finally let the marketing department of the San Antonio Spurs take full advantage of the NBA Championship they won last season.

Or maybe he knows something. Like a repeat is coming.

Popovich, 58, is the coach, vice-president of basketball operations and architect of the NBA's most successful franchise today, carving his niche among the elite in league history.

Although the Spurs won les in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, Popovich never completely felt comfortable having his teams introduced the following seasons as defending champions, or openly trumpeting their successes from the previous year. He discouraged it.

This time he gave his blessing.

"In the past, I didn't like it, in part because I'm just a curmudgeon," he said last week when the Spurs played an exhibition game in Orlando. "And the other part, was that it just wasn't true. We weren't the same team the following year. Teams change from year to year. This time, we really are the same team that won it."

When the Spurs open the NBA season tonight against Portland, they will have all 12 of their top players from last season on the roster again, the first time they have returned the entire team.

Only Popovich and star center/forward Tim Duncan have been there for all four les, but much of the core has been together for the past three, including Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The every-other-year habit of winning has given others -- like Dallas, Phoenix, even Boston -- hope that they can win a le in 2008, but the Spurs still are the favorites. It's about time they repeated.

"The repeating thing [and the inability to do it] is overdone, to a great degree," Popovich said. "When a team repeats, everyone goes ga-ga. It's kind of neat. I think it's neat the Lakers won three in a row. It's hard to do, but I don't think it's any more impressive than winning over a 10-year period and being good every single year."

Over the last 10 seasons, the Spurs have built a 559-229 record (.709), the highest winning percentage of any team in professional sports over that length of time. The Lakers and Mavericks, by comparison, have won 63.5 percent and 61.7 percent of their games.

"In the past when we tried [to repeat], we just got beat by better teams. There are things you can't control. Let's see if we can do it this time," he said. "But if we can't, I'll still have wine with my dinner, and I'll still sleep well."

The biggest reason he sleeps so well is because of Duncan, the two-time Most Valuable Player and the foundation of the franchise. He and Popovich, as usual, sat and talked alone after a recent practice in Orlando, while everyone else went in different directions. The coach and the captain, since that first season, have worked in unison. It's one of their keys to success. They work closely.

"When you win a championship, you become everyone else's game of the year that next season," Duncan said last week. "Not every team, every year, can play at that level. But what we've done, we think is pretty good."

POWER POLL

1. San Antonio Spurs: They will start the season as the defending champions. And they likely will end the season in the same position, cementing their place as one of the best in league history.

2. Dallas Mavericks: One disastrous series against Golden State did not cause any offseason panic after winning 67 games. They will contend again for the top spot, moving Jason Terry to a key reserve role.

3. Phoenix Suns: When you have such a rare talent as Steve Nash at your disposal, it's easy to play and look good on this team. Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire don't know how good they have it.

4. Boston Celtics: There is a reason that in every picture you see, Kevin Garnett is smiling. He's back in contention once again, and his versatility will shine even brighter now.

5. Chicago Bulls: They have a young, contending team still a season or two away from the Finals, but they should stay the course, and resist any temptation to veer off.

6. Detroit Pistons: Likely to be in the Eastern Conference finals once again -- unless of course Rasheed Wallace joins the WWF.

7. Houston Rockets: They won't prove anything until playoff time, but Tracy McGrady will no longer be called the best player never to win a playoff series.

8. Utah Jazz: The emergence of Deron Williams turns them into contenders in the West with a well-balance, well-coached team. He is further proof that a great point guard is vital to winning big.

9. Cleveland Cavaliers: Yes, LeBron James is still the second-best player in the league (behind Kobe), but the rest of the team looks so flawed without their two free agents who are dangling in limbo as the season begins.

10. Toronto Raptors: If Andrea Bargnani improves like Raptors believe he will in his second season -- teaming with Chris Bosh in the front court -- they will take the next step and join the Eastern elite.


NUMBERS GAME
.727

San Antonio's winning percentage (16-6) in NBA Finals games, tops in league history.


91

Number of games played last season combined by Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade for Miami.


0

Number of times the Lakers have advanced past the first round since they traded Shaq.


5,000

Number of fans who will come watch the Lakers play in the 19,000-seat Staples Center if they trade away Kobe Bryant.


THE LAST WORD

The Orlando Magic are 30-1 odds to win the NBA le and 8-1 to win the Eastern Conference, according to Bodog, the on-line betting site.


MAGIC BEAT

When the San Antonio Spurs were in town last week, there was a good reason the Magic were taking notes. It's a team they want to become. "They know what they're doing. It's where we're all trying to get. It's who we're all trying to emulate," Coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They have made great personnel decisions, built great continuity. They have all high-character guys, smart guys, and a great coach. . . .

Van Gundy also made it clear that he expects Dwight Howard to become his Tim Duncan. When he took the job in Orlando this summer, Van Gundy knew he was getting a star, but not until he started coaching him did he realize how much more he was getting. "The biggest thing is his maturity and leadership, and him wanting to get better and be great. I can't compare to last year, because I wasn't here," Van Gundy said. "He knows how good he is, but he wants to be coached. He wants to be pushed and he wants to get better. They say this about a lot of people, but it's literally true with him, 'the sky really is the limit.' His talents are off the charts. People have to realize, he's only a college-age guy, and it's going to take a little time." . . .

While the San Antonio Spurs are likely to win their fifth NBA le in the last 10 years -- back-to-back for the first time -- the individual awards likely will go elsewhere.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Kevin Garnett (left), Boston Celtics. After last season's run to the Finals, LeBron James might start as the favorite, but his Cavs have regressed after failing to sign two of their key players. When they struggle, James won't look so great. Garnett will key the Celtics run back to prominence, igniting the ghosts of Celtics past.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Al Thornton, Los Angeles Clippers. Everyone wants to talk about Kevin Durant in Seattle -- and he will become a star -- but Thornton may be the most ready-for-the-NBA player this season from the 2007 draft. With Elton Brand gone for the first half of the season, Thornton will get the ball and a chance to shine immediately.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics. Rick Adelman in Houston won't get his acclaim until he takes the Rockets deep into the playoffs, which doesn't come until after the voting is finished. It's going to be tough to argue with Rivers when the Celtics go from 24 victories to 54 victories, giving him the award for the second time.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Tyrus Thomas, Chicago Bulls. Once he stops earning frequent visitor awards in the Scott Skiles doghouse, Thomas will grow into the consistent scoring threat the Bulls need in the low post. He is too talented to struggle much longer.

[T Park]

1. San Antonio Spurs: They will start the season as the defending champions. And they likely will end the season in the same position, cementing their place as one of the best in league history.

Reading stuff like this at times, still doesn't feel real.

For all of us that grew up with the Spurs as just a "good team" to , if they win this year, considered one of the best in basketball history, is just, surreal.