Spurs: Notebook: Popovich downplays milestone
Web Posted: 01/08/2008 11:49 PM CST
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
There will be no river parade when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich notches his 600th regular-season victory. Of this, he is certain.
There will be no big to-do at the AT&T Center. There might be a bottle of wine involved, but knowing Popovich, there probably would have been wine involved anyway.
Already at 599, Popovich knows that the landmark victory is coming. He's just not too keen on celebrating it.
"It only means I've had good players and I've done it for a while," said Popovich, who is 599-286 in 11-plus seasons with the Spurs. "That's all it means, honestly."
Popovich's former boss, Golden State coach Don Nelson, begs to differ.
Only 18 other NBA coaches have hit the 600-victory plateau. Nelson, with 1,252 victories in 28-plus seasons, is one of them.
"It took me 10 years longer to get 600 wins," Nelson said. "What's wrong with that guy?"
Nelson is exaggerating. He earned No. 600 in 1993-94 during his first tour with Golden State and his 13th season as a head coach.
Popovich missed a chance to make the milestone memorable Monday night when the Spurs dropped a 130-121 overtime decision to Nelson's Warriors. He will take his next shot Thursday night against Detroit at the AT&T Center.
If nothing else, the Spurs' latest loss saved Popovich some money. Had he hit 600 against Golden State, Nelson said he was going to make Popovich buy him dinner.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Popovich cracked.
Barry's return cloudy: When reserve guard Brent Barry first went down with a torn calf muscle, doctors projected him to miss between 10 and 14 days.
Today will be day 14, and Barry still doesn't know when he will be able to return. At issue is how long it will be before he is cleared to practice. Barry has been running and riding a stationary bike, but has not participated in any contact.
"I feel good, but I've got to practice," said Barry, who has missed seven games. "I can't just throw myself back in there."
Role reversal: Robert Horry's surprise insertion into the starting center spot five games ago came with a point.
Popovich wants to give Horry a chance to shake himself into rhythm, after the 17-year veteran played sparingly over the first two months of the season.
"We just wanted to give Rob an opportunity to get in shape and see what he could do," Popovich said. "You can't really do that playing in every other game."
Horry's promotion has had a trickle-down effect for the Spurs' big men, most notably affecting Francisco Elson, who has not played in the past three games.
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LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.29e4d10.html
Yeah, that's what most of us figured he was doing. Better to figure out how good Horry is now than to unwrap him in the playoffs and then figure out his tank is empty."We just wanted to give Rob an opportunity to get in shape and see what he could do," Popovich said. "You can't really do that playing in every other game."
Might as well keep starting Horry until the Rodeo Road Trip and then go back to actually trying to win games.
Ah, no wonder the Spurs lost.Had he hit 600 against Golden State, Nelson said he was going to make Popovich buy him dinner.
The Spurs better do a nut check... The time is now!
Time for what?
Win a regular season game or two?
The time is in April.
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