Greg Popovich needs an appreciation thread

[TMT]

He's pretty awesome when it comes down to it. I love the play style of the spurs. That seems to be an oddity though, so I imagine that we are all entitled to our opinions.

I agree, I wouldn't want any other coach on my team. He keeps his guys in check and commands a lot of respect.

[GOBB]

Not a fan of their offense but their execution and discipline? I'm a big fan of that. Same system basically for years and it works time and time again. When it doesn't work (resulting in buckets) the defense is excited at the other end to get you stops

[TMT]

Not a fan of their offense but their execution and discipline? I'm a big fan of that. Same system basically for years and it works time and time again. When it doesn't work (resulting in buckets) the defense is excited at the other end to get you stops

Out of curiosity, can you tell me what specifically of their offense is unappealing to you?

[GOBB]

Out of curiosity, can you tell me what specifically of their offense is unappealing to you?

Just pick n rolling you to death. And if the shots aren't fallin they are such a great defensive team that they stop you on offense. And the game can slow down and become a tug a war. There really isn't enough iso scoring, dominant interior scoring. But they execute what works for them.

[ralph_i_el]

If i needed a coach to win a championship, he's on the short list. The very short list

[FKAri]

Not a fan of their offense but their execution and discipline? I'm a big fan of that. Same system basically for years and it works time and time again. When it doesn't work (resulting in buckets) the defense is excited at the other end to get you stops

That's the thing. It's NOT the same system year after year and yet it STILL works again and again. THAT is Pop's miracle.

It is hard to compare coaches because it's tough to separate them from their players/rosters/systems. But when a coach has shown success in different players/rosters/systems it is the most valuable piece of evidence of good coaching.

You can't rank how good a coach is in a specific metric like you can rank who are the best scorers in the league. It is instead much easier and more effective to evaluate how many metrics he's great in.

You can evaluate Pop in terms of:
versatility;
adjustments in game;
adjustments between games of a series;
building a general game plan for your team;
managing players from a psychological perspective, etc;

Pop's shown to me at least that he's great at all these things. For this reason he is the best coach that I have seen in the NBA.

[ShaqAttack3234]

Pop is phenomenal. Phil is my personal favorite coach, but Pop is right up there.

The Spurs have always executed well offensively with their half court sets and in particular, been one of the all-time dominant defensive teams.

You have to admire the organization from signing/drafting players many didn't value as much(Parker, Ginobili, Bowen ect.) and of course being led by Pop and Tim, the modern day equivalent of Auerbach and Russell.

It's really impressive to me that they've reinvented themselves as Duncan has gotten older(though he's still very solid and effective) and become more of an offensive team. Much of the early twin towers Spurs teams weren't as talented, but due to that unique duo and how well they fit as well as having a defined system and dominant defense, they contended right away. Some others probably would've traded Robinson to make way for Duncan.

Then you had the '03 team that succeeded with Duncan's dominance and different role players stepping up, but the system and their defense remained. As well as during the last 2 titles when they were the big 3, and Pop has also done a great job of managing his player's minutes.

One thing that's overlooked about those '05 and '07 teams, which were the 2 most talented Spurs title teams, is that teams like Phoenix and Dallas were winning more regular season games, but the Spurs were leading the league in margin of victory, which has a lot to do with Pop not worrying about regular season record, and them being better than their record suggests.

In '07, the Mavs went 67-15 and the Suns went 61-21, while the Spurs went 58-24. Yet the Spurs outscored opponents by 8.4 ppg, while the Suns and Mavs were at 7.3 and 7.2, respectively.

A big thing with the Spurs has always been them having a specific system and demanding their players buy into it. Much like the 90's Bulls and Phil's Lakers, or those Larry Brown Piston teams in '04 and '05.

And if you remember, there were times when San Antonio would beat Phoenix at their own game with Parker and Ginobili thriving in an up-tempo game.

[GOBB]

That's the thing. It's NOT the same system year after year and yet it STILL works again and again. THAT is Pop's miracle.

Looks basically the same to me.

[TMT]

Looks basically the same to me.

That's obvious for someone who doesn't watch every Spurs game. But clearly the system is less Duncan orientated and now a more free flowing guard run offense.

[Rake2204]

Pretty crazy to watch Popovich's ascension over the years. I remember when he first took things over 15 years ago, and I was not pumped at the time. I didn't really know what the hell I was talking about, because I was only in 6th grade, but I was a fan of Bob Hill and I was not happy to see him fired and replaced by a nobody with a funny name. I thought Hill got the short end of the stick, as I'm pretty sure his squad was only losing because it was the year David Robinson and like, seven of his teammates went down with serious injuries. If nothing else, I thought the Spurs would hire a big name, not allow someone from the front office to moonlight indefinitely.

So, anyway, he definitely proved me wrong.

[Gundress]

Hes boring as sh1t, though its fun when he gets all mad at his players and sits ALL the starters for the ENTIRE 4th qtr, even with the game within reach. I remember him doing that a couple of times, hilarious .

Mike Brown took notes

WOW.....then you're not a true basketball fan.

[GOBB]

Pretty crazy to watch Popovich's ascension over the years. I remember when he first took things over 15 years ago, and I was not pumped at the time. I didn't really know what the hell I was talking about, because I was only in 6th grade, but I was a fan of Bob Hill and I was not happy to see him fired and replaced by a nobody with a funny name. I thought Hill got the short end of the stick, as I'm pretty sure his squad was only losing because it was the year David Robinson and like, seven of his teammates went down with serious injuries. If nothing else, I thought the Spurs would hire a big name, not allow someone from the front office to moonlight indefinitely.

So, anyway, he definitely proved me wrong.

Everyone had a right to be leary on him as a coach. Not like he took a group of castoffs into glory. Over time he proved himself.

[GOBB]

That's obvious for someone who doesn't watch every Spurs game.

As if that wasnt obvious. Guess you needed to type it down to make it seem so.

[TMT]

As if that wasnt obvious. Guess you needed to type it down to make it seem so.

In that case initially typing that a team's offense whom you do not watch has been the same for the last decade is an irrelevant statement.

[GOBB]

In that case initially typing that a team's offense whom you do not watch has been the same for the last decade is an irrelevant statement.

I said the last decade? Interesting. Thought I was asked why I wasnt a fan of the Spurs playing style. I answered then get the "You obviously never watched every Spurs game.". remark. So much for your curiosity. Pop is a great coach, he even has the fans executing DEFENSE.