One-on-One with Pop
http://http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_20159.shtml
By Bill Ingram
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jan 2, 2007, 09:30
Year after year the San Antonio
Spurs are among the top teams in the league and always seem to be title contenders. The reason why? Gregg Popovich has a defensive system that's hard to beat and three All-Stars who have blossomed under his leadership. Pop talks about the improved play of
Tony Parker, reducing
Tim Duncan's minutes, and the "productivity, creativity, and spontaneity" of
Manu Ginobili in this Basketball News Services exclusive!
Coach, Avery Johnson stays on top of the Ft. Worth Flyers to make sure they're running a similar system so that his players can easily go to the minors and back with as little adjustment period as possible. How much attention do you pay to the Austin Toros and the system they run?
"I don't care. It doesn't matter. Players are players and what a guy does defensively concerns me more than what a guy does offensively. We want to see if he can blend in and learn how to play individual and team defense. No matter what system anybody's using those two situations exist and you can evaluate. So it doesn't matter what the system is unless somebody's playing 48 minutes of zone (laughing) - but that's not happening."
Tony Parker looks like he has really improved this season. Is he just finally getting the entire system under his belt?
"He definitely is and it's got everything to do with what point guards do. He's the leader, and by that I don't mean he's waving a towel and yelling and screaming, being a cheerleader. Some people think that's being a leader. It's about him having a pace on the court and understanding game and time, score, what players are on the court, where the mismatches are, when we need to play faster, when we need to play slower - all those sorts of things. His pace and his understanding of what's going on is the best it's ever been."
You're using Duncan less this season and he has been very efficient in that role. Do you sense that his reduced playing time is keeping him fresher?
"He's doing a great job. He's playing the same kind of MVP basketball he did before last season. He didn't have as good a year last year for all of the obvious reasons with his health, but he turned it on in the playoffs, really sucked it up. This season he came in early to get in shape and it's really worked well for him. He's been very, very steady for us throughout the year."
Manu Ginobili seems to about 5% beyond the limits of his body night in and night out. At some point do you, as the coach, pull him aside and talk to him about reigning himself in so that he's healthy more?
"No, I don't think that will happen. If I was a mad scientist and I could figure that all out and he still played with the same productivity, creativity, and spontaneity I'd do it. But I think that if that did happen those three items I just mentioned would be gone. Part of his brilliance is in that 5% outside himself that you mentioned - seeing what he's going to do and those are the things that often times win basketball games for us. I think if I reign him in, put too many restrictions on him, then I'm going to lose more than I would gain by being Mr. Coach."
What do you think of the amazing success Avery Johnson has had in Dallas so early in his coaching career?
"Well, you can already guess. I'm thrilled for him. It's absolutely no surprise because while he was here he helped me coach. I knew he had a proclivity for it. He has a passion for it, he has the work ethic to go with it, he has the strength to make the demands that need to be made, he's more interested in respect than he is love, he's more interested in the team than he is individuals - with all those qualities he's going to be super-successful and have a great career in the NBA."
David Stern is talking about the possibility of a European Division in the NBA. Are you concerned that some of the top international players in the league might want to go play for their home countries if they have NBA teams?
"I don't know what the players think, but if there's a team in Portofino I'm there."
The San Antonio
Spurs are having another brilliant season, and the annual considerations for MVP (
Tim Duncan) and Coach of the Year (Popovich) will most certainly follow. It's too bad that consistent excellence in a small market seems to fly under the radar, because the
Spurs are clearly among the NBA's top dynasties of all time. It starts with the coach, and thanks to Pop the dynasty will continue for years to come.
