Coach Pop gonna Coach Pop.
Following the San Antonio Spurs’ loss to the Chicago Bulls, their first road L of the season, Gregg Popovich disparaged his team’s effort, per ESPN.com’s Michael C. Wright:
Asked whether it was his job to make sure the Spurs were ready to play, Popovich said, “I don’t remember playing tonight. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think a plumber needs a pep talk. A doctor botches operations, and he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.”
Popovich isn’t wrong. And knowing how he coaches, how impassioned he is during games, how he invests, emotionally, in his players during non-basketball times, it’s hard to believe that their seeming lack of motivation would fall on him.
Indeed, the Spurs only lost by four points. But the game wasn’t even that close. They played lethargic and disinterested, taking crappy shots, holding the ball for too long and allowing the shot clock to wind down. It wasn’t a pretty sight to behold by either team.
But the Spurs are now 18-5, with one of the three best records in the NBA. Their overall resilience on the road is admirable, and their two biggest problems are issues that don’t seem like they’ll linger for long: their performance at home and general defense.
Personally, with the Spurs slated to host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, I’d expect them to come out with a much different, more Pop-approved demeanor. After all, they won’t want to piss off the big guy again.
