NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 14, 2005

Gregg Popovich

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: No, of course not. That's how they play. That's who they are.

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: No. I think that they did a great job of forcing turnovers tonight. They were physical as usual, but they were in passing lanes, picked up up the court. I thought some individual people on their team really picked up their games in that regard. And I think that overall, that was our demise, 23 points off turnovers, and for us on the road, when we lose a game, nine times out of ten, that's what the problem is for us. And value of the ball on the road is very important. It was a big priority for us before the game. But you just can't give up in the 20s points off turnovers. And it's a double-whammy at the same time, if you give up 20 points on the offensive boards. So I think they were very aggressive and very focused in that sense. They did a great job. You know, Ben was a man possessed going to the boards. I thought their perimeter guys did it. That was disappointing because I think overall they played -- they sustained it for more than 48 than we did. We both think the same way, both teams think the same way in that regard, and they won that mental battle tonight. It was a 63-63 game with less than a minute-and-a-half to go in the third quarter and we tried to given Tony Parker a rest for one minute and the dam burst from that point on. They got a few more turnovers, the crowd got into it, spread a little bit and we didn't get back in.

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Good play on their part; poor play on ours.

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: He was fantastic. He didn't let anybody block him out. He didn't care. He just kept going. He was going to go get the basketball. I thought defensively, he switched out on Manu and guys and stayed in front of them. He did a fantastic job that way. So he really set a tone, you know, for them. I thought Chauncey was very aggressive. He took turns between running the show and being aggressive himself offensively, so he had a great balance tonight in that regard. But they are forcing the turnovers and hitting the boards the way they did was the key to the game, and like I said, at that one-minute point from that point on, we didn't sustain it and they got to us in that point.

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: His knee had nothing to do with Detroit's win.

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I would guess so. I didn't even ask him. I mean, I'm sure it bothered him, but that's got nothing to do with the loss.

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: You're asking the questions of the ages. I mean, who knows? If given an opportunity, one would say, I'd like to have home-court. Let's just put it that way. But beyond that, make up whatever you want. I don't know what that means.

COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, it's not that simple. You can counter anything you want, but then there's, you know, other guys, you go back-door, you take care of the ball, you move the ball, you don't hold it. I thought for certain periods in the game, and the very beginning, we held it a bit. We didn't move it. When it did go to Timmy, we stood and watched and said, "Do something great, Timmy." And you can't beat the Pistons one guy at a time, it's got to be the team. So if the ball doesn't move, they are able to lock in, to use their bodies, to get in the passing lane, so it's more of a ball movement thing than it is a magic play.