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NBA FINALS: SPURS v HEATJune 13, 2013Gregg PopovichSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Four Q.  Pop, a couple of questions. The first one just the same question you've heard me ask dozens of times: Same starters tonight? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Yes. Q. The second one is a non‑basketball question: Do you have any thoughts about some of the vitriol that's been directed at Sebastian de la Cruz, the fellow who sang the National Anthem? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, I would like to say that I would be shocked or surprised by the comments. But given the fact that there's still a significant element of bigotry and racism in our nation, I'm not surprised. It still plagues us, obviously. And what I was surprised by was how proud these idiots were of their ignorance, by printing their names next to their comments. Q. Sebastian de la Cruz might be listening. What would you like to tell him? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: He's a class act. Way more mature than most his age. And as much as those comments by the idiots saddens you about your country, he makes you feel that the future could be very bright. Q. When you have a guy in kind of a zone like Danny Green is in right now, do you change your offense, run anything more for him or everything stays the same and he has to find his way? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I wish I could believe you that he's still in that zone. We won't know that until the game starts. Staying in that zone I think is kind of difficult. The last game there were three of them, Miller and Neal and Green. All three of them were shooting from distance, and I don't think they even touched the rim, any of them. That's pretty rare. So I'm not expecting that. But it won't make us take plays away from Timmy or Tony or Manu and give them to Danny. We play a certain way, and we'll try to do the same things. If it falls his way, then it will fall his way. But it won't be because we called his number. Q. Coach, you guys had a lot of defensive improvement this year from last year. What's the biggest difference on that end of the floor for you guys? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, I think more than anything it was a commitment. We thought that's what was missing against Oklahoma City last year, that we couldn't make stops when we needed to. We would call them stops on demand. In fourth quarters and big games you have to be able to do it. We weren't able to do it. So training camp was a time where everybody committed to it and understood that we weren't going to do anything special unless that improved. And we needed to go from the middle of the pack to being one of the top three or four in the league in that area. So it was mostly a team defensive commitment and a commitment to being a good transition defensive team. Q. Were there any schematic changes in the half court at all? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I think it was just more emphasis on our part to do what we've done for a long time and we got away from it. Just commitment‑wise, I think, more than anything. We didn't come up with any new schemes or anything like that. It's basketball, there aren't that many new things you can do. You just have to do things better and execute better than your opponent. Q. Coach, you guys haven't been a big offensive rebounding team normally. Did you see something in the prep for this series that you thought you could hurt them on the offensive glass? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, you know, we've tried to emphasize it a little bit. But as you said, we're not very good at it historically. Usually we're near the bottom, very honestly, and statistically in that category. We thought that in this series it was important for us to do a better job. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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