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NBA FINALS: HEAT v SPURSJune 11, 2014Gregg PopovichMIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q.  Coach, what do you take away from the day in between Game 3 and 4 last year given the blowout in Game 3 and looking ahead to Game 4? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I don't think about last year at all at this point. I don't think about last year Game 3, Game 4 at all. This is a different animal, and I'm just concerned about the game tomorrow night. So that's the way I look at it. I don't go back in time. Just figure out what's going on now. What are we doing well? What are we doing poorly and how can you improve it? Q. Can you talk about what Marco's given you this series, and if you need more from him or are you satisfied with what he has been giving you? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Each game is different, different people will play based on what's going on in the game on that particular night. He hasn't gotten very many minutes in this series, so it's kind of tough for him to get a rhythm. But he'll be ready if we call on him for more minutes. He hit a really big shot last night when they cut it to 7. He came in and hit a three for us to take it back to 10. So he'll be ready. Q. There is always this knee‑jerk reaction after every game it seems like from the outside that this team's figured something out or that team's figured something out. Do coaches ever allow themselves to go there or do you wipe the slate clean one game to the next? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: No, you all need stories. You need things to write about and probably end up extrapolating quite a bit. But it's a much more simple game, and there is not too much to be changed after you've played an entire season. You're not going to whip up a new defense or change your offensive system or anything like that. It's more about doing things better, about executing better. It doesn't matter if you win or lose. We look at the film and see all kinds of things that we got beat on or didn't do well defensively or offensively. If you lose the game, you do the same thing. So it's a small margin both ways, but there are always things that we talk to players about as far as execution is concerned because that's what it's all about. For 48 minutes, who is going to execute better longer, and that's what we're all trying to get. Q. You've been around this core group for a while, and you say a lot of times, it's about the players. But I'm wondering, how do you think you have evolved as a coach over the past 15 years? And maybe what have you learned about yourself and the game during the process? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Oh, my, introspection this early in the day is tough but I'll hit you with a couple things. I think I've learned to shut up more, and that probably is due to Manu Ginobili. When he first came I was going to make him a heck of a player. And after 20 minutes I realized that he didn't need me to do that. He was already a heck of a player. Sometimes being quiet and letting the player play is much more important than trying to be Mr.Coach and teach him this or teach him that. So I think as time evolves and you get older in the business you figure out what's really important, and you don't waste time trying to make people what they're not going to be. I didn't make him a competitor, and there is no way I could make him a non‑competitor, so you've just got to figure out who people are and what they can give you and take advantage of their positives. A lot of people talk about they're going to draft this guy or that guy and in time he's going to really be something. It's usually with big guys. You look around and you say how many big guys, these 7‑foot guys have really gotten better five years later? You look at Akeem, and Akeem was Akeem when Akeem started to play in the league. He didn't become Akeem; he already was. So you learn that you can't make everything the way you think you might. You can't make somebody great, so you don't waste your time. You make a trade. You get rid of somebody. You make sure you're bringing people in who fit in all the areas you want. Competitiveness and team play, that kind of thing. So I'll just leave it at that. That's all I can handle this early. Q. As Kawhi gets bigger and has to deal with us a little bit more, he reminds me a lot of Timmy when he first came in the league, kind of a quiet guy. You handle us pretty well. Do you give him any advice on what to say and how to handle the media? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I think everybody has to be their own person when they deal with the media, and Kawhi has done a great job. He's a really respectful, polite young man, and he speaks less than Timmy ever did. So I think it's going to take a long time for him to get really comfortable, but I don't think you're ever going to get him to sit down and expound on a whole lot of things. He just wants to do his job. He wants to be a great player and go home. That's basically who he is. Q. When you look at Manu, Tim and Tony, do you view them as a big three like we do? What have you appreciated and enjoyed most about coaching these three as a group? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Oh, my. I guess the most enjoyable thing is that they're team‑oriented players. They've gotten over themselves is what we always talk about. It's absolutely not about any one of them, and they know that. Last night Timmy and Manu didn't do anything amazing, but they are thrilled for Danny and Kawhi for the few minutes Matt Bonner gave us, that sort of thing. If you have three people on your team that lead the way in that manner, it's to be enjoyed on a daily basis. So that's probably the first thing I've enjoyed about them. It makes my job so much easier. I don't think of them as a big three like you all do. We play a lot of guys, and depend on our bench a lot. There aren't that many games where all three of them play great on that individual night. That doesn't happen very often. Q. What pleased you most about what Diaw was able to give you from an offensive standpoint and on the other side of the court as well? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Just his overall play. He really is a good basketball player. On any given team there are only a small number of basketball players, people who really understand what's going on at both ends. So at the offensive end he's capable of scoring, but he also is a heck of a passer. He realizes where a mismatch might be, he understands spacial relationships, clock and score, all those sorts of things because he's an intelligent guy. At the other end he'll switch something or he'll come off to make a steal, he'll shift in a certain situation that's not part of the game plan because he sees it. So his basketball savvy, I think, raises everybody's play when he's on the court. Q. You guys have a well‑deserved reputation for developing players. I'm just curious for you, how much do you enjoy that teaching aspect of that, of taking young guys or guys who were somewhere else and bringing them along? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: It's one of the most enjoyable parts of the business, I think. You take somebody like Danny Green, who we've worked with for a long time and actually cut him twice. When you see somebody develop and come into his own, you feel like you did something worthwhile. So it's one of the sources of satisfaction in the business, if you can see a young player grow and become confident. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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