Spurs won five times though strong Western conference, which is more than getting in the finals for 4 times or 5 times or whatever times.
Pops gives you a system that allows for sustained excellence. If a team keeps on winning or remaining in contention for 10-15 years straight, there is absolutely no question it's the coaching, and it's a great thing for the fans. The system made all the players look better, the system developed above average players and made them play the right way and turned them into even better players. Lebron and other big three stars wherever they may end up give you a few years of greatness maybe, and potentially several dark ages after that when one or more of the big 3 gets old, or the stars bicker, etc. I would go for sustained excellence anytime
There is no denying what the Spurs have been able to achieve, their track record says it all! Yes the Eastern conference is weaker, but in the past for years the Heat lead by Lebron have beaten the best team coming out of the West twice, and they are 1-1 against the mighty Spurs in the Finals. ....... ....... .......
I wonder how much of that sustained excellence came from having the Big Fundamental,Parker and Ginobili? Regardless Pops IS a great coach! (P.S) The same applies for Phil Jackson! ....... ....... .......
Heats that are 1-1 against Spurs in the finals had a question mark, we all know the case in last year if Pop did not make a mistake by taking Duncan out, this year it is not even matched. The rockets could beat Heats if we have Pop as the head coach. All for all, Pop will make a huge difference in any NBA team.
if you had put Parker and Ginobili when they were rookies to develop under coaches like Mike Woodson, Mike Brown, Kevin Mchale, Brian Shaw, Isaiah Thomas, and I can almost be sure that their careers would not have the same luster they have now. Popovich made them into the players they are now.
Yes Pop WOULD make a huge difference in any NBA Team! I am not anti Pop, so let's get beyond that. As far as the outcome of last years Spurs/Heat series, C'mon breh, neither you or I have any proof of what would of happened so don't go there. What we do know for CERTAIN is who won the series! I do believe we would be a better team with Pop as our coach, but once again we both don't know who would win between the Rockets and Heat, that's why you play the games, or else what's the point in watching the game? My question was how much of the sustained excellence comes from having those three players. Are you saying Duncan,Parker,Ginobili have had no input on the success of the Spurs? You can substitute those three with any other three and Pop magically does the rest? There is a reason why they have kept those three and have different supporting casts, those players are not the hood/fender/door they are the engine of the that team! You can be the greatest coach, but if you don't have the talent you are not going to win many games, let alone any championships! Let's not put the buggy in front of the horses! I'll say it again, Pop is a GREAT COACH with A GREAT FRONT THREE, four now with Kawhi... QUESTION: Why do you think all of the Superstars want to play together? Why aren't they going after that GREAT coach with the sorry team? ....... ....... .......
Don't underestimate Pop's influence as a GM. Part of the Spurs' success is based on the fact that they being in the right guys. They don't necessarily rehab problem guys like Phil Jackson, Larry Bird, and to a lesser extent Past Riley have a reputation for. That's why I picked LeBron given the choice. But I might be in a bad place right now. I'm not sure Harden and Howard can be "fixed" anymore than Steve Francis could be fixed by Jeff Van Gundy. (Who, remember, was brought in in large part to correct the mishandling of Francis by Rudy T, a McHale like coach, but instead ended up trading him away for TMac)
Lex seems to clash with coaches that are more "militant". He didn't like how Van gundy was so grumpy at pressers and also was peeved when the fuhrer did not purchase a house here.(a silly side note by Feigen at the time) But yeah, give pop every day. we can't have players doing what they want, undisciplined and not following orders. that's an ambush waiting to happen. Free pop!
May I remind you that Duncan is 38, Manu 36, and Parker 32? Kawhi was a #15 pic, Diaw and Danny Green was a nobody before coming to the Spurs. So you can keep telling me how Spurs always had THE Players to bring them to championship. I'd take Pop over Lebron anyday. 10+ years of contention > 1-3 years of contention.
Congrats, you have the single dumbest post in a dumb thread. What did Popovich do the year before Duncan? His team was an awful tankng bottom dweller How did Phil Jackson do with the 94 and 95 Bulls - how would he have done with the 99 Bulls? What happened to Jerry Sloan when the Bulls lost Malone/Stockton, and again when they lost Boozer? How did Bill Fitch do with the Nets and Clippers as opposed to the Celtics and rockets? How good was Spoelstra prior to 2010? Contrast that with LeBron - you surround him with lousy players and you could still make the Finals like he did with Cleveland. Give lousy players to Pop or Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan or Rick Adelman or any coach with a "system" , and you will be in the lottery. it's a players league - this is not Hickory High. Give it up.
The Spurs came close to losing to the Mavs in the first round and looked like they were pushed to the edge by the no offense all iso Thunder as well. At the end of the day, it's a players' league as many have said. Give me LeBron to pair up with Howard and Harden. The defense and fastbreak opportunities alone would put Houston in the WCF at least. You bring in Pop, we'll be lucky if Harden isn't relegated to the bench for all his iso-tendencies and laziness on defense. Although I bet guys like Covington and Daniels would jump for joy if Pop came.
Players win titles. And we'd have to get rid of Morey to bring in Popovich. Also, I'm 99.9% confident if given this question Popovich himself would answer, Lebron. Talented teams win. Red Auerbach was sooooo great. Then the Celtics basically won a title with no head coach. Literally no traditional head coach on staff.
I'm liking this debate. Count me on the Labron side. Pop is a great coach, but systems don't work without the right parts. The Spurs are loaded with good parts. People seem to think that all their role players are just average joes that look great because of the system. I think they overlook just how good some of these role players are. Give the Rockets four guys that shoot 40% from the arc and see how much better our R&R offense looks even with McHale at the helm. Coaching and system absolutely play a part, but it's not as big as some of you folks seem to think. Give me the best player on the planet.
Not really - 2-5 are a toss up, though Duncan, given that he's a big man, probably gets the edge from most. Wade has been outrageously inconsistent in the playoffs for 3 years. He still has stretches where he dials up the wayback machine, but he has been brutally bad for certain stretches as well (namely a number of playoff losses)
The year before Duncan was drafted was Pop's first year as head coach. And everything else you essentially said does not counter anything else I said. You essentially said "Look other people are different! So Pop is like them!" Pop is pretty much taking a lot of nobodies and making them play like stars while their big 3 are getting older every year but still managing them so well that they can give their all. Unless you are willing to say a 38 Duncan, 36 Manu, and 32 Parker trio is better than a 29 Lebron James, and a 30 year old Bosh. If this was easily a players league then Spurs should have been bottom dwellers because in their roster Duncan is the only top 10 pick.
Don't forget about the bench! Miami bench is far inferior than the Spurs bench also Wade seems to be breaking down by the minute! ....... ....... .......
Wait, how many years have Lebron's teams been in contention? Let's not forget he made it to the finals in 2007 and his run is going to last a lot longer than this year.
