thats utter stupidity. This shouldn't be a question, Rudy was great but Pop might be the best manager when it comes to players in all of sports.
I'd qualify that by saying Pops may be on the Mt Rushmore, but (just in the NBA) one cannot rate any of Red/Zen/Pop clearly better than any of the other two. Actually, I think Pop may be 3rd on that list. Those guys manage(d) the personnel best. Riles is not in that tier.
Point of Order . . 1 lost a hall of fame center the other lost one and replaced it with the greatest PF of all time. One had the ability to hand pick his players cause he was basically coach and GM the other had influence and maybe input but ultimate did not have that authority Rudy play to the rules and percentages . . and master motivator Pop is an X's and O's guys . . and motivator different philosophies. . .. X's and O's is all POP but Coaching is more than X's and O's So they are closer than most would give Rudy credit for . . . Rocket River
Sorry, but they really aren't comparable. The genius of Pops in terms of his current offensive system is it goes FAR beyond just "finding" the open man. The design of his "off the ball" player movement is by far light years ahead of anyone else in the NBA. The players not only pass with precision (partially due to savvy and experience), but more importantly they move off the ball and screen with unbelievable precision. The sort of off the ball movement and serial screening that you see on the floor isn't something you just learn, it's something that is practiced over, and over, and over again. Even their passing is drilled over and over into their heads. In a post-game interview when asked about passing, Parker said that Pops runs drills over and over involving 1-2 dribbles pass/hand-offs, that end in 10+ passes. In other words, they don't pass 6-7 times by accident, they pass 6-7 times because they are drilled to look for deep passing opportunities. IE, not just looking for the "open man", but for the man who has the opportunity to pass to the guy that can pass to the guy that can find the open man. And Pops goes FAR beyond being a "read and react" coach. Often it seems like the Spurs are just "read and reacting", however if you watch Pops closely he Often calls plays from the sidelines. It's easy to miss, as Pops uses hand signals to tell his players what he wants to see. He doesn't just call plays out of time outs, he calls play while the game is in progress from the opposite end of the court. And unlike some coaches, we're not talking a handful of plays, we're talking HUNDREDS of plays. Pops actually has stacks of index cards he uses to track the plays he has at his disposal. At any given time he'll have dozens stuffed in his pockets.. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/3158/friday-bullets-42 Not sure it's true that he has hundreds of plays? How about take the words of Shane Battier... http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/10/4170579/miami-heats-shane-battier-skilled.html The Spurs offense and defense are NOT accidents. His players don't improve by accident either. Rudy T was a pioneer and the NBA is indebted to him for many things. Pops however has evolved beyond Rudy T as he's taken the lessons of many, many other great coaches as well.
Agreed with those who say that Rudy was a very good coach, but poor in talent evaluation. If Rudy didn't get fired and was able to work with Morey...
Pop's record with Duncan - .706, 4 championships Pop's record w/o Duncan - .266, 1 winning lotto ticket
I love Rudy T and will always be thankful for what he did but he is not as god as Pops. I would take Pops over the Zen master.
Pop's seasons without Duncan - 1. Pop's seasons with Duncan - 17 And that season without Duncan was not only his FIRST season as the Head Coach (1996-1997), but the team was injury riddled. David Robinson played only 6 games. Sean Elliot played only 39 games. Chuck Person missed the entire season. Vinny Del Negro missed 10 games. That's 4 out of his 5 starters injured or completely out. Their only healthy player was Avery Johnson. How many games do you think Popovich was going to win under those conditions? Context counts.
This reflects that the organization is in bad shape. For the past 20 years, the Rox organization is the worst among the Texas 3 teams.
Help me out here - are you trying to prove or disprove the notion (fact) that Pop is nothing without Duncan?
I don't disagree with the post, but would again point out at the end of the day it is similar to the Rockets, and offensive efficiency in the regular season and playoffs say both were great offensive teams. Plays or no plays - and again the Spurs offense often results in Parker beating people, which he does at ease - the offensive philosophy and efficiency is similar. What the Spurs do better is have a better playmaker in Parker (not the scorer Harden is but a better playmaker for sure) and a MEANINGFULLY better bench so there's no drop-off. Beyond that, Pops genius is his defense. They play as good team defense as you'll see.
Neither. Duncan and Pops is a symbiotic relationship. However, that's true of any good coach and good player that's successful. Is Pops less successful without a franchise player? Of course. However all coaches need talent to field a truly competitive team. How many coaches can get 17 productive seasons out of that franchise player? And how many coaches never field such a competitive team in spite of having a franchise player? And let's not forget that most of the Spurs players aren't "great" when they join the Spurs. People point to Parker and forget that Parker didn't have a jump shot was when he initially joined the Spurs. And they forget that Manu was the 57th pick so it wasn't obvious that he'd be good. Or that Green was picked up off the waiver wire. Or that Diaw was waived by the Cavs. Or that Kawhi Leonard was picked up as the 15th pick in a trade for George Hill. And so on and so on. Anyway, the point is that a 17 win season doesn't say anything without knowing who was on the roster or anything about the season in question.
If we're speaking objectively, Pop will go down in history as one of the greatest coaches ever. TBH Rudy T is not even close.
It never appeared that Rudy was an Xs and Os type of coach. He could exploit matchups well and motivate the crap out of players. A testament to his motivation skills was how he won a bronze at the World Championships with hastily assembled scrubs during the lockout year against other pro teams. His glow faded a lot during the Lakers years, and rightfully so. His style wasn't one that Kobe could respect.
