San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich gave us more jokes, praised his players, and talked about the enjoyment he feels from coaching following last night’s 115-106 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
(via Bally Sports Southwest):
Popovich makes opening remarks after Monday’s win vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves:
“All I gotta say is we’re not gonna show up on Wednesday. We’re not coming. You know when you take your chips off the table in Vegas, we’re not coming.”
On being happy with the players’ effort/growth:
“You gotta be happy for them. They play hard. They’re enjoying playing with each other. They’re learning how to play the game. Several guys are getting more and more confident in their game. If they play like that, they’ve shown that they can win basketball games. So they’re humble, yet confident. They come to play. They come to win. Obviously, you’re not going to win every one. But they play like they’re gonna win, and that’s all you can ask. You can go to sleep at night when you got a group that does that.”
Gets asked if San Antonio’s 3-1 start has surprised him:
“Just like any other year. Even when we were competing for championships, we didn’t think about winning or losing. We just played. And whatever happens, happens. We think about trying to get better individually and as a group. We don’t say, ‘Hey. If we do this. We’ll get this many wins. And we’ll do this.’ That’s never been part of the equation.”
Says he’s having fun and talks about coaching during the post Duncan-Ginobili-Parker era:
“I’m loving it. You go out and you watch these guys, and you feel more responsible to make sure that you’re teaching and creating an environment where they can improve, individually and as a group. Where past years that was sort of autopilot with Timmy and Manu and Tony, and the group around them. They knew what to do in most situations. Here, our coaching staff feels a little more needed. That group didn’t need us too much. But this group is fun to teach.”
