Pop believes his Spurs didn’t believe
If San Antonio remembers anything from series, it might be their Game 2 scolding
OAKLAND, CALIF.— Every time Gregg Popovich steps to the podium, it’s impossible to predict what he’ll do. He might wax poetic for 15 minutes about the meaning of life, or discuss politics, or deliver the equivalent of a standup routine, or walk in, say a handful of words, and walk out.
So after San Antonio took a 136-100 beating Tuesday night at Oracle Arena in Game 2 of the Western Conference final against the Golden State Warriors, it was anyone’s guess how he would react. His Spurs had just fallen into a two-games-to-none deficit with Game 3 coming Saturday night.
When Popovich opened the news conference with a crack to a local reporter about the wines produced in his area, it seemed he might take the lighthearted route. But then he made clear what he thought about his team’s performance in the absence of superstar forward Kawhi Leonard, out with a sprained ankle.
“I’m disappointed,” Popovich said. “The only way I can process this is . . . it’s not about O’s and X’s or rebounds or turnovers or anything like that. I think we’ve maybe felt it too much, Kawhi being gone, in the sense that I don’t think . . . as I watched, I don’t think they believed.
“And you have to believe. I don’t think as a group they really did, which means probably a little bit feeling sorry for themselves psychologically, subconsciously, whatever psychobabble word you want to use. That’s the way I process it. I don’t think they started the game with a belief. And it showed in the lack of edge, intensity, grunts, all that sort of thing. That was disappointing.” He wasn’t done, either. “It looked pretty collective to me. I don’t think it was one guy who didn’t believe, and he infected everybody else or anything like that. I think as a group, they just let themselves down. So, you know, we talked about it during the game, halftime, after the game because I think the truth always sets you free.
“You can’t sugar-coat it (and say), ‘If we had just made a couple shots, we would have been right there.’ That’s pretty lame. So, call it like it is, and we didn’t come to play. We felt sorry for ourselves, we need to get slapped and come back and play Game 3 and see who we are. That’s what I’m anxious for.”
It was a harsh but accurate evaluation. The Spurs looked lifeless from the start, trailing by as many as 41 points as Golden State raced to its largest margin of victory in a playoff game in 69 years.
San Antonio advanced to the final after comfortably winning a Game 6 against the Houston Rockets on the road, and also without Leonard. So it’s not surprising Popovich pulled no punches after his team’s complete capitulation.
He singled out Jonathon Simmons, Leonard’s replacement in the starting lineup, for praise, saying he was the only player who came to play.
Everyone else? Well, they didn’t — and that included the team’s other star, big man LaMarcus Aldridge.
“LaMarcus has to score for us,” Popovich said. “He can’t be timid. He turned down shots in the first quarter. He can’t do it. You’ve got to score. Scoring has to come from someplace.
“I think he’s got a major responsibility in Game 3 to come out ask get something done.”
It’s unclear whether Leonard will be back for Game 3, much less the season, and Popovich said the Spurs might not know until Friday or Saturday. With or without Leonard, San Antonio doesn’t have a chance to make this series competitive if it thinks it has no chance.
“I just say it once,” he said of addressing his team after a loss such as Tuesday’s. “I just tell them what the deal is. They respond. They’ve got character.”