San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Popovich says he’s safer in Florida
Gregg Popovich fondly remembers his freshman year at the United States Air Force Academy, even though as a firstyear cadet he was extremely limited in where he could go and what activities were allowed. Lockdown at Walt Disney World, he said, reminded him of those days.
“But two days, anybody can do that,” the Spurs coach said Saturday.
He made it through that freshman year, made it through the two days of inroom Disney quarantine as well, and now the longesttenured and oldest active NBA coach is free to roam within the league’s bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. But he did have reservations about the NBA restart, given issues of racial strife, social inequality and the coronavirus pandemic.
“If you’re a thinking person, you’re going to look at all sides of a situation,” Popovich said. “And, especially being 71 years old, I thought, ‘Is this where I want to spend a lot of my time, doing this, under these circumstances?’ ”
The answer was yes, and Popovich was running his first practice in more than four months Saturday as the Spurs began getting ready for a playoff push. When the season resumes July 30, San Antonio will be 12th in the Western Conference — only a halfgame from ninth, where the Spurs would have to be and within four games of the No. 8 spot to force their way into a playin series.
“It’s not just being a loyal soldier of the NBA, I’ve done my share of criticizing here and there when I thought it was necessary — I don’t know where else you would be as safe as we are right now,” Popovich said.
No slogan for LeBron: LeBron James says his thoughts on social justice can’t be contained on the back of a basketball jersey.
The Lakers superstar won’t wear one of the NBAapproved social justice messages on the back of his jersey when the NBA resumes competition.
“It was no disrespect to the list that was handed down to all the players,” James said in a conference call from Florida. “It’s just something that didn’t seriously resonate with my mission, with my goal.”
As part of the NBA’s recognition of the nationwide invigoration of the social justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, NBA players may choose from a lengthy list of possible messages for their jerseys during the league’s restart.
Harden, Westbrook away: Houston stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook did not travel with the team to Orlando and did not participate in the first practice. Coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t provide a reason for their absence but said he expects both players to join the team in Florida soon.
Baertschi of Vancouver are opting out of the season resumption. Friday, Calgary defenseman Travis Hamonic opted out, the first player to do so, over concerns for his family’s health.
Motor sports: Scott Dixon raced to his third straight IndyCar victory in the opener of a weekend doubleheader at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Dixon took the lead shortly after a caution flag and beat Will Power by 2.5386 seconds. World champion Lewis Hamilton kept his composure on a drenched track to take the pole for the Styrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, Austria.
Basketball: Duke hired Boston Celtics assistant coach and former WNBA AllStar Kara Lawson to be its women’s coach.
Horse racing: Art Collector took a big step toward the Kentucky Derby, pulling away from filly Swiss Skydiver in the Blue Grass at Keeneland for his first graded stakes victory.