Pop brings the nasty in his return to practice
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was back at practice Wednesday, whistle around his neck, same as it has been for much of the past 27 years.
Players were glad to have their leader back in the building.
For the most part.
“He was on us a lot today,” big man Zach Collins said. “We felt him back in the gym again.”
Having missed the Spurs’ previous two games after undergoing what team officials termed a “minor medical procedure,” the 73-year-old Popovich returned to work with something clearly stuck in his craw.
His players did not blame him.
“The way we’ve been playing?” Collins said. “You know he was at home getting that fire all built up.”
Eleven straight losses will do that to a coach. With assistant Brett Brown at the helm, the Spurs dropped games
against New Orleans and Phoenix by a combined 56 points.
The twin shellackings extended the longest skid of the
Popovich era and the secondlongest in Spurs history.
The only longer streak came in 1988-89, when the Spurs lost 13 in a row en route to a 21-win campaign.
Even in a rebuilding season in which the Spurs expected to take lumps on top of their lumps, it has been a lot to endure.
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us,” forward Keldon
Johnson said. “Nobody is going to hold our hand and baby us. This is the NBA, and we got to go out there and compete to win.”
The Spurs' ongoing slide has sent them tumbling to last place in the West at 6-18.
Looming a game ahead of them in the standings are the 7-17 Houston Rockets, who visit the AT&T Center on Thursday.
On paper, it's the Spurs' best chance yet to stop their skid.
Even in a season in which each defeat draws them closer to a much-coveted high draft pick, the Spurs would prefer to win every now and then.
“Every night we come in with that energy, that juice,” Collins said. “We've just had a rough go of it.”
The Spurs realize no six-win team can afford to overlook anyone.
The young Rockets feature several players selected in the first round of the past two NBA drafts, including the No. 2 pick in 2021 (Jalen Green) and this year's third overall pick (Jabari Smith Jr.).
“They have got a lot of young talent, and they have beat some good teams,” said Spurs guard Josh Richardson, who is set to return from a six-game absence after a right ankle sprain. “It's the NBA … any team can win in any gym on any day.
“You just got to approach it like any other day and throw that first punch.”
The Spurs also are expecting to get Doug Mcdermott back from the injured list.
A pair of starters, center Jakob Poeltl and rookie power forward Jeremy Sochan, remain out.
Emblematic of their luck this season, the Spurs could be without leading scorer Devin Vassell, who tweaked a knee late in Sunday's loss to the Suns and is questionable
to face the Rockets.
The most notable veteran returning to action, however, might be Popovich.
He watched each of the Spurs' most recent defeats from home, pow-wowing with Brown on the phone immediately after.
“It's very different when you are sitting on a couch watching your team play,” Brown said. “It's a little bit weird. So for him to be able to share ideas and recall the game immediately after is very enjoyable.”
Apparently, Popovich's wheels were turning even when planted on his sofa.
He arrived at practice Wednesday intent on installing a new defensive coverage.
“It's like guys watching the NFL (on TV), watching Tom Brady like, ‘Oh he missed that throw, ' ” Richardson said. “From every different aspect, you always see different things.”
Richardson, for one, was not surprised to see Popovich return from his convalescence brimming with a mixture of fire and brimstone and ideas.
He once played for Erik Spoelstra in Miami and recognizes manic genius when he sees it.
“He don't quit, he don't stop,” Richardson said of Popovich. “It kind of reminds me of Spo. They are just basketball, basketball, basketball. It never stops.”
Richardson recognizes such an obsession isn't exactly a sign of sanity — but it is part of what has made Popovich the winningest coach in the history of the league.
“To be great, you've got to be a little insane,” Richardson said.
More than any schematic change, Popovich hoped to spark a shift in attitude with Wednesday's workout.
The session was heavy on scrimmaging, with officiating leaning toward the “no blood, no foul” end of the spectrum.
“It got chippy,” Collins said. “Guys got fired up a bit. We need a little of that.”
The Spurs enter Thursday's game last in the NBA in defensive rating (118.5), last in net rating (minus-11.6) and secondto-last in offensive rating (107.0).
During their 11-game streak, they have been outscored by an average of 11.8 points.
The Spurs are hoping Wednesday's intrasquad sparring session will return a bit of nastiness to a team gone soft over the past few weeks.
“Coaches were purposely making some questionable switch-up calls to get us extra pissed off,” Collins said. “It didn't help in the moment, but it will help overall.”
Back in the middle of the maelstrom was Popovich, as he has been for the past 27 years.
His players were mostly happy for it.
“He looked like Pop,” Richardson said.