Popovich thrilled over Hammon’s success
How excited was Gregg Popovich at the prospect of Becky Hammon winning her second consecutive WNBA championship?
The NBA’S all-time winningest coach said he considered trying to get ejected from the Spurs’ preseason game with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday so he could watch the television broadcast of his former assistant coaching the Las Vegas Aces in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.
The Aces became the WNBA’S first repeat champions in 21 years by downing the New York Liberty 70-69 to win the series, 3-1. Hammon also guided the Aces to the title last season in her first year with Las Vegas after eight seasons as a pioneering assistant on Popovich’s staff.
“I thought about getting booted tonight because (the Aces game in New York) was exactly the same time (as the Spurs game), but I just thought this has to be my priority,” Popovich said after the Spurs’ 117-103 win.
“...Congrats, Becky. Yeah, baby. Good stuff.”
Popovich arrived at his post-game press conference saying he was in a hurry to get it over with because he wanted to go celebrate.
“It’s like Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, it’s Becky and the Aces,” he said. “Fantastic.”
Popovich was asked what makes Hammon special as a coach.
“She’s special because she’s Becky, the same reasons why I hired her,” he said of Hammon, who entered the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame this summer as a player in the same class as Popovich and former Spurs point guard Tony Parker.
“She’s a competitive, competitive coach. She understands the game. She’s great with relationships. She suffers no fools. She’s fun to be around. What else could you ask?” Popovich hired Hammon in 2014 as the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history. She took the job after retiring following a 16-season career as a point guard that included spending her last eight seasons with the San Antonio Silver Stars.
Spurs to waive Birch, set roster
The Spurs are planning to waive veteran forward Khem Birch, league sources say, a move that would set the roster ahead of next week’s season opener.
The cut was not unexpected.
Birch, 31, came to San Antonio as part of the trade that sent Jakob Poeltl back to Toronto last February. Birch did not appear in a game with the Spurs last season while battling a knee issue.
He made one appearance with the Spurs this preseason, logging 11 minutes with zero points, four rebounds and two assists in Monday’s loss to Houston.
With Birch’s departure set, the Spurs’ roster is reduced to 15 players on guaranteed NBA contracts, which meets the league roster maximum. The Spurs open the season Wednesday at home against Dallas.
The Spurs still have one two-way contract slot available, should they desire to use it. Center Charles Bediako is the only player remaining on the Spurs’ camp roster who is not on either an NBA or two-way contract.
The Spurs have until Monday to decide whether to waive Bediako or offer him the final two-way spot.
Wembanyama states lofty goal
Spurs star rookie Victor Wembanyama said he has only one goal this season: to help the Spurs inch closer to becoming a championship team again.
“For me, a successful season is a season where we get closer to the final goal — even by 1 percent — which is to win a title,” he said in French to French reporters after Wednesday’s game, per a translation by reporter Theo Quintard.
“I want to learn and make all the sacrifices to help the franchise and bring us closer,” Wembanyama added. “Personally, it’s the same: No statistical objective, but it’s certain that if I want to help my (team), it will involve good performances. I have no doubt about our ability to win right now.”
The Spurs finished 22-60 last season before winning the lottery to allow them to make Wembanyama the first pick in the draft.
Vassell continues torrid shooting
Devin Vassell spread the credit around when asked about his second straight torrid shooting performance.
The Spurs guard scored 25 points on 8 of 14 from the field and 5 of 10 from 3-point range in 25 minutes Wednesday night after going 6 of 9 and 6 of 7 on his way to 21 points in 23 minutes against Miami on Oct. 13.
“My teammates are finding me, like I say all the time,” Vassell said. “The coaches have a lot of trust in me, a lot of confidence in me. KJ (Keldon Johnson) found me a couple times, Vic (Wembanyama), Zach (Collins), Jeremy (Sochan), so it’s not just me. They’re just finding me and I just got to be ready to shoot.”
Well rested after sitting out Monday’s game against the Rockets, Vassell began the game on fire, sinking three shots in a row from beyond the arc to hand the Spurs a 9-0 lead. They led 14-0 before Houston scored its first points on a free throw.
“Once I start shooting those, it just opens up everyting and they got to come out to me,” Vassell said. “Everybody else is open.”
Popovich sees familiar script
A familiar complaint that was heard often from Popovich last season resurfaced after Wednesday’s game.
“I think mentally we’re not mature enough to understand that it’s a 48minute game,” he said.
Powered by Vassell, the Spurs jumped out to a 32-13 lead in the first quarter only to get outscored 31-28 in the second and 31-23 in the third before winning the fourth quarter by a 34-28 score. The Rockets sat out five rotation players.
“We got in front easy there in the first quarter and the start of the second quarter,” Popovich said. “Then we turned it over, stopped moving and stopped cutting. They’re young, and that’s where we have to be on top of them, so they realize that.”