A Window into Training Camp

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This morning Henry Abbott posted a small portion of a 2007 video about Gregg Popovich and the Spurs which is a favorite of mine. The particular segment he posted highlights Pop’s surprisingly lighthearted manner. But the entire video paints a much fuller portrait, and focuses in on the unique intimacy he shares with Duncan.

As much of the footage comes from training camp, it also provides an interesting look into what the guys have been up to this past week. Oddly enough, I actually thought of posting this a few days ago but decided not to for no particular reason. Now that Henry has, I can’t resist. Enjoy.

  • adam

    No words. That is why he is the best coach in the league.

  • http://www.goodtimescomic.blogspot.com Jordan

    More and more I find myself thankful for such an amazing team and coach.

  • http://myspurslink.blogspot.com Robby

    I agree, and in my opinion he is a better coach than Phil right now…

  • ThatBigGuy

    Does ANY team in the league have this kind of family-like atmosphere? I highly doubt it.

    I’m proud to be a Spurs fan.

  • Adonis

    All I have to say is “I love my Spurs”

  • zain

    best coach ever… Phil is dirt compared to him. Without kobe he would have been crap

  • buns

    @zain: I don’t want to minimize Pop’s role (specially when I find myself repeating he’s the real learder of this team before the TDs and TPs) but if Phil Jackson “would have been crap” without Kobe (and Jordan and O’Neal you should have added), I’m not sure Popovich would have had such a success without Robinson or Duncan.
    Or maybe you just want to irrate any Lakers fan reading this blog 😉

  • Jones

    Phil and Pop are different types of coaches, perhaps even opposite in some ways. But its crazy to say Phil is a bad coach. I think Pop’s strength is through his leadership, honesty, and creating a family like atmosphere among the players and coaches. With that comes incredible trust. It doesn’t hurt that he emphasizes defense and fundamentals, and has a superstar who has bought into the system. I think Phil (or perhaps Phil and his staff) are better at adapting whereas Pop is better at preparing. I’d say Pop can be stubborn to a fault at times and doesn’t react quick enough to change things, such as waiting till what?…game 4 of the playoffs to give Hill minutes.

    No coach is great at everything but Pop is great at the important things.

  • BB

    I know what you mean by Pop’s superior preparation - he’s got a hand in building the roster, after all, and the Spurs’ defense is built on drilling as much as talent. In the past two years, there’s no doubt that Pop looks like a bad ‘game coach,’ or at least not a great one. I can’t think of any other team that’s lost so many playoff games in the opening minutes of the second half. Phil Jackson, on the other hand, seems to know exactly when his second unit is ready to squeeze the life out of a closely-trailing squad.

    But if you look back a little further, Pop was the dude that put guys like Brent Barry in charge when his starters looked burnt out. It worked. He relied on veterans, sure, but he always knew when to give them the run of the team - for a coach who seems to feel most comfortable when the offense is operating under fairly strict guidelines, you have to appreciate his willingness to turn over control to, say, a three-shooting point. And it’s almost a joke now, but one of my favorite aspects of Spurs fandom is trying to analyze Pop’s reasoning for putting out a totally novel starting five for each playoff game.

    I mean, we’ve got a great team, but even great teams slack for a season now and then. Not so, the Spurs, injuries and all. I think our coach certainly deserves a share of the credit for that.

  • Marcos

    Another prove of his “family” approach was when he himself picked up Manu and his wife at the airport, when Manu arrived injured from the Olympics and lots of people where talking trade and stuff like that.