Gregg Popovich

Mike D'Antoni has done a great job in Phoenix this year. No coach that hasn't been on the bench all year long should be coach of the year. If Seattle had not faded a bit toward the end of the year, he would be a major candidate as well. Avery Johnson will be a coach of the year candidate really soon. I wish him well in Dallas.

Glenn Robinson is a guy that has been a consistent performer over his career. While some teams are picking up fringe players from other leagues, we pick up a former all star and career 20 point per game scorer. If he has anything left in his tank, he will be ok for us. He is not in basketball shape, if he can get into some sembalance of basketball shape by the playoffs we will have another scorer for us off our bench. With the uncertainity of Devin Brown, we needed another scorer.

All I have to do is stick Bruce Bowen on Vince Carter and he will find some way to lose the game for his team. The same thing applies when you stick Ron Artest on him. These two by far are the two best perimeter defenders in the NBA today.

Popovich Pops Pacers' Bubble LAST UPDATE: 4/27/2004 3:27:12 AM Posted By: Kori Ellis By Kori Ellis SpursZONE.com http://www.woai.com/spurs/story.aspx?conte...52-436C794643D0 Gregg Popovich had heard enough. Tired of the disrespect that Bruce Bowen got from the media and the respect that was created in a small room somewhere in Indiana, the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs fired back. ?Bruce guards the best player on the other team almost every single night,? said Popovich, when talking about how Bowen compares with the winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award, the Indiana Pacers? Ron Artest. ?Artest doesn't do that. Artest just looks the part. He looks like a big, tough guy. He whacks and gets knocked out of the game once in a while.? To understand the bitterness that Popovich feels on the subject, you have to understand the background. Although Bowen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team by the league?s coaches, Popovich thought it was an amateurish move by the Pacers? organization and specifically head coach Rick Carlisle to openly campaign for Artest as the Defensive Player of the Year. Carlisle admittedly called every eligible media member with a vote to bestow the virtues of his defensive ace. To add fuel to the fire, Popovich was further incensed that the Pacers? campaign included stats that were devised by two unnamed assistant coaches who apparently chronicled all of Artest?s 8,000 defensive possessions of the season. The resulting stats, which Carlisle cited to the members of the media that he contacted, showed that Artest allows only 9.4 shots and 8.1 points per game. ?What a bunch of baloney,? said Popovich. ?Totally unsubstantiated stats put out by Indiana. The media bought it and then the NBA printed those stats. I am amazed by that.? Popovich is probably the last coach in the league that would call around to chat with media members to try and win votes. To go along with his icy relationship with the media, Popovich just isn?t one to dwell on individual accolades. He?d rather his players? game do the talking. ?We'll never do that,? Popovich commented. ?It's not our style. It makes no sense. And we'll certainly not throw out stats that are totally unsubstantiated. There?s no way to substantiate them. It?s like grabbing four guys off the street and putting them in a film room and saying to come up with some stats on this guy. It?s just a joke and it really angered me when I saw that the NBA actually printed those stats when they announced the media's choice of Defensive Player of the Year as if they were real stats. There is no such stat.? This isn?t the first time that Rick Carlisle campaigned for awards to be given to the players that he coached. In his two year stint as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, his crusades landed two Defensive Player of the Year awards for Ben Wallace, a Sixth Man of the Year award for Corliss Williamson, an Executive of the Year award for Joe Dumars and a Coach of the Year honor for himself. This season, he called voters to lobby for Al Harrington as Sixth Man of the Year, Jermaine O?Neal as the league?s Most Valuable Player and Artest. ?As a perimeter defender, I rank Ron Artest up there with (Michael) Jordan and (Scottie) Pippen and Gary Payton,? said Carlisle. ?Kobe Bryant has been at that level and is one of the great perimeter defenders. I think (Artest) is among the very best to have played the game.? But when Popovich and his staff looked at some tapes, they witnessed some conflicting footage. ?We went through a film the other day when they played the Lakers,? said Popovich. ?He guarded Kobe Bryant for six minutes and Reggie Miller guarded him the rest of the time. That?s not the Defensive Player of the Year to me but people don't look at it that way.? Bowen, when asked, was mum on the topic. "I have no comment about that," Bowen told the Express-News. "I guess I have to just keep grinding it out." On the court, the Spurs and the Pacers both breezed past the first round in sweeping fashion. The Spurs disposed of the Grizzlies by an average of 14.0 points, while the Pacers trashed the Celtics by an average of 16.8 points per contest. If both teams keep dominating their conference on their way to the Admin O?Brien Trophy, it would make a rather interesting Finals. The subplots would be endless. From Jermaine O?Neal?s offseason flirtation with the Spurs, to assistant coach Mike Brown leaving San Antonio for Indiana. From the team that campaigns for individual awards, to the team that is trying to win back-to-back championships. The headlines, however, are already being printed somewhere in David Stern?s laboratory in preparation for this series -- thanks to Popovich and his thoughts on Artest. ?(Artest) just looks tough. Bruce has those skinny, little legs and he just looks like a little kid out there running around. But the coaches know. ?The best thing about it is I didn't have to make up any bogus stats about him.? For the time being, Popovich can find comfort in an All-NBA Defensive First Team award and a lower phone bill.