Popovic is the best coach in the last 25 years.

thamadkant · Post #1 » by **thamadkant** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:21 am

Popovic has been the best coach in the NBA ever since he joined the league as a head coach.

People say its Duncan, I agree to an extent, but I think its really Popovic's brilliance in terms of only surrounding his team with smart players, its ran like a spec ops groups, everyone has their role, everyone plays to that role to a T.

Forget every other coaches, Popovic's brilliance is the reason Spurs have been the most successful team in all sports for a while now.

Substitute Duncan with a reliable double double guy who plays good interior defense and I think the team doesnt drop a beat, because Popovic will make it work.

Duncan is one of the best players of all time, but all the rings and best record in all sports for the last decade and a half, he has Popovic to thank for that... I'm serious.

Post #2 » by **Slava** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:37 am

I'd take Pat Riley any day over Pops and Phil Jackson.

goat:manu · Post #3 » by **goat:manu** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:43 am

spurs won 4 rings, and people gave too much credits for duncan. The key of spurs succes:
1. pop
2. manu (we saw it last game, and whenever spurs needs him to step up)
and the role players of spurs are so good at defense...

thamadkant · Post #4 » by **thamadkant** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:44 am

Pat Riley is more a of a player's motivator as well as a very good coach, but really what he is , he isnt the tactician and strategist Popovic is. But he is up there.

Phil Jackson is similar but... he isnt the motivator Riley is nor the tactician Popovic is, but again he is up there.

But in terms of finding the right piece to fit into his system and getting 110% out of him, Popovic is the man.

Kobay · Post #5 » by **Kobay** » Tue May 20, 2008 11:02 am

spurs success is all on organization for just making the best moves and hiring every year.

The Diesel · Post #6 » by **The Diesel** » Tue May 20, 2008 11:08 am

To me, it's a close call between Riley and Pop.

goat:manu · Post #7 » by **goat:manu** » Tue May 20, 2008 11:39 am

thamadkant wrote:Pat Riley is more a of a player's motivator as well as a very good coach, but really what he is , he isnt the tactician and strategist Popovic is. But he is up there.

Phil Jackson is similar but... he isnt the motivator Riley is nor the tactician Popovic is, but again he is up there.

But in terms of finding the right piece to fit into his system and getting 110% out of him, Popovic is the man.

you just made the best thread.

Zerostatic · Post #8 » by **Zerostatic** » Tue May 20, 2008 12:13 pm

goat:manu wrote:spurs won 4 rings, and people gave too much credits for duncan. The key of spurs succes:
1. pop
2. manu (we saw it last game, and whenever spurs needs him to step up)
and the role players of spurs are so good at defense...

Manu wasn't even on the Spurs when they won their first championship so I seriously doubt he's all that vital, especially not more so than Tim Duncan.

Post #9 » by **NO-KG-AI** » Tue May 20, 2008 12:36 pm

I'll take Pat Riley plz.

Lazy Faizy · Post #10 » by **Lazy Faizy** » Tue May 20, 2008 12:50 pm

NO-KG-AI wrote:I'll take Pat Riley plz.

mr.ankle · Post #11 » by **mr.ankle** » Tue May 20, 2008 1:53 pm

I find it this hard to be true . Jackson has outcoached him in the playoffs in their head to head matchup . Jackson 3 Popovich 1. And he Jackson has won more rings than him

NbdyBeatsTheWiz · Post #12 » by **NbdyBeatsTheWiz** » Tue May 20, 2008 1:58 pm

mr.ankle wrote:I find it this hard to be true . Jackson has outcoached him in the playoffs in their head to head matchup . Jackson 3 Popovich 1. And he Jackson has won more rings than him

I guess we're about to find out all over again because they're pretty evenly matched on the court. IMO Pop's the best we've had this century, but going back further than that is a tough call.

Sting3r · Post #13 » by **Sting3r** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:01 pm

people always criticize phil jackson for always having the best players to coach. I'd like to see Pop coach a Duncan-less team. His first season as a coach, he tanked...that looses some points with me.

The Diesel · Post #14 » by **The Diesel** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:01 pm

Pop never had a Prime Shaq and young-superstar Kobe Bryant.

He never coached a team that had as much star power as the 2004 Lakers with Payton, Malone, Kobe, and Shaq.

The Lakers 2001 Playoff Run was arguably the greatest post-season run in the NBA history and the Spurs ran into Prime Shaq and Kobe.

Same story in 2002.

Then, in 2004 they got unlucky with Fisher's 0.4 second shot and the fact that LA had so much star power that year.

Pop is better than Phil, in my opinion, even though Phil leads 3-1 when they've met in the playoffs.

Magilla_Gorilla · Post #15 » by **Magilla_Gorilla** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:20 pm

The Diesel wrote:Pop never had a Prime Shaq and young-superstar Kobe Bryant.

He never coached a team that had as much star power as the 2004 Lakers with Payton, Malone, Kobe, and Shaq.

The Lakers 2001 Playoff Run was arguably the greatest post-season run in the NBA history and the Spurs ran into Prime Shaq and Kobe.

Same story in 2002.

Then, in 2004 they got unlucky with Fisher's 0.4 second shot and the fact that LA had so much star power that year.

Pop is better than Phil, in my opinion, even though Phil leads 3-1 when they've met in the playoffs.

You're right - Popovich has only had the greatest PF in the history of the game.

The Diesel · Post #16 » by **The Diesel** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:25 pm

But who was Duncan's side-kick in 2001? An aging David Robinson?

In 2002? Robinson was another year older and Parker was still very young.

In 2004 they just got really unlucky with Fisher's shot.

Duncan never had a superstar side-kick those years.

Robinson was on the decline, Parker was very young, and Ginobili was just in his second year in the NBA in 2004.

Kobe and Shaq were Top 5 players in the NBA during the 2001/2002 series victories against the Spurs and they just ran into Payton/Malone/Kobe/Shaq in 2004 and they were STILL unlucky to lose it due to Fisher's 0.4 second shot.

Give Pop Phil's Lakers teams and he wins just as many or more championships than Phil did with the Kobe/Shaq teams.

magicfan4life05 · Post #17 » by **magicfan4life05** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:25 pm

It's hard to argue against pop,

His teams are never the most talented but they consistently get the job done and seemingly are always there at the end of the playoffs.

The Main Event · Post #18 » by **The Main Event** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:31 pm

I'm gonna have to go with Phil on this one. Both men have made successfull careers by gaining the respect of the Kobe's, Duncans, Shaqs and Jordans and by creating team equations that win championships. That alone says something about their coaching abilities and character. However, for the simple fact that Pop is so ugly, im gonna stick with my man Phil. Pop looks like Gargamel from the smurfs and i just can't stand to see someone who looks like a villian from a cartoon win.

The Main Event · Post #19 » by **The Main Event** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:34 pm

magicfan4life05 wrote:It's hard to argue against pop,

His teams are never the most talented but they consistently get the job done and seemingly are always there at the end of the playoffs.

Welcome back! You've obviously just awoken from a 10 year coma. :clap:

Post #20 » by **Flash3** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:36 pm

For those criticizing Popovich and Jackson playing with Shaq and Duncan, last I checked it takes great player(s) to win titles, as much as it does great coaches.

Look at Sloan, he's had some of the best players this league has seen in John Stockton and Karl Malone, and he's yet to win even 1 title, let alone the 13 Popovich and Jackson have combined for.