Jun 18, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich waves to the fans during the NBA championship parade at San Antonio River Walk. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
This is just one of the many things that makes San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich the coach that he is: all of last year, Pop, his staff and the players were reminded about the pain of coming up just short in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals versus the Miami Heat.
From Buck Harvey in the San Antonio Express-News:
"If you took a right out of Gregg Popovich’s office in the practice facility last season, and you walked past the offices of the assistant coaches, you couldn’t miss it. Straight ahead, prominently displayed on a wall, was a framed picture of the Game 6 scoreboard. Popovich couldn’t walk in that direction without seeing the image. Neither could any player who left his office. Popovich wanted his guys to be as bothered as he was, but he also wanted to remind them of the circumstance that night in Miami. The picture didn’t display the final score. It didn’t freeze time at 28.2 seconds. It showed a moment late in the third quarter — when the Spurs led by 13 points. This was what Popovich wanted the Spurs to remember. They didn’t lose in 2013 because of a missed free throw, or because of a Ray Allen 3-pointer. They lost because of a series of fixable missteps."
via Popovich’s plan: Spurs move past perfection – San Antonio Express-News.
It worked, though. Not only did the Spurs win the 2014 NBA Finals, but they did so with a style of play and a level of execution that approached performance art. And Pop recognizes it:
"Even now, when Popovich watches the last three games of the Finals, he comes away amazed.“I’m thinking, ‘Who are these guys?’” he joked about his players. “’Did they all have lobotomies?’”"
That’s no reason for the Spurs to rest on their laurels, however, and Pop already knows what he’ll say to his guys if they try to slack off this year after once again claiming their throne as champions. Check out Harvey’s article for that line, Pop’s discussion of the mentality of the Heat after last year’s Game 2 and insight into the mind of Gregg Popovich that we don’t typically get.