Tag: In the News

No surprise: Pop indifferent to new flopping initiative

It came as no surprise that all-business, no-nonsense Gregg Popovich refrained from entering the fray when asked to comment on the NBA’s new anti-flopping initiative.

“I don’t think about it too much,” he said Thursday, and that’s very likely true. This is, after all, a man whose life philosophy can be summed up by one of his favorite phrases: Get over yourself.

He is very much in the minority, however, as evidenced by this massive list of comments compiled by .

Some of the standouts:

Tyson Chandler — ‘There are a lot of guys in the league that are in trouble.”

Kobe Bryant — “Shameless flopping, that’s a chump move.”

Anderson Verejao — “I’m not flopping anymore. I used to flop a little bit.”

Metta World Peace — “It’s the NBA Finals, a new lady is watching and never saw basketball, she sees (flopping) and wonders, ‘What is that?’ She won’t watch the game anymore.”

Whether you like it, hate it or, in Popovich’s case, don’t really care, it is here to stay — at least until January, when most of the NBA’s previous disciplinary crusades seem to have petered out.

Interestingly, it’s Tony Parker, and not Manu Ginobili, who was selected by the NBA to the type of offensive over-embellishment that will (supposedly) no longer be tolerated.

Other examples were provided by Reggie Evans, Dwyane Wade, Josh Smith, and of course, Chris “The Human Tornado” Paul.

In case you missed it, check out on just how difficult it is to catch flop master in the act, even after the fact.

Spurs notebook: Popovich keeps playbook abridged

Faced with the prospect of little practice time during last season’s NBA lockout-condensed schedule, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich approached the installation of his offensive and defensive playbooks with one acronym in mind.

KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Though blessed with ample time to tinker this preseason — the Spurs are in the midst of a stretch of five consecutive days without a game — Popovich’s theme for this year’s camp might well be KISS II.

“No, it’s not even a goal,” Popovich said Wednesday, when asked if he’s had time to open up the playbook in practice. “We’re trying to be real basic and simple all the way through camp and make sure whatever we’re doing is done well.”

Offensively, at least, it is a question of not fixing what wasn’t broken.

The Spurs were a well-oiled juggernaut in 2011-12, ranking first in the NBA in offensive efficiency and second in points per game.

Defensively, the Spurs were “a middle-of-the-road team,” according to Popovich and the numbers, and their personnel hasn’t changed much since June.

Instead of using new gimmicks to improve on that end of the floor this season, Popovich prefers his team be more disciplined with the same philosophies that were in place last season.

For players such as center Boris Diaw, forward Stephen Jackson and guard Patty Mills — who all arrived after the trade deadline last season — the decision to keep the playbook uncomplicated had led to an increased comfort level.

For now.

“So far, we’re sticking with simple, what we were doing last year,” Diaw said. “But I’m sure as the days go by, we’re going to put more things in.”

Pasteurized, posterized: Power forward Tim Duncan returned to the practice court after missing Monday’s workout with an undisclosed illness.

Reserve guard Gary Neal was not as lucky, calling in sick for the team’s two-hour practice session.

Asked if perhaps there was a bug going around the locker room, Popovich reminded that he is only a basketball coach.

“What am I, Louis Pasteur?” he said.

Mills, who is recovering from a right ankle sprain, was limited to non-contact work.

But he’s no De Niro: Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili worked overtime, filming another installment of their celebrated H-E-B commercials after practice.

Diaw was quick with the quip when asked to critique the acting chops of Parker, his friend and fellow Frenchman.

“Best French actor since — who do you guys know? — since Gérard Depardieu,” Diaw said. “And the guy who got the Oscar for ‘The Artist.’ Dujardin. Jean Dujardin.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Matt Bonner’s Grand Prix lives

Watching Andre Rison brag about the fleet of sports cars he once owned during ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 opus, it was difficult not to think about Spurs forward Matt Bonner.

Eschewing the stereotypical purchase of a SUV or tricked-out whip — the same kind of expenditure that has left scores of athletes, including Rison, bankrupt — Bonner settled for a more practical choice upon signing his first long-term contract in 2006: .

“When it comes to cars,” Bonner said at the time, “there are two things that equal satisfaction. No. 1, leg room. No. 2, gas mileage.”

Contrast that to : “How much is this one? It doesn’t matter, just get it.”

As you’d expect from the down-to-Earth Bonner, he still has the same ride after 80,000 miles.

“I just got a tune-up over at Freedom Chevrolet — hopefully that gets me a commercial or something — but they said it’s good for another 60-90,000 miles,” Bonner said. “I’ve gotten my money’s worth.”