As much as figuring out Aldridge’s sweet spots or how to best pair him with Duncan, maintaining the Spurs’ hard-earned chemistry could be their biggest challenge as they attempt to knock Golden State of its throne.
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It’s been 150 days since the Spurs’ season ended too soon.
NBATV caught up with Pop to talk about the upcoming season, and the Spurs head coach used a few questions about newcomer LaMarcus Aldridge as an opportunity to flawless the art of making reporters feel really uncomfortable.
Popovich gave us the season’s first taste of “Classic Popovich” at media day by punking National Basketball Association TV’s Jared Greenberg. The players get shepherded from one camera setup to another in their uniforms, posing this way and that, and being given fairly ridiculous lines to repeat for ads that majority will never wind up appearing in.
“Everybody has been definitely happy to see me around, very welcoming and excited to have me here on Twitter and Instagram and things like that”. That’s what it’s all about.
“Cancel all this stuff”. It’s impossible to quantify and easy to take for granted.
Along with the unexpected addition of David West, it marked the splashiest offseason the Spurs have ever had, one that left Duncan “floored”. Sure, they’ll need some time to work Aldridge’s post game and mid-range shooting into their offense that often features a lot of perimeter shooting and swift ball movement, but with Duncan’s ability to produce points declining, Aldridge can take over. Honestly if you asked me 20 minutes ago how old I thought anonymous National Basketball Association player Rasual Butler was, I’d have guessed 31.
Inside their locker room, however, nothing has changed.
“(The) goal is the same, it is to win the championship.
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“It’s the same motivation every year”, Duncan said. We’re here to try to win. You gotta have a skill to play. It starts here at the beginning. “Or what are we going to do?”
