NBA Blog

Yeah, right.  Like there is any way that Mike Brown will be able to compete with the likes of Coach Popp.  But you know who ‘Big Mike’ (as he was affectionately called in San Antonio) reminds me of… a young Coach Popovich.  Few people remember this now, just because Popp has become arguably the best coach in the league, but when he first took over the team, the Spurs offense was downright anemic.  Popp did all of his work at the defensive end of the court, and relied on early high posts of David Robinson, and then settling into the low post offense of Tim Duncan as the game progressed.  Everyone else just stood around.  Every once in a while, Sean Elliott would cut to the basket for a dunk, but I’m convinced that was more savvy-veteran play of ‘The Ninja’ versus coaching design by Popp. 

I frequently remember becoming frustrated with the dry, inactive Spurs offense.  By the way, that invigorating style of play led to many 14-point, 8 turnover quarters back in the day.  However, Popp worked and developed a better understanding of the offensive end of the court (it didn’t hurt that he used some of the things he picked up from Nellie and Larry Brown along the way), and he also gained a better understanding of when/how to use dead ball plays.  This all culminated in the Memorial Day Miracle shot by Sean Elliott when Popp slightly modified their typical inbounds play to get Elliott open.  (Elliott was on fire that afternoon, and I have already discussed what it felt like to be there in person.  I will just rehash it slightly, and tell you it was the coolest athletic event I have ever witnessed.) 

Then, a few years ago, Popp saw the writing on the wall when he had the young, uber-fast, uber-athletic tandem of Parker and Ginobili on the court together.  He couldn’t reign these guys in and run the prodding offense that worked with Avery Johnson, Terry Porter, and the rest of the older guys.  He had to allow these guys to run, and use their best assets on the offensive end.  Popp implemented the 1-4 low style that many teams use, but he also started to use more of a motion offense with players making backdoor cuts.  That has really flourished with the great passing abilities of Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Barry, et. al. 

I think this is where we may eventually see Mike Brown.  Right now, he’s extremely rough around the edges, and it is clearly evident on the offensive end of the court.  Big Mike also struggles with his usage of timeouts (something Popp has completely mastered) and dead-ball situations.    I really hope Big Mike will get there, as I have always liked him.  He was an incredibly nice guy whenever we ran into him in our athletic center, and has to go down as one of the best postgame interviews I have ever heard.