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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich hasn't tasted defeat very many times during his postseason career and definitely not many in the form of a sweep, but he did so after Monday night's Game 4 against a stacked Golden State Warriors team.
The man at the helm had all sorts of praise for the Spurs' Western Conference rivals, claiming that their competition was much more than what meets the eye.
“I think they get a short shrift sometimes when… well, they're so talented and they're over-talented… But that's not the whole equation. That's not everything that describes them,” Popovich said, according to ASAP Sports.
“They deserve a lot more credit than, well, they're talented. They're supposed to win. That is disrespectful to them in my book. They're way, way more than just their talent.”
While Golden State does boast an All-Star cast from spots one through four, there's something about the organization when all four are asked to share the ball, pick out the best possible shot on every possession, actively defend their position and constantly rotate and switch on defense when the situation demands it.
Doing so requires discipline and a will to win, making Popovich's point than it's much more than the talent, but a commitment to the culture that has gotten the Warriors this far into the playoffs.
“On offense, no team is more unselfish finding the open man and that sort of thing. They get credit for that,” said Popovich. “Coaches are always trying to get their team to do that. But they've got a multitude of people who are unselfish in that regard and play a beautiful game, and on top of that play D at the other end.”
“This is, you know… maybe the best defensive team in the league on top of everything. So they don't just play with talent. They execute at the defensive end of the floor.”
